It’s all about what’s not there
The Nokia Lumia 800 design story begins with the Nokia N9, its clean lines and minimalist look the first expression of a design ethos based on simplicity and efficiency. This desire to cut out anything unnecessary – no fuss, no bells or whistles – drove us when developing the Nokia Lumia 800. As Axel Meyer, our Head of Industrial Design explains, “It was an exercise in aesthetic and technical minimalism, taking a first principles approach to smartphone design… we looked at what could be left out as much as what could be put in.”
Early sketches for the N9 focused on clean lines and as few separate parts as possible.
The glass screen is thin, yet strong, and covers almost the whole of the front of the phone.
Screen meet body, body meet screen. The solid body design ensures a secure fit for the Gorilla® glass screen.
Our team fashion the first prototype of the Nokia Lumia 800 in the design studio at Nokia House, Espoo, Finland.
It’s all in the details. Highly accurate machines create the finishing touches to the body of the phone.
One beautifully simple design
Everything about the Nokia Lumia 800 – from its shape, look and materials used – was carefully considered according to a consistent design ethos. The aim was to create an elegant smartphone that looked like no other. It has a tapered body made from a single piece of moulded polycarbonate with colour running through it, not painted on, so it can take scratches in its stride and feel newer for longer.
The fine details of the phone are machined using advanced techniques usually used for intricate metalwork. Moulded ink-black Gorilla® glass finishes the design for the purest possible window onto the rich depth of the screen.
The result is the most aesthetically simple, and the most beautiful phone we’ve ever made.
The finished phone, the Nokia Lumia 800.