“Left outside in the rain”: The story behind the stories of the Nokia Design Archive
Anna Valtonen: A van full of treasures and lightning-fast negotiations
I worked at Nokia for 12 years and was actually involved in starting the collection of design archives. We got a room in the basement, bought archival drawers and created a practice for all designers to file the work that they had done. When I left, I made them promise not to throw anything away and to continue the important work.
Years passed. Nokia sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft Mobile Phones and in 2016, Microsoft announced it was ceasing phone production entirely. That’s when my former colleague called. He was moving to Seattle –– the other side of the world, –– the very next day, and offered me the archives… provided I could get a van there within 24 hours. If I couldn’t, the material collected over years would probably be left outside in the rain, destined for landfill.
Getting a van was easy, but I knew the materials couldn’t be handed over unless ownership rights were in order. That meant we had just 24 hours to negotiate a solid agreement with Microsoft’s lawyers. We managed to secure full rights and moved all the materials into storage at Aalto University.
For a year, I wavered between despair and joy. I was thrilled that we could save such a significant part of Finland’s design history — and at the same time saddened that the meticulously organised archives had been mixed up, the meticulously gathered materials jumbled together in boxes. Then my faith returned, and we applied for funding from the Academy of Finland to digitise the materials and develop an app to make them accessible.
Anna ValtonenThe archives strongly highlight the optimism at Nokia and the courage to venture down uncertain paths.
Now, the application features over 700 curated items: photographs, presentations, designs, advertisements and much more. When we started the work, we had so many wishes for what we wanted to achieve it seemed like only a magical creature could do all those things. So we started to call the app ‘the Unicorn’ and, informally, the name stuck. Of course, the curated materials are just the tip of the iceberg; the archives hold over 20,000 items and 950 GB of digital files.
Archive users often come from the research community. We wanted the Unicorn to reach a much broader audience, so we thought carefully about what different users might want from it. For example, it would be wonderful if the application could help schoolchildren and students understand how objects and the world are designed — and show them that they can do it too! I also hope businesses beyond design firms will explore and learn from the archives.
The archives strongly highlight the optimism at Nokia and the courage to venture down uncertain paths, as well as the kind of interdisciplinary collaboration that is so important at Aalto. The demands of sustainable development and rapid changes in technology are reshaping the world and forcing organisations to rethink the way they operate. This requires creativity, boldness, and joy in the process of making.
Anna Valtonen is Vice Chancellor of Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and a professor at Aalto University. She has also served as the Dean of Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture and as Aalto University’s Vice President.
Kaisu Savola: It's not about objects, it's about people
I joined the project led by Anna in 2020, on the recommendation of Professor Guy Julier. The start was intense: in August, Anna and I met over coffee to discuss the project, and by October, we had already submitted a funding application to the Academy of Finland.
As a design historian, I’m familiar with archival research, but this was my first time assembling an archive myself. It was an enormous privilege to be among the first to explore the material. At times, it felt like I was doing something illicit — everything was marked "confidential", although, of course, all the necessary permissions were in place.
The task turned out to be much bigger than I’d imagined. Initially, it felt like we just had boxes full of random plastic junk. But as we organised and contextualised the materials, stories began to emerge almost on their own.
Kaisu SavolaTechnology doesn’t just shape us — we shape technology.
The deeper I dug, the more I realised that it wasn’t really about the objects —it was about the people. The materials vividly highlight the designers’ thoughts about future users. Designers visualised different lifestyles and people, drawing on sociological research or their own imaginations. The material reveals the assumptions and ideas that shaped how products were developed and marketed to different user groups –– and these assumptions were not without their problems. Phones for young women were colorful and simple, businessmen’s phones were dark and prestigious — and mothers used them to “stay connected” with their children.
Technological development is often portrayed as an inevitable, self-driving force. But the archive material shows that this is not the case; technology is created in social contexts, guided by values. Technology doesn’t just shape us — we shape technology. That’s why it’s incredibly valuable to get a glimpse inside a company like Nokia. In the 1990s, Nokia held a position similar to that of Apple or Samsung today, defining the kind of lives we live through the products where much of our daily lives take place.
