A (brief) breath of fresh air.

Over a 2.5 year period, we worked closely with LG on the UI/UX of their Android smartphones. I spent a fair bit of time in Seoul, collaborating with their internal teams, as we explored and tested new platform features that eventually shipped in their Optimus series of handsets.

During this time, we regularly pushed for LG to embrace a more unique approach for their handsets. However the company was reluctant to do so. At the time, LG and Samsung were essentially just copying each other, with both the appearance and features of their smartphones. Worse yet, both were blatantly ripping off Apple in almost every way. But in mid-2012, I was finally able to convince them to allow us to explore what a completely re-imagined LG experience might be.  

We wanted to define a style that was uniquely LG, so we took inspiration from their logo and focused on circles and bright colours throughout the UI. We eliminated the skeuomorphism and introduced depth through layering and transparency. We had designed an experience that was entirely unique, fun and fresh.

Or at least it was until we watched WWDC the following year! We had gathered in the Teehan+Lax offices and watched in awe as iOS 7 was announced. While obviously not the same, the number of similarities are striking.