Device manufacturer Oppo tapped Japanese design studio nendo, which was founded by Oki Sato, to create multiple conceptual designs based on its human-centric design philosophy at the 4th China International Industrial Design Expo (CIIDE).
During the exhibition, Oppo also exhibited a series of its classic product designs, showcasing unique insights and exploration into form design, materials, and interactions that have occurred since the company’s inception.
CIIDE is a national-level event focused on industrial design in China. With this year’s theme of “New Designs, New Trends, New Momentum,” OPPO put on a retrospective exposition, showcasing classic industry-leading product designs from throughout its history.
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Over the past 12 years, Oppo showcased its innovations that extend from design down to cutting-edge camera technology. From introducing one of the world’s thinnest phones, the world’s first motorized rotating camera phone, the pivot rising camera structure and the full-screen display smartphone that was proven to be a game-changer in the industry to name a few.
“nendo’s design is closely aligned with Oppo’s human-centric philosophy,” said Xiao Bo, lead designer, Industrial Design at Oppo. “Oppo aims to bring users a delightful product experience with cutting-edge technology and aesthetic design. This partnership is built upon a conviction that to create a groundbreaking tech product with the right level of comfort for users, we must focus on (being) ‘human.’ Moving forward, we will double down on this approach by engineering products with a more seamless, user-friendly experience.”
In November this year, Oppo demonstrated its latest exploration into mobile phone form factors with the Oppo X 2021 rollable conceptual handset at the Oppo Inno Day 2020. The size of the conceptual device’s rollable display is infinitely adjustable within a specified range, offering a new perspective on the future of devices and how humans might interact with them.
“music-link”
At CIIDE, Oppo showcased the “slide-phone” and “music-link” conceptual designs that it has been working on together with nendo. The idea for the “slide-phone” originated from OPPO and nendo’s discovery that smartphone users increasingly rely on their smartphones to interact with the world around them. To support more functionality, the smartphone is designed in a constant increase in size, making it difficult to hold and less convenient. This trend toward larger phones has become a growing concern for users. Armed with this insight, the “slide-phone” concept is designed with three foldable screens attached by hinges folding over in the same direction. By providing users with the flexibility to change the form of the phone as needed, users may benefit from the ability to change its size to suit the occasion. A stylus inserted in the phone allows users to expand their productivity by using the phone for work or other more complex tasks.
Oppo and nendo’s other conceptual design, “music-link,” is a collection of devices centered around a pair of TWS earphones that includes a smartwatch, an AI (artificial intelligence) speaker, a portable charger, and a wireless charger. All devices are designed in a sleek organic form, adopting an affinity design that mirrors the aesthetic values of users today. When the TWS earphones and portable charging case are placed on the AI speaker, users can enjoy a seamless music experience transitioning from headphones to speaker.
“I was impressed by OPPO’s philosophy, which goes beyond leveraging the latest technology and pursues a comfortable relationship between people and their products through a human-centric approach to design,” said Sato who is also the CEO and chief designer of nendo. “I am looking forward to seeing new concepts from the OPPO team as well as seeing how they manage to further strike a balance between technology and emotional engagement.”
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