Samsung has announced the winners of the Mobile Design Competition at SDC 2019. The competition was first revealed in June and it's the product of a collaboration between Samsung and design magazine Deezen.
Over the past few months, contestants have had a chance to submit designs to one of two categories labeled Next Mobile Wallpaper Paradigm Graphic Design and Next Mobile+ Product Design. The first category revolves around digital products, specifically wallpapers, while the second category explores mobile accessories. Here are the winners and grand finalists announced at SDC 2019.
Best of Next Mobile+ Product Design: Star Galaxy
The star of the Next Mobile+ Product Design category is, well, the so-called Star Galaxy, created by André Gouveia, Nuno Pires, and João Pereira. It's a robotic stand featuring a 360-degree articulated arm that can hold and wirelessly-recharge a Galaxy smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch.
The stand wouldn't have standalone Bixby capabilities. Instead, it would be equipped with a speaker and rely on the mobile device's Bixby assistant. The tilting and rotating robotic arm would follow users with the help of face and voice recognition, meaning that the attached mobile device would always face towards the user. The Star Galaxy seems like a pretty cool idea for a product that could actually sell if it would be priced right. It's technically a wireless charging stand that's been souped-up to integrate Bixby without actually having any of Bixby's brains on-board.
Next Mobile+ Product Design grand finalists: Fellas and BELT
Fellas is one of the two grand finalists in the product design category. It's an interactive toy/clock powered by the Galaxy Watch. It can resemble a pig, bear, deer, or crocodile, and it uses the smartwatch's display as an animated mouth for the characters.
Fellas would be able to tell stories and sing songs for children, all the while recharging the connected smartwatch.
Meanwhile, BELT by Alexander Rehn and Tobias Saller represents a new take on the idea of a silicon bumper. It takes the form of what seems to be an oversized silicon loop/bumper which can be resized and secured in place with a clip. The extra silicon material would form a second loop which doubles as a handle.
It's a simple and effective design idea for a one-size-fits-all protective bumper, and that is precisely why it is interesting. Then again, it's difficult to tell if it would work as a real product in today's day and age because the design seems to leave a lot of room for user error. It would be up to the user to securely fit the BELT using the clip, and there's a higher DIY element compared to other solutions on the market.
Best of Next Mobile Wallpaper Paradigm Graphic Design: Garden of Galaxy
The winner of the Next Mobile Wallpaper Paradigm Graphic Design category is Kalle Järvenpää and the Garden of Galaxy wallpaper. The wallpaper might look simplistic, if not pleasantly colorful, at first glance, but the idea behind the Garden of Galaxy is far more complex.
Each flower's appearance would be based on a random combination of generated “genes,” as well as the user's environment. The flowers would grow bigger with time and users would even have the option to share clips of their virtual gardens.
Wallpaper graphic design grand finalists: Approachability and Blossom
Approachability by Andre Cardoso is a wallpaper designed to change its colors whenever the user's mobile device is located in the vicinity of other Galaxy devices wearing the same wallpaper. The wallpaper's colors would blend until they'd form a similar hue across the different Galaxy devices.
Last but not least, Blossom by Guan Hong Yeoh is a wallpaper that claims to be a visual representation of energy in motion. It boasts colorful organic forms that change shape and color based on the time of day and ambient sound.
As interesting as these designs may be, it's worth reminding that there's no guarantee they will ever become real products. Nevertheless, if any of these ideas born from the Mobile Design Competition would be fully realized, which ones do you think would be the most deserving of a commercial release? Share your thoughts below.
