Nokia Beacon Series

A key learning from this first-generation release was that the original direction couldn’t meet the intended cost target. In response, a new, cost-efficient design language and product architecture was needed for the Beacon 1 Series, built for scale and repeatable manufacturing, that became the foundation for Nokia’s Wi‑Fi and networking portfolio for years to come. This architecture was carried forward across multiple subsequent generations (including later Beacon Series iterations and 5G gateways) and remained in active use more than five years later.

As the lead industrial designer on the Nokia Beacon Series, I led the program end-to-end—expanding beyond a traditional ID scope to deliver a cohesive product experience from concept through launch.

I owned the industrial design workflow, from early ideation and CMF direction through detailed CAD development and manufacturable proposals for the mechanical architecture. In close collaboration with R&D and the mechanical engineering team in Shanghai, I supported the refinement and finalization of the mechanical design, and represented design on-site at the vendor during tooling—reviewing samples across multiple rounds and driving alignment through tooling approval.

A defining challenge of the project was thermal optimization. I worked through iterative design adjustments to balance performance requirements with human factors—protecting component-level thermal limits while maintaining comfortable touch temperatures and a clean, minimal exterior.

In parallel, I developed the complete packaging system for Beacon 1 (1‑pack, 2‑pack, and 3‑pack), coordinating directly with packaging vendors in China to achieve high perceived quality within strict cost targets for a value-tier product. This included authoring and laying out the Quick Start Guide and user-facing documentation to support an intuitive out-of-box experience.

To complete the story, I also provided art direction for marketing deliverables, collaborating with a 3D artist and photographer to define the visual language for launch content. I managed location selection and styling, on-set direction, and post-production editing to ensure the imagery matched the product’s intent and design maturity.

The Nokia Wi-Fi App enables a quick set-up to get you up and running and it allows you to easily manage devices and share your network.

The Home Portal visualizes everything from your network topology, to interference sources impacting your network, to live traffic consumption on each device.