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AMA with Hope Liu - the OnePlus Industrial Design Sep 8, 2020

  1. Zach X.
    Community Team Staff Member Sep 8, 2020

    Zach X. , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Banner1.png

    Hi guys,

    This year we unveiled a series of new products: OnePlus Concept One, OnePlus 8 Series, OnePlus BWZ, OnePlus TV, OnePlus Nord and OnePlus Buds. I was so excited about the new industrial designs when I first saw them up close and held them in my hands for the first time.

    1223749-cbc2837db39067af7313a4080a21d862.jpg
    The device marks a breakthrough exploration in smartphone CMF (color, material, finish) design and lays the foundation for future smartphones with radically new designs and capabilities​

    1278796-76fe10653c097bf3e7937ff50d3a8dd0.jpg
    The Ultramarine Blue and Glacial Green options sport OnePlus’ new generation of matte-frosted glass with a higher degree of haze, giving it an unprecedented smooth and fine texture.​

    1292173-766a07906381c03e16c7301653e40ec1.jpg
    Interstellar Glow - a breathtakingly beautiful and futuristic look that captures a beautiful, wide array of colors​

    Examining the intricacies, touching the delicate texture makes me truly appreciate these new designs. Have you ever wonder where did all these fantastic designs come from? Let me tell you the answer! It is the OnePlus Industrial Design Studio!

    This week, community is very honored to invite the lead of OnePlus ID team, @Hope L. to join the AMA and answer your questions. If you watched the HQ tour live AMA last month, you must remember that Hope showed us his secret ID museum and the collection of unreleased phone prototypes. For those who missed the livestream last time, you don't want to miss this opportunity again!
    [​IMG]

    To know more about @Hope L. , feel free to check this interview.
    @Hope L. will start answering on this Friday, Sep 11. While I'm sure he would love to answer all your questions, he is busy working on some kind of highly confidential project which I can't tell you guys now. Therefore, he will be only answering no more than 20 questions. We appreciate your understanding, and please make sure you ask a great and interesting question! Considering your questions may have already been asked by other Community friends, we recommend you to give those questions likes instead of creating a duplicated one.

    The 3 users who submit his favorite questions will win an OnePlus Buds. Questions will be considered on a rolling basis until the end of the AMA event. We suggest getting yours in sooner rather later.

    Standard terms and conditions applied.

    Have a great time everyone! We look forward to hearing from you!


    Winner Announced:
    @Reecicle
    @T1574715645521
    @Trung.qn

    The AMA with Hope Liu is now closed. Thank you for your participation!
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2020
    #1
    suresh_1326, @bh!shek, G_Mirza_Shahab_aRgE and 202 others like this.

  2. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Thanks for your question. What excites me is the real side of OnePlus's design. We try to use real materials and designs to let users perceive the charm of the product. The design of AG glass (frosted) leads the entire industry. I am very happy that users can know that we are trying to build relationships and empathy between products and people.
     
    #1002
    Loustsoul, alex_urv, patel1+3 and 8 others like this.

  3. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Good question. Everything starts from user value. In addition to expressing the attitude of OnePlus, the products we create are more for users to solve problems. In the earliest days of OnePlus, the design was very rigid, and the rounded corners of the phone were also very small. However, as the screen keeps getting bigger, the time that users use the phone gradually increases, and products with small rounded corners will hurt users. Although small rounded corners can increase screen usage, we still consider increasing the rounded corners of mobile phones for the user's use. This is not for aesthetics, but for the experience of use.
     
    #1003
    Loustsoul, IrfanAli7151, patel1+3 and 8 others like this.

  4. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    To be honest, I didn't learn a lot because the two industries are very different, but in the process I think it is worth learning to make strategies and analysis solutions.
     
    #1004
    Loustsoul, IrfanAli7151, K1589116477782 and 10 others like this.

  5. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    I'm not really interested in this at the beginning. At first I designed notebooks and Pads. These products are all 3C products, but in fact they are similar in design theory and knowledge. I became interested when I started to design mobile phones.I have found that few industries can touch and talk to users in this way. Few products can attract so many users' attention. In addition to cars, IOT, mobile phone products may be the most concerned by users. The designer is in the spotlight.
     
    #1005
    Loustsoul, patel1+3, warrior22 and 8 others like this.

  6. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Maybe I am not very young, 33 years old. As long as the designer speaks with the design work, he will naturally be rewarded. If the work is not good, consumers will naturally not pay. Therefore, being a designer is relatively simple and straightforward, and more simple than being sales. My position is the chief designer and design director of OnePlus. All my decisions are to make the product design feel better, to make the design more valuable, and to make choices in cost, process and manufacturing options. Finally, the main thing is how to position the design direction of OnePlus. It may be that the decision I made meets the expectations of the market and the company. That's it.
     
