The Objective:

In developing the Sidekick 4G, the team was tasked with targeting 16-24 year old highly connected teens and young adults who are always in the know and on the go. The research distilled down to create a device experience that appealed to their emotional drivers of status, recognition, and connectedness. By identifying these emotional drivers we aimed to optimize the Sidekick offering to deliver great value to a desired target demographic.

Working with brand and product design teams to distill and reveal the DNA of the target consumer and the attributes that appeal to that user group.

The team went all in on looking for new and innovative ways to connect with the end user, such as live wallpaper notifications, when these features proved not deliverable, we pivoted to find other options that would set the Sidekick apart.

Live Wallpaper Notifications

Build in ambient awareness. A message comes, the contact avatar animates across the screen displaying the message, then fades out.

Live wallpapers change color and pattern depending on social and communication activity. For example, the more texts or email that come in create an orange pulse design that gets stronger the more you get (this could be integrated into themes to allow for variation).

Bill McMullen, a pop designer and illustrator, was brought in to bring a strong graphic language to wallpapers. Beyond just wallpapers, we used the medium to influence all the marketing and packaging materials surrounding the Sidekick. 

The team looked at different ways a heavy messaging user would be able to save time, and share their lives quickly and easily with their friends and contacts. We devised a "Super Attach" feature that would fill the bill.

Super Attach Homescreen

1. Facebook selector
   
2. Twitter selector
   
3. MySpace selector
   
4. Super Attach selector
   
5. Additional emoticons attachments, etc.
   
6. Message input area
   
7. Send button

Super Attach Contextual Screen

1. ALL Facebook media on the device
   
2. ALL visited URL sites on the device
   
3. ALL video files on the device
   
4. Selected media indicator
   
5. Cancel button
   
6. Select button
   
   

Super Attach Ready for Blasting

1. Selected media thumbnail
   
2. Written message
   

User Scenario:

The user wants to update all social media sites with recent photos.

The user selects the social media and wants to send a variety of attachments.

The user selects a variety of media from the Super Attach contextual screen.

The user composes a message, reviews media attachments and "blasts" to their preferred social networks.

1. The user can review all thumbnails of ALL media attachments selected in Super Attach screen.
2. The user composes a message to accompany the media to be posted on their preferred social networks.
3. User hits "Send" to send out ALL media to ALL their selected social networks.

UI Style Guide

UI Screens

Make the Logo Bigger Better 

The goal was to update the logo by acknowledging the past and visually updating it for a new generation of text-heavy smartphone users, taking influences from street culture and relevant urban brands.

Branding and CMF

UI, hard key iconography, logo placement, and Sidekick branding elements all were part of the creative evolution process. The 45º angle influenced the UI and hard key designs as well.