Nothing fans contribute to retro-tinged Phone (3a) Community Edition

Tech company Nothing has released its second phone model designed with the input of fans, the (3a) Community Edition, bringing to life a transparent teal handset that references Y2K-era handheld gaming.

A revamp of the mid-range Phone (3a), the new smartphone includes design concepts generated through Nothing's Community Edition Project, a competition that invited entries from all over the world.

The competition involved four design categories – hardware, software, accessory and marketing campaign – and included Nothing's fan community in the judging process, which was ultimately decided by an internal panel.

Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition image with marketing campaign — The Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition was developed with fan input

The results show the British technology brand's community embracing nostalgia, with colourful transparent hardware that references '90s and 2000s gadgets, a new lockscreen widget based on retro digital clocks and a set of dice as an accessory.

The hardware concept came from London-based Turkish designer Emre Kayganacı, who went on to develop his winning proposal with Nothing's industrial design team.

It plays with Nothing's existing signature transparent casing, adding colour through frosted blue rear glass in a way that calls to mind the iconic 1998 Atomic Purple Nintendo Game Boy Color as well as the 1999 iMacs. Contrasting candy-coloured buttons add to the game controller-like feel.

"It was very much inspired by the aura and the character of late 1990s and early 2000s electronics, which is very different to the modern smartphones," said Kayganacı. "The vision was to create a version of the Phone (3a) that almost seamlessly transported from that era."

Image of the back of the Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition showing the transparency of the blue case — The case is frosted blue transparent glass

Kayganacı said that the frosted glass looked different depending on the viewing angle, going from translucent to almost opaque, and that it also had the effect of diffusing the Glyph Lights that feature on the back of the phone, giving them a softer appearance.

Lebanese graphic designer Jad Zock's winning entry was a clockface widget for the lockscreen. It features a custom variable typeface inspired by past technology and animated transitions with a more current feel.

Image of the front of the Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition showing the new clock widget — The new clock widget includes an animated variable font

Zock worked with Nothing's software team to finesse his design, which was created with reference to the classic OCR font used in the early days of computing as well as the seven-segment displays that made up the numerals in old digital clocks.

"What's unique about this typeface is that it transitions from thin to thick, so when the phone is locked it shows the thin part of the typeface and then it transitions in a satisfying way to the thick version of it," said Zock.

Zock and the software team also developed a new wallpaper that serves as a "visual bridge" between the back of the phone and the front, echoing the rear's colours and elements. It also includes hidden easter eggs for users to find.

The dice accessory was envisioned by Italian designers Ambrogio Tacconi and Louis Aymond, founders of creative studio Reveland, and will ship with the Phone (3a) Community Edition.

The box includes six standard dice with numbers in Nothing's Ndot 55 font. It is intended to be a collectible object that celebrates fun and play – themes that Nothing centres through features such as its spin-the-bottle game.

The final competition winner is London-based Indian graphic designer Sushruta Sarkar, who developed a marketing campaign for the Phone (3a) Community Edition centring collaboration under the banner of "Made Together".

Photo of the Image of the front of the Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition dice pack — A dice accessory was also created

Only 1,000 units of the Nothing Phone (3a) Community Edition are being produced. The limited sales window opened on 12 December and has since closed.

According to Nothing, its Community Edition Project aims to rethink how consumer technology is made by giving fans the chance to shape design, software and marketing, rather than "treating community as a feedback loop". Its 2024 product, the Phone (2a) Plus Community Edition, won an iF Design Gold Award.

The company is known for encouraging an active community around its brand, centred on an official forum site. The community has a voice on Nothing's board via an elected Community Board Observer.

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