With the TK Justice having over a million hits and the TK Victory still heavily asked about, it was time to push forward and start the next design and what better name to give it than the TK Nyxt. There are still lots of changes coming along, but the above preview shows the great direction I have taken. As you can see the TK Nyxt is another qwerty design BlackBerry concept and this time I have decided to go in a whole new direction with the design.
This is an original illustration using several photos as reference. It was done in exactly 2 hours, though the goal was set for one hour in high hopes to be completed before the presidential announcement. Nonetheless, it turned out great for a quick project on the whim. Check out the Portfolio where there is a link to the illustration project titled Inspired by Many.
As of October 31st I hit 1,085,408 hits! WOW! When I started the TK Justice back in April, shortly after the release of the TK Victory I didn’t think it would have taken off this much. Globally, the TK Justice was accepted by many showing the clear demand for something new and fresh from Research in Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry, but most of all it proved that the keyboard isn’t dead in the full touch device market. What the TK Justice also proved was that consumers are also demanding for not something only functional, but something pleasing. Long gone is the functional ugly. We want something that is screams beautiful.
When the New York Times writer Nicole Perlroth wrote her tasteless article on BlackBerry it caused an uproar in the BlackBerry community. It lacked assertive testimonies. Some even said that the testimonies were even staged for the sake of writing an article to bash RIM. I couldn’t agree more. While the article forges sides with the beauty of the iPhone it forgets to detail cost, availability, affordability, and missing features found on many other smartphones. BlackBerry’s may not be the prettiest of smartphones I think we can agree there, but when other factors are placed in, the BlackBerry comes out king. It meets and greets countries and keeps everyone connected without having to sell your furniture on eBay or your bodily parts as it happened in the far East.
The TK Justice wasn’t designed to prove a point by any means, but to raise the bar from a daily consumer who saw the need to want to bring something pleasing to the crowd. Consumers are long past wanting something that only works and stops there. I designed the Justice because as a strong believer to function, beauty too should exist. They need to work hand-in-hand for a product to work in it’s overall sense. This is a passion shared by Dieter Rams, the late Steve Jobs, and Sir Jony Ive and though I am no where near there visionary talents it is that shared passion that unites us from far.
The TK Justice could not be a success if it wasn’t for those with the similar interest or even a sparkling interest.
A huge THANK YOU to CrackBerry (Follow CrackBerry on Twitter @CrackBerry @CrackBerryKevin) for posting. The readership on that site alone brought in waves on waves on waves and the comments have lead to good debates, wants, and feedback.
Thank you to Stephen deRusett (@StephenBB81)of N4BB for writing a debating article covering the TK Justice “TK5 Justice BlackBerry 10 Concept is Gorgeous but Not Feasible“. Though I don’t wholly agree with the article in full I do appreciate the honest writing that has now led me to start the TK 5.1 Justice.
Thank you to all other BlackBerry community sites for the coverage. I have listed linked in the Blogroll. If I have missed you, please make sure to drop me note!
The success of the BlackBerry TK Victory {concept} that made waves back in April this year certainly proved to be a huge fan favorite. So much so that it fictitiously sells for $500US according to several sites and that 55.2% of this sites traffic comes from those still inquiring about its release. Despite being a concept it does go to show there is still a demand for the qwerty in the full-touch device world. With another fresh design possible I hope that this design is loud enough to be heard!
The BlackBerry TK Justice. A BlackBerry 10 Superphone Concept.
Comments can be left on the TK Justice page
It’s been a tough few years for Research in Motion. They have gone from producing one of the most popular smartphone brands on the planet, a brand which pioneered many smartphone features that are now taken for granted, to losing customers and revenue by the bucket load and being on the verge of bankruptcy. RIM is placing all its hopes in the new BlackBerry 10 operating system and a series of new handsets to accompany it, but will it be enough to rescue BlackBerry from the brink?
Changing Markets
RIM was among a number of companies, including Nokia and Microsoft, who were quite slow to adapt to the changing mobile phone market created by the first iPhone in 2007. While these companies once dominated the market they have since been overtaken by previously lesser names in the industry, such as Samsung. Microsoft is a shining example of the predicament currently facing RIM.
