The launch of Phone (3a) Community Edition Nothing's involvement is not simply the presentation of a new smartphone, It's a statement of intent and a fascinating reimagining of what the creative process should be like in consumer technology. This device, developed in direct collaboration with its fans, demonstrates what happens when a brand creates alongside its community, and not just for it.
From my perspective, this Nothing initiative goes far beyond the marketing and establishes itself as a role model. Instead of relying solely on collecting user feedback, the program seeks new creative talent and gives them the opportunity to directly influence the design, the software and product communication. The 2025 edition covered everything from the design of the hardware even custom lock screen elements, the packaging and the campaign of marketing. Furthermore, the 2024 edition of this project already earned them a prestigious iF Design Gold Award.
The Community Edition project: co-creating with fans
This year's edition received more than 700 proposals in the design categories, software, accessories and visual storytelling, reflecting the growing interest of users in collaborating more deeply with the brands they admire.
ADVERTISING
The four winners, Emre Kayganacl (Design of Hardware), Ambrogio Tacconi and Louis Aymond (Accessory Design), Jad Zock (Clock and Wallpaper Design) and Sushruta Sarkar (Campaign of Marketing), were selected for their originality, their level of execution and their ability to take Nothing's design language a step further.
Each one is an emerging talent in their discipline, and the program offered them the opportunity to co-create alongside a global technology company and see their proposals materialize into a real product. They worked hand in hand with Nothing's teams in London, refining their proposals until they were production-ready. In this edition, Nothing improved the process by giving participants more time and resources, and even included a £1,000 prize per category to help creators develop their ideas.
Product details: nostalgia and design
The result of this collaboration is a distinctive device based on the version Phone (3a) with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
- Design of hardware: the winning design of hardware and packaging, Created by Emre Kayganacl, the collection draws inspiration from the aesthetics of the late 90s and early 2000s. This translates into a bold, fresh, and somewhat nostalgic color palette reminiscent of the consoles and electronic toys of that era, while maintaining the futuristic identity of the collection. Nothing Phone (3a).
- Accessory and softwareThe winning design in accessories (a new addition for 2025) was the dice, created by Ambrogio Tacconi and Louis Aymond. Each face incorporates numbers created with the Ndot 55 typeface Nothing, fusing classic aesthetics with the brand's technological identity. As for the software, Jad Zock designed a custom watch face that reduces visual noise and intuitively guides the eye to essential information. The device also features an exclusive wallpaper, designed by Jad, available in four versions.
- 'Made Together' Campaign‘: the campaign of marketing The winning entry, 'Made Together' by Sushruta Sarkar, celebrates the design process and collaboration within the Nothing community. Most interestingly, it highlights the very idea of collaboration, regardless of which proposal ultimately won.
ADVERTISING
Availability and price
Nothing has produced only 1,000 units Phone (3a) Community Edition. The price will be 379€. Registration for the sale of this limited edition will be open from December 9th to 11th, and sales will begin on December 12th.
If you're interested... hurry! You can do your booking Click here.
Leave a Reply