    #1006
    Loustsoul, A1578502710464, patel1+3 and 6 others like this.

  7. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    I want to be a scholar. I find that teaching others to design is more interesting and challenging than designing myself. Perhaps it is more suitable for me to be a teacher. Secondly, if there are other options, I would like to be a travel experience officer, my dream job.
     
    #1007
    Loustsoul, A1578502710464, patel1+3 and 8 others like this.

  8. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Everyone has a different perspective, and the products and designs you like are very different. I personally like the design of Bentley cars very much. Design does not mean the pursuit of luxury, but value.
     
    #1008
    Loustsoul, A1578502710464, patel1+3 and 7 others like this.

  9. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    A designer is not a painter, a designer is not an engineer, a designer is not an artist. The designer is a fusion of the three and wanders in it. Excellent designers have good skills and reserve enough engineering and manufacturing experience. The most important thing is to be big about all curiosity and put it into practice. Keep trying and sum up experience.
     
    #1009
    Trung.qn, Loustsoul, A1578502710464 and 7 others like this.

  10. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Choosing an industry must be something you like, and find the right opportunity as soon as possible. Opportunity is not necessarily a very important position, but it must be a position where you can learn something. When you find that there is nothing to learn, that is the time to leave and find more challenges.
     
    #1010
    Loustsoul, TheGadgetGirl, manojsurya99 and 5 others like this.

  11. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    The path of each product is different, and some are very difficult. We need to spend half a year or even longer to design. The space and stacking efficiency required by mobile phone products are too different from other products. We may make hundreds of attempts. We will continue to optimize some of the solutions that have not been selected to see if they can be used in the future. Part of it is displayed in the "parking lot" and may be waiting for the opportunity to be discovered.
     
    #1011
    Loustsoul, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 5 others like this.

  12. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    I serve millions of users, and millions of users are using the products I designed. :cool:
     
    #1012
    steveb944, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 4 others like this.

  13. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    This is too much, I think there is a book worth reading: Art and Visual Perception by Rudolf Arnheim
     
    #1013
    manojsurya99, Batman360, asishgrwl and 2 others like this.

  14. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    The biggest difference is not external, but internal. People have two eyes, and cars have four wheels. But why would you spend money to buy products you like, or choose to stay with one person for a lifetime. The reason is internal. The biggest difference in design is that countless designs and functions, colors and materials convey different temperaments. OnePlus already has a temperament that distinguishes it from others, what I need to do is zoom in and improve it.
     
    #1014
    manojsurya99, Batman360, asishgrwl and 3 others like this.

  15. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    I like the moment when the model machine comes out, it will make you ecstatic every time, just like a newborn baby appears. That feeling is amazing.
     
    #1015
    Y1597200107382, steveb944, manojsurya99 and 5 others like this.

  16. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    The OnePlus 6. No reason. I just like it.
     
    #1016
    F1577088636513, K1587063225891, manojsurya99 and 7 others like this.

  17. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Design model, and design strategy
     
    #1017
    K1587063225891, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 5 others like this.

  18. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    A lot of this problem has nothing to do with design. The cost difference of materials is not too big, but the quality is closely related to the price. What a designer can do is to perfect the material of a product, and use the attributes and connotations of the material to the right place.
     
    #1018
    steveb944, TheGadgetGirl, manojsurya99 and 5 others like this.

  19. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Software must be the core of future mobile phones, and hardware is the carrier. We cannot break the laws of physics. Software must be loaded on the hardware. Software is experience, and hardware is a necessary condition to support experience. The development of hardware will continue to be refined. For example, the battery may be flexible, the screen may be flexible, and many may even be insensitive, such as airborne operation. Technology needs to be imported from the laboratory to commercialization for a very long time. This process is very long and we need to wait. It is as if we hoped that cars could fly very early, but today, cars have been developed for hundreds of years, but flying cars are still in the laboratory stage.
     
    #1019
    manojsurya99, Batman360, asishgrwl and 3 others like this.

  20. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    The commonality between mobile phone design and graphic design is to convey ideas, feelings, and temperament. Graphic design is very tolerant, as long as we can design it, we can naturally achieve it. Graphic design is easy to convey emotions, and the difficulty of industrial design is more about technical support. The difficulty of mobile phone product design is that mobile phones are developing very rapidly, and their technical reserves are far behind the expectations of users. Despite of 100x investment, it may not be commercialized. Secondly, the space and manufacturing pressure of mobile phone products are huge, and the space of 0.01mm is extremely precious. This requires designers to have more manufacturing experience and a keen sense of design.
     
