Nokia opens first satellite design studio in India

BANGALORE: Mobile phone maker Nokia today opened a satellite design studio here, based on a two-year partnership with city-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology.

This studio is the first among the four satellite design studios Nokia has planned. The second studio will come up in the Brazilian capital, Rio de Janeiro.

Espoo, Finland-based Nokia declined to reveal a timeframe for setting up of the rest of the studios, including the one in Brazil. It also declined to reveal the location of the last two satellite studios in the series.

The designers of the Finnish company, students and alumni of Srishti will work together on the designs. Nokia has more than 300 designers from 34 different nationalities across the world.

“For Nokia, design is not just about the look and feel of the handsets, but equally important is what it can do for people and how it fits into their lives. Designers must be exposed to how people live and work in different parts of the world,” Hannu Nieminen, head of Insight and Innovation, Nokia Design, told a press conference here.

Nokia expects the studio to bring local insight to the global innovation portfolio and to adjust to the needs of the Indian market.

“Our new satellite studio in India will draw on the experiences of this dynamic market to develop new design ideas and identify trends,” Nieminen added.

India is the third largest market for Nokia, after China and the United States.

The satellite design studio here is meant “to improve the interaction of Nokia with the Indian culture,” said Jan Blom, senior design manager, Nokia Design.

“Reflecting India’s status as one of the hottest countries for design right now I expect our work here to influence not only our thinking on new design trends and ideas for India, but also for many markets around the world,” Alastair Curtis, Nokia’s chief designer, said in a statement.

To a specific question on the intellectual property rights of the designs, Nieminen, said, “innovators will be suitably rewarded.”

Earlier this year, Nokia opened a new design studio at Espoo, Finland. It plans to open a similar one in London later this year.

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