KRZR Blog
-
Here's a special krzrbloggers exclusive treat - a behind the scenes peak at the design development of the KRZR. The drawings shown are actual sketches used by the design team.
Be sure to check the 'Stuff' section this week. We'll be adding this image and a few others.
Comments (0) -
We have a guest interview for this post with Matt Carr,Creative Lead for Umbra's U+ collection. We had a chance to ask him about Canadian design, hot trends and also tap into his imagination about what he'd like to see in future mobile phone designs.
Q: Sum up Canada's design style?
Matt: There is a Canadiana style emerging that tends to focus on natural homegrown materials. Smart solutions with a bit of a twist of humour and a universal aesthetic which runs parallel to Canada's diverse mix of cultures.
Q: What are the hot design trends for this year?
Matt: We're in a phase of embellishment. Might be the rebel of all of those years living with Knock Down furniture from the Swedes. Mixing old and new for an eclectic looks is a great way to pay homage to some of the best design periods over the past few decades.
The most important movement is sustainable design. As consumers become more aware of the affect of irresponsible design, they will become more accepting of eco-friendly natural finishes and less synthetic applications.
Q: If you could design a mobile phone, what new features would you want it to include that haven't been already?
Matt: I'm currently traveling in Asia, swapping SIM cards from day to day depending on which country I'm in. I'd love to have a dual SIM card option integrated into the phone; it'd save me from losing so many cards.
I like products that are ever-changing - imagine the phone changed
-
When most people look at a mobile phone, they see only the finished product. Rarely do they realize that hundreds of prototypes are often created prior to what's seen in stores.
For an insider's peak, check out this reporter's interview blog post with Peter Pfanner who runs Motorola's North American Design Studio. You'll learn about the complexities of the design process, how mobile phones have become fashion accessories and glean insights into the development of the KRZR.
In the spirit of design, our next post will feature a guest Q&A with Matt Carr, a designer for Umbra. Matt's going to give you the scoop on the hottest design trends and tell us what he'd like to see in future mobile phone designs.
As creative lead for Umbra, Matt's contributed over 150 designs to date. He's a former 'Form Crafts and Industry Award' recipient, and his work's been featured in numerous editorials in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal as well as in I.D., InStyle and Surface Magazines. Here are more of his designs.
-
It's the mid-week doldrums, so we thought you might enjoy a dose of KRZR creative courtesy of the KRZRbloggers Group on Youtube.
The variations in the advertising styles used to market the phone internationally are pretty fascinating, and certainly entertaining. And seeing ads that you'd normally not see in Canada (or at all) is always cool.
Which is your favorite?
Shiny is Good (which apparently did not make the cut)
-
Your special agent briefcases are being assembled, and our bodyguards are accompanying the final components to the assembly checkpoint. OK, so we don't have bodyguards, but it'd be cool if we did. I digress...Check your e-mail this week for arrival dates and additional details.
-
What a nightmare our online lives would be without the convenience of tagging. Brendan and I found the search function on flickr to be useful for tracking tagged krzrblogger photos, but we've come across this flickr tag browser that's really slick and perhaps worth a del.icio.us add.
The screen cap to the right highlights some of the 360+ KRZR images that resulted from a 'KRZR' search.
Happy to see a lot of the KRZRblogger participants' (Photo Junkie and Popped Culture jumped out) shots coming up first!
-
NetChick has hinted at an upcoming review and highlights a blogging colleague who will be getting one of the new colors in our second round.
-
Dani's kids are having fun with the KRZR's 'Hellomoto' ringtone:
"The boys have a new game, along the lines of Marco Polo. Tristan calls out in a pinched faux-British voice "Hello!" and either Simon or Beloved respond with "Moto!"
I think we should record this and send it to head office for ringtone consideration.
-
Like we said earlier, we're thrilled with the interest expressed by bloggers wanting to take part in the KRZRbloggers programme, and we've received a lot of emails from folks wanting to participate in round II.
The good news... we've gotten our hands on a new batch of KRZRs, which means that, over the coming days, Ian and I will be sending out invitations to a bunch of new bloggers to join our community of blogging enthusiasts.
It's always a tough job when you only have a certain number of phones, so if you don't get one this time round, don't fret... There's definitely more to come in terms of contests and other activities...
We'll keep you posted.
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- Next »