finland's aalto university to show archive of nokia’s design evolution

charting the rise and demise of nokia

Aalto University is set to launch the Nokia Design Archive, a comprehensive digital platform offering unprecedented access to two decades of design history from one of the world’s most influential technology companies. The archive, which will be globally accessible starting January 15th, 2025, provides a window into the raw ideas, innovative processes, and iconic products that shaped the legacy of Nokia, a technology company founded in Finland in 1865.

Spanning over seven-hundred curated entries from the mid-1990s to 2017, the Nokia Design Archive showcases the creative ingenuity behind both familiar classics, like the 3310 ‘brick phone’ and the futuristic 8810 ‘banana phone,’ and lesser-known prototypes and concepts. Visitors will encounter not only Nokia’s final products but also the sketches, advertisements, and ideation processes that brought these personal tech products to life.

This comprehensive digital resource traces the seeds of technological innovations such as Augmented Reality, QR codes, wearable health devices, and even the early inklings of social media. It invites visitors to reflect on how these ideas helped shape modern connectivity.

selection of Nokia mobile handsets including unseen prototypes. Aleksi Poutanen / Aalto University 2024

A Vast archive of familiar and unseen designs

While the curated portal offers a structured glimpse into Nokia’s design legacy, the broader archive boasts an extraordinary 20,000 items and nearly one terabyte of digital files. Licensed from Microsoft Mobile, this collection originated when Nokia’s handset operations came to a close, marking a turning point in the brand’s history. Researchers at Aalto University anticipate that future curation will unlock even more insights, sparking new analyses on design, consumer culture, and Nokia’s impact on the global tech landscape.

According to Anna Valtonen, Lead Researcher on the project, ‘The material shows how important it is to have an organisational culture where it’s okay to try things out and enjoy the process. Especially in these times of change, it is important to understand how we can grasp the world around us and imagine what we could be.’

different colorways of Nokia 5110, 1990s, Nokia Design Archive, Aalto University Archives

‘Technology doesn’t just shape us; we shape technology’

The archive project brings together experts in design, management, and cultural studies to explore Nokia’s design processes and practices. Valtonen notes that the archive is as much about people as it is about products: ‘What about people? What about how humans perceive things? How ideas are adopted into society? From a scientific perspective, this is the kind of qualitative empirical material we need more of.’

This human-centric approach underlines how Nokia’s designs were not just functional but also deeply influenced by cultural contexts and user needs, a perspective echoed by postdoctoral researcher Kaisu Savola: ‘Technology doesn’t just shape us; we shape technology. When we started the project, the focus was on objects. As we began going through the material, we soon realised that it was about people.’

‘Mango phone’ (Nokia 7600) surrounded by designer Tej Chauhan’s sketches. Aleski Poutanen / Aalto University 2024

Rethinking the Role of Designers

The archive sheds light on the everyday work of designers, revealing the values and social responsibility embedded in their practices. Michel Nader Sayun, a researcher at Aalto’s Department of Management Studies, reflects, ‘The Nokia Design Archive reminds us that activism, social responsibility, and values exist in designers — and they’ve existed forever. The research shines a light on the everyday work of designers, how they share their concerns and cultural understandings, negotiate different approaches, and how they interact with decision-makers.’

As a repository of design heritage and a tool for forward-thinking research, the Nokia Design Archive exemplifies Aalto University’s commitment to bridging the worlds of technology, business, and the arts. The archive not only captures a pivotal era in the history of mobile technology but also fosters life-wide learning, encouraging new dialogues about design’s role in shaping society.

promotional material of a man and woman holding a girl using a phone, 1990s, Nokia Design Archive, Aalto University Archives