Kaisu Savola is a design historian and postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University’s Department of Design.
Michel Nader Sayún: The funeral of a smartwatch and the myth of Finnishness
I joined the project two years ago to help digitise the materials and figure out how to make them accessible to users in an engaging and inspiring way.
At first, the work was very hands-on, like removing batteries from old phones. Many boxes hadn’t been opened in years, revealing, for example, wax 3D models that had melted into a mess. We also compiled a list of designers who had worked at Nokia. The final list included close to 400 names, and many of them were excited to send us treasures they had saved.
I sketched different solutions for data visualisation, and we hired Master’s student Lu Chen to develop it into an interactive application. Currently, the Unicorn has two parts: a network of objects, concepts, and themes that users can explore, and a timeline featuring the designers involved, along with their stories and anecdotes.
The most moving story for me was about Nokia’s Moonraker smartwatch, which was set to launch in 2014. At the very last moment, with the watches already packed and shipped to retailers, Microsoft announced it was pulling the product from the market. For the design team, the decision meant the collapse of two years of hard work and what could have been a career highlight. Saddened, they took one watch box, held a funeral for it on the beach, and buried the results of their efforts in the sand.
Michel Nader SayúnThe archives show just how much thought and effort go into the products we casually pick off a store shelf.
The archives show just how much thought and effort go into the products we casually pick off a store shelf. They also highlight how major issues like sustainability and equality have concerned designers for decades. Furthermore, the archives reveal that Nokia, often mythologised in Finland as a national treasure, was in fact an extremely global company, conducting user research all over the world — from Chile to Kenya, and from the U.S. to China.
For designers, Nokia’s archives are, of course, an incredible treasure trove. Personally, I dream of projecting the Unicorn onto the floor of the Design Museum with a massive projector, drawing in people who might otherwise never set foot in a museum.
Michel Nader Sayún is a designer and doctoral researcher at Aalto University’s School of Business, focusing on designers and creative practices within organisations.
Lu Chen: Digital dust
For an information designer, visualising Nokia’s archives was a unique challenge. Instead of statistics, the task involved presenting objects, curated collections, metadata, and designers’ stories. We wanted the visualisation to evoke emotions and spark insights in its users.
On Kaisu’s recommendation, I read Dust by British historian Carolyn Steedman. In physical archives, floating dust can obscure vision. On inhaling the dust of old papers and parchments, historians are reminded of the lived experience connected to the manuscripts. In the digital world, the equivalent of dust is the fragmentation of reality, which always leaves something hidden from its users. Every collection acts as a lens or perspective rooted in a particular moment, helping future users to see through the eyes of the researchers — and inspiring them to discover the archive through the lens of their own interests.
Media and social platforms often portray certain designers as star individuals, but Nokia’s archives reveal design as a long-term, collaborative effort. By using a time filter, we can see how designers' practices and working processes evolved over two decades. From 1992-2014, entries related to design strategy increased from less than 10 to almost 250, which reflects how design gradually took on a more strategic and influential role within the company.
Lu ChenIt’s important to remind ourselves that futures are not only shaped by technological advancements.
The archives include fascinating examples of how consumers’ future lives were envisioned. In a fictional news broadcast from 1999, the anchor enthusiastically introduces a new Nokia wonder device that can not only play videos but also conduct business calls with someone in Singapore, book travel tickets and manage banking. At that time, although rapidly gaining in popularity, mobile phones were primarily used for calls, text messages and playing Snake. Now, a quarter-century later, a simple swipe of a fingertip can accomplish almost anything — just as the designer imagined.
I think what fascinates me is how we shape our lives by imagining "technological futures." On the other hand, it’s important to remind ourselves that futures are not only shaped by technological advancements. We need new visions that care about the environment and living beings and cultures.
Lu Chen is a designer and a master’s student in New Media and Creative Sustainability.
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