Events, Exhibitions, Product Design Blog

Mobile, mobile, mobile… (MWC 2018)

As an Industrial Designer, the opportunity to get involved in mobile phone design was always a personal ambition – and one that I’m thrilled to be able to fulfill in a unique way. Minimal physical real-estate offers a huge but exciting challenge, when it is absolutely crucial to simultaneously deliver innovation, functionality and on-brand differentiation, while maintaining cost effectiveness.

“Every. Single. Detail”.

Nowadays, I describe my input as ‘designing in the third person’, where I am the objective devil’s advocate. Empathy and role play helps our product design team to question ideas, encouraging them to think more broadly and to critically analyse Every. Single. Detail.

Over the years we’ve been fortunate to work with several of the mobile brands at MWC. As mobile technology grows to embody the full remit of communications, so too do the industries which use and support these technologies. Our own role as a design agency has certainly shifted from the pure exploration of hardware/UX design; Everything is connected, and customers increasingly appreciate design consistency and brand continuity. As a result, we are increasingly being invited to contribute to bigger picture discussions, allowing us to also work on App development and IoT on a daily basis – which is incredibly satisfying.


MWC is always a highlight for me. Many attend for the conferences, the high-level key-note addresses, the interactive workshops and of course the top-tier product releases. Personally, I’ll be spending my time asking, “what’s next?”. It’s true that if you can think it, you can create it; design is a process of creative troubleshooting, navigating a challenging, yet rewarding path that balances commercial realities with market needs.

As always, and with reference to my thoughts ahead of IFA (It’s All About Relationships (IFA 2017)), I’m primarily here for the relationships – building long-term partnerships with amazing companies in this space.

If you’d like a chat about your New Product Development plans, App design, UX challenges/requirements or with regards to your Marketing, Communications and Events work – we’re here to listen. Please drop me a line and let’s meet for a drink – we’d welcome connecting with you at MWC next week.

Please contact me either, before or during the event on:

+44 (0)7798606676

dale.harper@wmpcreative.com