    #1020
    manojsurya99, Batman360, asishgrwl and 4 others like this.

  21. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Proe, Coreldraw, PS, Keyshot, real material processing, CNC, CAD, etc. are all required
     
    #1021
    TheGadgetGirl, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 5 others like this.

  22. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Design strategies, find opportunities and design directions. We can easily do one thing, provided that there is a goal
     
    #1022
    manojsurya99, Batman360, asishgrwl and 2 others like this.

  23. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Travel and experience. Here are some photos that I took when my team went travel together. :)
    截屏2020-09-11下午3.29.24.png
    2fa41f59dae6e3743a2ed1d186399ab.jpg
    a5a643fd31a1c4203c3dddb09ff1e20.jpg
     
    #1023
    steveb944, manojsurya99, Rajnish_Dhull and 7 others like this.

  24. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Information fragmentation is currently a global problem. Although we can learn a lot of information, the information is too trivial. Designers not only need to know the information, but also organize and sort all the information. Find the right logic and business opportunities. I’m not sure if I understand it correctly. My understanding of sustainability is that if I do well, I am still myself. That is others still know who you are after you change clothes.
     
    #1025
    manojsurya99, Batman360, O1599579066535 and 3 others like this.

  25. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    The limitation of choice is because the phone is subject to physical requirements such as antennas. We are trying various materials, which need to meet many testing requirements. But over the years, OnePlus has released a lot of materials.
     
    #1026
    manojsurya99, Batman360, angifro and 3 others like this.

  26. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Of course I am very interested in these new materials. If I see it, I will immediately think about how to use it. If you have resources, feel free to recommend to me.
     
    #1027
    manojsurya99, Batman360, TibiTibi and 3 others like this.

  27. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Cooperation depends on chance. I cooperated with McLaren because the spirit and philosophy of both sides are the same, and we both maintain an open attitude. If both of us have better technology and direction, we will still discuss cooperation.
     
    #1028
    manojsurya99, Batman360, TibiTibi and 4 others like this.

  28. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    This is our direction and our own requirements. The design concept is that we cannot change with the outside world. We can change the color of our clothes, but we cannot change the principle of being a person.
     
    #1029
    steveb944, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 4 others like this.

  29. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    I like all the products I design. The core of the things that I like is the process of creating the product and the praise of users. As for what kind of product to design, I don't really care. I believe that I can design any product well, and I need to have this confidence.
     
    #1030
    steveb944, manojsurya99, Batman360 and 3 others like this.

  30. Zach X.
    Community Team Staff Member Sep 11, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Zach X. , Sep 11, 2020 :
    Thank you guys for your questions! Hope L. will keep answering next week!
     
    #1033
    mdnuruzzaman759@, yashwant24, AbhilashSaikia and 11 others like this.

  31. Hope L.
    Chief Designer Staff Member Oct 1, 2020

    Stickied Post
    Hope L. , Oct 1, 2020 :
    In the beginning, we hoped that the concept one could be designed for mass production. I don't want it to be just a concept phone, only on drawings or displayed. The challenge of the project is more about how to balance the relationship between concept and mass production.
     
    #1085
    Cakepips and yashwant24 like this.

  32. Dresa91
    User of the Year 2016; Most Active User 2020 Sep 8, 2020

    Dresa91 , Sep 8, 2020 :
    looking forward to buy this device :)
    When is it available, @Hope L. ? :) :D :p :cool:
     
    #2
    asishgrwl, cdnfarmer, T1586859764895 and 17 others like this.

  33. Liehjan
    Marshmallow Sep 8, 2020

    #3
    vijaykumar__gh, T1586859764895, Deactivated User and 16 others like this.

  34. YRJ
    The Lab - OnePlus 7T Reviewer; Community Hero 2020 Sep 8, 2020

    YRJ , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Really curious to hear what Hope has to share with us :D
     
    #4
    T1586859764895, Sashank_10, Oreo. and 5 others like this.

  35. AbhilashSaikia
    The Lab - OnePlus 8 Pro Reviewer Sep 8, 2020

    #5
    T1586859764895, F1561794602982, jadesins and 3 others like this.

  36. Helder_DAlmeida
    Lollipop Sep 8, 2020

    Helder_DAlmeida , via OnePlus 7T Glacier Blue , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Hello @Hope L.! My question for you is: how do you manage during your creative process to be able to harmonize your vision of the product, the interaction with the marketing itself and the current situation in which we live in this global pandemic?
     
