From @foc_amsterdam a series of rapid manufactured case designs for the Blackberry Bold 9700 phone. Lionel Dean’s Linguini is worn around the neck in a case that holds it upside down. “That way you just grab it and respond.”

Says Sam Abbott about his I Heart Downtown design, “The Blackberry is associated with a metropolitan and multi-tasking lifestyle, just like life in a city. The I heart downtown Blackberry case is constructed from many elements of this life, complete with skyline, cars, people, graffiti and even some pigeons. Reminding us why we love life in a city.”

Josien Pieters about her design: “Why would you use a case only to protect your phone, when you can also use it for connecting to people, expressing your creativity or simply spicing up your Blackberry? Your freshfibers will tell a story and your case will keep evolving along with you. You start with a mono colored version matching with the designated color of your country. So now that you have your own fibers, you can start your search and swap them with users from other countries. After a trip to Australia you will have that fresh color that none of your friends have!”

Peter Hermans his intro: “Ahhh…the good old days! Remember when your phone couldn’t fit in your pocket? When you could mistake your sim card for your creditcard? When simply picking up the phone was exercise in itself? No? Me neither. Still, there’s nothing wrong with nostalgia.”
And then he clarifies the concept: “This Blackberry B100 case was inspired by – and is names after – the criminal mastermind from Dutch 80’s children’s show ‘ Bassie & Adriaan’. How’s that for nostalgia! Also inspired by IBM thinkpads and practically any 80’s mobile phone. It’s soo retro that it is contemporary again. Soo ugly that you will want one. Oh and the antenna may not be functional, it is retractable!”

FOC Talents is a global online network of “talented, young and pre-selected designers” that send in Computer Aided Designs every quarter, based on a prior given design brief. This quarter the brief was a case designs for the Blackberry Bold 9700 phone. Here are the four designs (of 14 submitted) which will be further developed for commercialization.