Raymond Cyril: Task 2: Good Design

Firefly flyPhone

Designer: Firefly

Manufacturer: Firefly

The Firefly flyPhone is a relatively new mobile phone made by the company Firefly mobile, which is a carrier that makes a lot of kid friendly phones which is predominantly targeted for a young audience, around the ages of 10 to 12. The previous versions of the flyPhone were very basic, such as not having keypads or a colour screen. This phone is ideal for parents who want to have a certain amount of control over their children’s mobile use, such as calls and texting. However, it does offer the users plenty of features that they would find in more upscale phones.

Overall the design doesn’t look very sturdy, probably wouldn’t be able to handle a lot of knocks. But it does fit into the users hand very well. The buttons and keypad might be slightly small, perfect for children. It incorporates a pretty smart keypad design where, instead of only serving as a number pad, it can also be turned into a navigation pad.

DESIGN ANALYSIS:

Line: Straight and smooth.

Balance: Symmetrical on both sides, as well as top and bottom.

Contrast: Contrast between the colour black and blue gives it a solid feel

Form: Simple block shape with curved edges. Soap bar type body. Fits into users hand easily.

Colour: Use of the primary colour blue for most of the body as well the backlighting for the keypad. Black is used for its front and remaining keypad areas.

Texture: A very plastic feel to it.

Proportion: The transparent see thru plastic cover makes up most of the outer body.