Last year’s Nothing Community Edition project led to the launch of a novel glow-in-the-dark phone that was perfect for Halloween. Now the initiative is back for 2025, and you could get involved.
The British smartphone maker is inviting the public to design its Phone (3a) Community Edition. There are four categories open for entries: hardware, software, marketing, and new for 2025, an ‘accessory’ category (see our Nothing Phone 3a vs Nothing Phone 3a Pro comparison to learn more about the minimalist phone).
We’re Letting the Internet Design Our Next Phone – YouTube
Nothing is releasing the four new briefs for its 2025 challenge at once, giving entrants more time to develop their ideas and potentially collaborate with Nothing’s designers. This year, winners will also receive a £1,000 cash prize, providing an incentive to bring their ideas to the table.
Last year’s project led to the production of 1,000 units of a limited edition glow-in-the-dark interpretation of the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus. They sold out online in 15 mins, and the product picked up Gold iF Design Award.
Entry to this year’s challenge will be open until 23 April. Again, the winners of each brief will have the chance to collaborate with the Nothing team to bring their ideas to life.
The four categories are Hardware Design, which will involve developing a fresh look and feel for the Phone (3a) as well as its packaging. There’s also Software Design, focusing on UI elements, wallpapers and widgets, and Marketing, which seeks proposals for promotional visuals and a launch event. A new fourth category is Accessory Design. This could be a case, merchandise, or any other collectable accessory that could ship with the Phone (3a) Community Edition to enhance the unboxing experience.
The aims of the Nothing Community Edition is to take phone design in new directions beyond the usual annual colour refreshes by handing things over to users. Any for the rules? Nothing just pleads for people not to send Minions concepts this year. Is that too much to ask?
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Head to nothing.tech for the full briefs, details on how to enter and terms and conditions. See our guide to the best camera phones to see what other phones look like right now.
