Nokia Storyteller

2013  Nokia 

Lead designer for Nokia Storyteller on Windows Phone

Nokia Storyteller organizes your images into ‘stories’ by identifying photos and videos that were taken in the same event. Those rich stories can be watched and shared with friends.

I created the concept together with my colleague Michiel Terlouw and was the lead designer for the Windows Phone app.

 

Background

Imaging was identified as a critical aspect of the differentiation strategy for Lumia Windows Phones. While ensuring the camera captured exceptional photos was a clear goal, determining the post-capture experience presented a challenge. My colleague and I were tasked with investigating how users engage with their captured moments and  identify where improvements or future disruptions could be made.

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Opportuinity areas

We began by examining people: How do they edit, share, store, and view their photos? What challenges do they encounter? What existing solutions address each need, or are there unmet needs? Through our exploration we found six different themes that all showed potential for future concepts, but two stood out as something we wanted to tackle first:

  1. Relive the moment: A photo captures a moment, but there is only so much a static image can tell. How might we make the memory more vivid and lively? Would it help to add movement, sound or metadata?
  2. Manage photos naturally: With the shift to digital photography, the number of photos people capture has skyrocketed. However, humans tend to be lazy and reluctant to spend time tagging or organizing their photos. Consequently, our digital photo collections become overwhelming and chaotic. How might we design a solution that brings order to this chaos for the user?
Ideas

To address the 'Relive the Moment' opportunity, we delved into ideas surrounding enriched photo albums and the utilization of captured metadata during photo-taking.

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We got excited about the idea of capturing video and sound in the background while taking a photo and having the photo 'come to life' in Storyteller. So yes, Lumias began capturing live images that are now mainstream on iOS as early as 2013. Michiel and I even obtained a patent for removing shaky parts of videos for a better viewing experience. Additionally, we explored ideas around being able to see which points of interest were in the photo, in addition to where the photo was taken.

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For the 'Manage Photos Naturally' opportunity, we began exploring ideas centered on auto-clustering photos taken during the same event, leveraging location data and timestamps. Additionally, we identified a common issue: camera rolls cluttered with similar-looking photos, complicating storytelling. To address this, we devised a concept of stacking nearly identical photos or duplicates, allowing users to access them with a simple vertical swipe.

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Detailed designs

We ran numerous iterative design sprints before arriving at the final concept, and our team was enriched by the collaboration with an exceptional graphic and motion designer Jung-Chen Hung who further elevated the design.

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Results

The whole marketing story for Lumia 1520 was created around Storyteller. It was exciting to see ‘our baby’ being announced on a big stage by the CEO. The reception towards Storyteller after launch was very positive, and parts of the concept were later integrated into the native Windows Phone photos app.

 

 

Selected Works

Spotify Free x 2How might we retain free users better?

Spotify IndiaProject type

Thoughtful ExecutionProject type

Nokia StorytellerProject type

Lumia phonesProject type

Nokia N9Project type