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile was once one of the most dominant operating systems for smartphones, but Microsoft realised that with the arrival of iOS it was no longer fit for purpose. Rather than trying to add new features to the existing OS, Microsoft started from scratch with a completely new system. This is the same drastic tactic that has been undertaken by RIM with BlackBerry 10.
While Windows Phone has received a lot of praise from reviewers it has so far not managed to build up a significant market share. Part of the difficulty that Microsoft, and thus RIM, now face is that once people get sucked into an ecosystem, purchasing apps and other OS-specific content, they become reluctant to switch brands.
This wasn’t a problem five years ago, but today a phone is much more than just a phone – it comes with a whole host of other services and features that people become accustomed to. RIM can design some excellent new BlackBerry phones for the New Year and even a ground-breaking new operating system, but that simply may not be enough to win over new customers.
BlackBerry Messenger
BlackBerry Messenger is currently one of RIM’s greatest strengths and it is fair to say that it has been vastly improved with the new operating system. Along with the ability to customise colour schemes and use darker colours to save battery life, there is an emoticon menu, and BBM now includes some handy touch gestures to make typing easier.
Swiping your thumb from right to left will delete the last word you have written, while swiping your thumb downwards will bring up a list of symbols that can be inserted into your text. Although it may seem obvious, it is one of many little touches in BB10 that make it much more intuitive and easy to use.
For example, pulling the screen downwards will put the phone into sleep mode, while you can set an alarm by dragging hands around an analogue clock.
New Handsets
RIM will still offer its traditional qwerty style handsets when BB10 is launched, but many of its new phones will be touchscreen devices. It is clear to see that much of the design behind BB10 has been aimed specifically at touchscreen phones, rather than merely having this functionality slapped on as an afterthought. Although many BlackBerry users still have a love for qwerty phones, the majority of the market is switching to full touchscreen and RIM needs to adapt to this if it is to survive in the long term.
Instead of just copying Android and iOS when it comes to the overall interface design, BB10 consists of more than just a grid of app icons. BB10 allows you to easily switch between running applications with Active Frames, which can display information without the need to load the app fully. This is certainly a much more user friendly experience than the app switcher found on the last two versions of Android.
Much of the communication features are now stored in BlackBerry Hub, which combines text messages, emails, social network updates and other information in one place. Not only does this reduce the need to load up several separate apps, it can also be accessed easily from anywhere on the phone’s interface.
BB10 has not just caught up with the current smartphone trends and standards, but in many areas has exceeded them. Being in such a dire position has forced RIM to think outside the box and offer customers more than they are expecting – and it is quite possible they have succeeded.
Disgruntled iPhone Users
With NFC support BB10 will also have a major advantage over the iPhone 5 which is currently receiving a lot of bad press. As mentioned, one of the reasons Microsoft has had difficulty in getting wide adoption for Windows Phone has been the fact that many smartphone users have been locked into a particular ecosystem. The latest iPhone has given people plenty of reasons to be disgruntled with iOS – from the poorly designed Maps app to the redesigned, but still proprietary, dock connector – and thus plenty of reasons to free themselves from this ecosystem and try something new.
If the latest iPhone’s problems are enough to make long-time Apple loyalists turn away from Apple, perhaps BB10 could be their new smartphone platform of choice. In my mind at least, it is already offering something more interesting than iOS or Android.
App World
BB10 has been released early to developers to encourage app development for the new platform, and this is perhaps one of the other big challenges facing RIM. BlackBerry’s App World was never quite as substantial as the Apple App Store or Google Play, and in many respects people are drawn to smartphone brands not just for what the manufacturer has to offer, but what apps and games are available. Encouraging people to develop apps for BB10 could be one of the most important factors influencing the success or failure of the next generation of BlackBerry phones.
RIM has been so proud of what it has produced with BB10 that it is already considering licensing it to other manufacturers. This could actually be a wise move, as it would encourage people to be drawn into the BlackBerry ecosystem, even if it is with another manufacturer. RIM has certainly produced a great operating system, and will have some great phones to accompany it, but there are many other factors that will influence how it performs. If Windows Phone is anything to go by, RIM may be able to revive it fortunes but perhaps will never reach the same heights it once enjoyed.