    #6
    Cakepips, T1586859764895, kvraobsnl and 8 others like this.

  37. AlienEye
    OnePlus Accessory Tester Sep 8, 2020

    AlienEye , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Hello @Hope L. Hope you are doing well 🤞🤞
    1st Question:
    Each Oneplus device has it's own unique design and finish every year and I love most of them.
    You and your team design a product with love and passion, no doubts in that. But a design to be finalized you must be the first one to love and be satisfied with your design before reaching consumers.
    How difficult it is to satisfy yourself and your team before finalizing a design??
    How many iterations of designs you create before a final product??

    2nd Question:
    While making a device weight distribution is very important. OnePlus devices are really well balanced across the whole geometry.
    How you manage to do that and how many iterations you go through before finalizing?

    3rd Question
    When you opened your secret locker of phones, you showed the OnePlus 8 Interstellar glow matte finish (your favourite one and also mine), but the final design was Interstellar glow glass finish.
    why was the interstellar glow matte finish was shelved??
    Any particular reasons??

    4th Question:
    Why the pop-up camera design was not carried on to the 8 series?
    Because of pop-up cameras the full screen experience was great compared to the punch hole, the punch hole camera really grabs my look towards it while watching a video.
    was internal space for other components an issue??
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    If you want sneak peek on one of my designs striked recently.
    1599757093474.jpg
    Using rotating bezel to increase and decrease the volume.
    pulling up the bezel to activate camera.
    1599757093521.jpg
    pushing the bezel down hides camera by electrochromatic glass.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2020
    #7
    PervejRakib1813, Zach X., Karun Deep and 3 others like this.

  38. Cakepips
    User of the Year 2020 Sep 8, 2020

    Cakepips , via OnePlus 7T Pro , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Hello @Hope L. 😎 (Aka teasing designs dodger of the phone police)

    Question: Out of all the OnePlus designs over the years, is there one element design that made you go "ooooh yeah"? You know, tick in the box moment.

    (Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Live stream HQ AMA, so missed out on the sweet cave of design wonders... [e]1f62d[/e])
     
    #8
    Karun Deep, yashwant24, Zach X. and 8 others like this.

  39. YRJ
    The Lab - OnePlus 7T Reviewer; Community Hero 2020 Sep 8, 2020

    YRJ , Sep 8, 2020 :
    Thank you for the AMA @Zach X. this is anice one :cool:

    Hey @Hope L. ,
    Finding the right balance between form and function can be very tricky sometimes.
    It can so happen that you're in a difficult position where only one can win - Feature or Design!

    What would you do? Alter the design so that a feature can be integrated or skip out on the feature so that users can enjoy the unprecedented, burdenless design that everyone seems to love?

    It's a tough question and I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts :D
     
    #9
    yashwant24, zsbotond, Niklasg85 and 9 others like this.

  40. the_o2
    User of the Year 2018; Community Scholar 2020 Sep 8, 2020

    #10
    buntycubal, Oreo., jlasensiofi and 1 other person like this.

  41. razzor228
    OnePlus Accessory Tester Sep 8, 2020

    razzor228 , Sep 8, 2020 :
    @Zach X. Thanks for this AMA with @Hope L. I am sure the community has a lot of interesting questions to ask.

    What are the challenges that the team has to face when it comes to implementing new design and colors?
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2020
    #11
    Helder_DAlmeida, Oreo. and Batman360 like this.

  42. Navdeep_Malik
    Jelly Bean Sep 8, 2020

    #12

  43. Rajaa_monnapillai
    Donut Sep 8, 2020

    #13
    JeremyAcosta and _Andrei_Udroiu_ like this.

  44. KOOLblackKNIGHT
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #14

  45. Z1590501474982
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #15

  46. G_Fauzaan_Ahamed
    Gingerbread Sep 8, 2020

    #16
    X1592759870816 likes this.

  47. WITLESS999
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    WITLESS999 , Sep 8, 2020 :
    With all this time and money put into phone design, what discussion is had about cases and their impact on form and function?
     
    #16
    musaddiqe, Klose507 and Bobbi Digital like this.

  48. S1542568541961
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #17
    ksa01, JazzyJRenee and O1593691216139 like this.

  49. U1570539238908
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #18

  50. F1599569068150
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #19
    mariosonic858 likes this.

  51. MrMulzac
    Cupcake Sep 8, 2020

    #20
    simmasandeep, O1575372403011, RMurrell4 and 1 other person like this.

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