50 Times It Was Totally Unclear What Designers Were Thinking When They Came Up With These Crazy Phones

Who doesn’t like a little bit of nostalgia to hit just right, both in the pain and pleasure departments of the soul. You’ll definitely want to sell yours to see the return of these intricate and fascinating phone designs, making you feel as though you’re living inside one of those indie sci-fi films. 

In the most basic sense, mobile phones allow us to keep in touch with others, whether we’re on the go, or just splayed out on the couch rewatching the same episode of Friends over and over again because it acts as therapy. It’s not therapy, Stephanie, go get some professional help! 

If we’re to have a slight history lesson, mobile phones have been in development since the late 60s and throughout the 70s, but they were too bulky to be considered truly portable. Whilst Motorola dominated the early mobile phone landscape, Finnish company Nokia joined the mobile phone evolution, coming into prominence in the early 1990s.

We’re all aware of the iconic Nokia 3310. It may have looked closer to a brick than a mobile phone, but if you built a house or a chapel out of that model, it would live through wars, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcano eruptions—everything. Nothing destroys the Nokia 3310. It will exist longer than the Sun and our known universe. 

The models that we see here today were mainly released from 1998–2000, introducing the market to seemingly never-ending customization. From ringtones to shapes to color schemes, to the way they opened and twisted and turned, phones became somewhat of a fashion accessory and a way to express your personality. 

Although they were incredibly complex in appearance, they were capable of fulfilling only the most basic of tasks, compared with the capabilities of mobile phones today. With Apple, Samsung, and Huawei dominating the market, we’ve seen the emergence of the plain rectangular black mirror, which can hardly be compared to the simpler, yet iconic and personable devices of the past. 

As shared on NokiaMob.net, some believe that smartphones have reached the peak of usability. “Usability is something that drives design creativity, and nowadays we only use phones to soak our minds in the wonders of the modern information-driven world, thus the design becomes irrelevant,” they argued. 

We all tend to buy phones that are usable, durable, and have good battery life, and as we’re all just buying protective covers to protect our precious belongings anyways, is there really a need for more design innovation? As Adam Conway, an Irish technology fanatic, stated, “Innovation is fun, but innovation leads to products that aren’t good enough for everyone.”

 It all boils down to the fine dance of balancing functionality with design, as well as market competition. Design should complement functionality, not contrast it, and although our heads may turn to the next shiny thing on the shelf, the way it works will be the element that keeps us coming back for more. 

As Ferdinand Porsche put it, “Design must be functional, and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics.” Lisa Maltby, an illustrative designer, explained that any product must solve the user’s problems and make their lives easier; thus, creatives should combine functionality and fun in the most effective way possible. 

To put it simply—if I can’t use it, I don’t want it. What’s the point of having a triangular phone if I can’t fit it in my back pocket? What’s the point of having a flip phone if the screen is indenting in the middle, making it look messy? What’s the point of my phone being run by an AI that can read my mind and tell me how useless I already know I am? 

The lack of production diversity says a lot about the market itself. Consumers want to be comfortable with their purchases. Would you really want to invest in something utterly different that hasn’t been seen before? It’s been done a couple of times in the past, with big innovators joining the game, yet until another genius comes forth, we’re stuck with the reflective magic rectangle. 

As you continue this voyage into the nostalgic, dear Pandas, make sure to continue upvoting your favorites. At the end of it all, leave your opinions and thoughts below: did we have it better in the past or is the present pretty neat as well? 

Have a great one and happy scrolling!