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On a global scale he is as recognisable as the late Michael Jackson and one could easily say he has gone though his own mountain-full of cosmetic changes throughout the years.
If Ronald McDonald still looked like this would you eat at McDonald’s?
As a mascot, Ronald McDonald over the years has succeeded as a breathing brand rather than being a flat 2D print. With an interactive state he has brought that fun and playful vision to the younger audience. Kids no matter what age, gender, or nationality, past and/or present will make the immediate association to McDonald’s. In fact, the visual branding of Ronald McDonald is so strong like that of Nike the name need not be present in any advertisement from brown paper bags to overhead signage. (The Golden Arch has now become the McDonald’s signature).
The signature red hair and yellow jumpsuit falls nothing short of lunatic in my books, but has become so pronounced in the character design over the years that besides the improved and updated changes these two elements have seen very little change.
Along with the red hair which we have seen in different styles from shaggy to afro to low-fro with a jumpsuit originally in thick strips before becoming solid yellow, Ronald who debuted in 1963 had a cup for a nose and food tray for a hat. These were later relieved with a red round clown nose with the hat completely removed. I’m not sure the thought process on the originality, but this no doubt takes the “campy’ness” out of the 60′s. (Only for the 1966 Batman serial to bring it back for another three years – ok, back on topic!)
If McDonald’s had debuted the above Ronald McDonald Prime branding in today’s everyday McDonald’s eating demographics crowd, how would that change your precept about eating at the fast-food restaurant? Would you be less deterred to make a visit or recommend? Do you think kids would make the immediate association?
Change is a huge part of evolving. Interestingly enough humans hate change. If this change never happened, who knows if we could have seen more Taco Bell’s rise-up. I can honestly say I’m for this change! . . . but he still looks freakish!
When I first began designing what I wanted to see from RIM with the BlackBerry TK Titan concept released back in October 2010, I felt much like the millions of users that a lot was missing from BlackBerry for a better user experience in terms of device. Away from the hiatus of concepts I picked-up shy of where I left off and released another QWERTY design, the BlackBerry TK Victory in April 2012 still left with the same feeling that something more could be brought to the table as the Bold 99XX (released August 2011) just was still too small in the competing market and lacked plenty.
It’s quite eminent that the shift to full touch screen devices is a way forward to wreak the plenty of benefits from more screen real estate so in wasting no time I quickly released the TK Discovery in June 2012. This is the ultimate device and design that really shows my passion and I would certainly be happy with as I believe it brings RIM more than up to speed on the market and stretches further than current competition. However, was this design enough to currently compete with today’s handhelds from the big guns of Apple, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and Nokia? I designed it fairly grounded (for the exception to some) that if it was accepted today the majority could go into production easily within a years time and still make it out ahead.
But can it compete? Someone thinks so and and by his action I would say this speaks volumes.
Al Sacco (@asacco) from CIO – Mobile Workhorse wrote a great post highlighting the top consumer ready phones today called Smartphones of Summer: The 12 Hottest Handhelds giving reason to why it’s hot! The most interesting part aside from being filed with a great selection…make sure to look at slide #13 and comment!
Here’s a quick rundown of the selected handsets from Al Sacco:
The funny thing about creatives is that they always wear a lot of black. The on-going joking question — If you are so creative shouldn’t you wear colour? — I can’t say how many times I have gotten it. I love black, especially wearing it. It gives me this sense of unearthly confidence or so I believe.
As I wrote in my previous post:
Black is commonly associated with being powerful, sleek, luxurious, and being sophisticated.
Moleskine has recently announced the launch of their new line, Moleskine Black. A line that takes the complete opposite approach of what I wrote above. So while the new line may look all so powerful, gorgeous and sleek with luxury and sophistication written all over it in the hands of its owner, opening it up will tell a whole other story.
The new collection of books have been designed to invoke or even unleash your creative side whether that be assembling your own photo album, getting artsy with scrapbooking, artistic talents or my favorite activity in high school…doodling.
Creatives don’t just wear Black…we carry it ! Move over Hemingway, I’m bringing out my true Picaso!
Photo credit: Acquire
