In the 90s, having a Nokia meant to be part of an era in which mobile telephony was a frontier still to be explored. From the classic 3310 to the futuristic 8810, passing through the bold N-Gage, the Finnish company’s phones have marked a generation. Today, their inheritance finds new life in the Nokia Design Archive, a digital museum that tells the story of one of the greatest technological innovations of the twentieth century.
A journey into the history of mobile telephony
The initiative was born from Aalto University in Finland, which has collected prototypes, rare models, drafts and documents to offer a look behind the scenes of the company that revolutionized the way we communicate. An archive that wants to represent a tribute to the past, but also an opportunity to understand how design and technology have influenced our daily lives.
Professor Anna Valtonen, the main researcher of the project, underlines the importance of the initiative: “Every technological company studies human behavior to design the future. But rarely these research become accessible to the public. This archive allows us to see the behind the scenes of an industry that has changed the world. “
A journey through time
The Nokia Design Archive is a freely accessible digital portal that offers more than 700 well -kept items and over 20,000 digital files, documenting two decades of activities. Sketches, photographs, interviews and presentations guide visitors through the “Golden Age” of mobile telephony.
Among the exposed models, some timeless icons stand out:
Next to the successes, there is no shortage of projects that have never seen the light. Sketches of phones with touchscreen and social features dating back to well before the Facebook era and prototypes such as Mango Phone or modular experiments testify to the audacity of a company that has always pushed the boundaries of innovation.
The rise and fall of a giant
Founded in 1865 as a paper mill, Nokia crossed an extraordinary transformation, passing through the production of tires and cables before dominating the mobile telephony market. For a decade, since 1998, he has been a world leader in the sector, thanks also to the development of GSM, 3G and LTE standards.
In 2007, with the arrival of the iPhone, the scenario changes drastically. Android, in just over two years, conquers the leadership in the smartphone market and the adoption of the Windows Mobile operating system, with the subsequent acquisition by Microsoft in 2014, are unable to save the company, which will undergo the inevitable decline of its mobile division. Today, the brand survives only on the Phone feature, essential phones for nostalgic and digital minimalists.
Nokia: a still alive legacy
The opening of the archive marks a symbolic moment. Nokia, as a brand of phones, could have disappeared from the market, but its impact is still tangible. The Finnish company continues to innovate in the telecommunications sector, earning billions thanks to patents and remaining one of the main worldwide 5G infrastructure suppliers.
The Nokia Design Archive wants to be a testimony of how design and innovation can model society. Anna Valtonen describes the archive as “a bridge between past and future, an invitation to explore not only what we have done, but what we could still do”.
After all, the history of technology is made of cycles. And who knows, maybe one day the name Nokia will return to appear on tomorrow’s smartphones.
Recall that the digital portal of the Nokia Design Archive is freely accessible to everyone, starting from January 15, 2025 .
We leave you to the video presentation of the Nokia Design Archive:
