Nokia to design handsets in India for global markets

Aug 2, 2007, 12:15 GMT

Bangalore, Aug 2 (IANS) The world's leading mobile devices maker Nokia Corporation has set up its first satellite design studio in India at Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology here to create designer handsets for Indian and global markets.

The satellite studio, the first of four such facilities the Finnish multinational plans to locate around the world, will explore a range of design trends and themes, including colours and materials. The second studio is being set up at Rio de Janiero in Brazil.

A team of top Nokia designers will engage students of Srishti in studying the use of the Internet on mobile phones and its implications for design and features of the next generation handsets.

'As one of the hotspots for the increasing usage of mobile phones, India is a strategic location for us to work on new design trends that will meet the aspirations and changing lifestyle of customers in the subcontinent and the world over,' Nokia chief designer Alastair Curtis told IANS here Thursday.

Founded a decade ago by the Ujwal Trust to provide art and design education in a creative environment, Srishti is a privately funded design school with an inter-disciplinary approach.

Situated on the outskirts of Bangalore, Srishti offers a two-year foundation studies and core skills programme for 12th standard or pre-university graduates. Students can also opt for a two-year professional diploma in textile design, fashion design, visual communication design, digital video production or furniture and interior design.

'Nokia's decision to set up the first satellite studio at Srishti reflects the importance of Indian designers and the wealth of talent available here. Working with the Nokia team will enable our students to create a variety of designs that caters to end-users in India and overseas markets,' Srishti founder-director Geetha Narayanan said.

Over the last four years, Nokia has been outsourcing design work from Srishti to meet the aspirations of handset users in South Asia.

Curtis said: 'Going beyond the look and feel of handsets, Srishti students will be trained to incorporate designs that are not only ethnic, but also trendy to complement the features of new generation devices that will be extensively used for voice, data, music, videos, images and navigating the Internet.'

With clear leadership in the world's fastest-growing mobile market, Nokia's game plan is to connect the next one billion in the subcontinent by using local talent and resources for distribution and sales, research and development, manufacturing and design.

India is the third biggest market for Nokia after China and the US.

'Our Bangalore studio is part of our ongoing investment in design. A new design studio has been set up this year at our global headquarters in Espoo, Finland and another one is coming up in London soon. Globally, we have about 300 designers representing 34 different nationalities,' Nokia design head for insight and innovation Hannu Nieminen disclosed.

Its other studios are located in Helsinki, Beijing and Tokyo.

Besides designers, the global teams consist of psychologists, researchers, anthropologists, engineers and technology specialists.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service