The successful partnership between San Francisco-based design firm Ammunition and Barnes & Noble broke new ground today with the announcement of the All-New NOOK, the ground up redesign of the company's successful Nook digital reader. Ammunition and Barnes & Noble have previously collaborated on the strategy, design, ID, user interface design and packaging for the original NOOK reader's tablet and the retail packaging accessory strategy for NOOK Color. Ammunition founder Robert Brunner and partners Matt Rolandson and Brett Wickens worked closely with Barnes & Noble's leadership to develop the All-New NOOK, a reader's tablet that will be sold by Barnes & Noble through it's retail and online stores as well as through the company's other retail partners.
The design horsepower behind Beats By Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga's Polaroid Grey Label line and the award winning Fuego modern outdoor grills, Ammunition has been a key player in the development and commercialization of the eReader category. Ammunition has a thriving practice in product development, brand strategy, graphic anduser interface design. "Our mission as a company is to create exciting new products based on compelling ideas. Then we drive those ideas throughout the consumer experience," said Brunner. "We've found this to be a very successful formula for product development in today's market. For the All-New Nook, our inspiration for the design was theidea of a 'digital paperback' where a full-featured reader would be simplified, made smaller, lighter and even more portable, all at an affordable price."
The main challenge with All-New NOOK was to create a lower cost, full function eReader and to do so on a timeline that would allow it to move to market quickly. "Based on our previous projects together, we felt that we had a clear grasp on the eReader market and believed that Barnes & Noble's leadership would embrace our concept for the All-New NOOK," said Ammunition's Rolandson. "With that kind of confidence, we were able to make bold decisions and bring the All-New NOOK to readers everywhere long before any other company could match its design."
Coming just seven months after the launch of NOOK Color, All-New NOOK features 2 gigabytes of storage that is expandable to 32 gigabytes. All-New NOOK also features a new technology that minimizes screen flash when reading outdoors and an enhanced battery that lasts for up to two months (double the battery life of Kindle 3). All-New Nook's smaller, more personal design and E-Ink display with full touchscreen capability make it "the simple touch reader."