Little Voice recently helped Leica craft the gorgeous new Leica FOTOS - a groundbreaking camera companion app for Leicas digital cameras systems. The new app allows Leica users to work seamlessly between camera and mobile device.
The digital design of the app, stewarded by Little Voice, pays homage to the iconic industrial design principles of the brand - nothing superfluous and every detail carefully considered - complete with occasional, delightful cameos of design elements from the camera.
On opening the app, users are invited to select their Leica camera model from a visual menu - each of the brands digital camera systems rendered in all their glory. From there, the app goes on to subtly reference the design features of the brand's cameras throughout - from sparing additions of the distinctive red accents, to the occasional cameos of the font seen on the brand's lens dials.
Having uncovered confusion with photo gallery apps in the design discovery phase - camera users often not quite sure whether photos they were viewing on their phone were located on their camera, in their phone or in the cloud - Little Voice developed an elegant, high-contrast solution. The monochrome theme of the app design pays homage to both the classic color-way of the cameras and the historical relationship of the brand with black and white photography. The palette also acts as a clever UI design device. Referencing Leica cameras' iconic black body, the black background in the app indicates when the user is viewing shots on the camera. The white 'card' elements indicates when the images in view are on the mobile device.
"The design challenge was to create a modern experience, while maintaining the heritage of the Leica brand," Little Voice founders stated. "We took inspiration from the company's principles and industrial design ethos to create an expression of Leica brand in a digital form. We were determined to reach the same level of craftsmanship that traditionally goes into all Leica products. A great deal of iteration and refinement went into what you see in the app."
Photos: Courtesy of Little Voice