Phone (3a) Community Edition: Co-Creating Products With Fans
Nothing today unveiled Phone (3a) Community Edition, the result of its latest Community Edition Project – an initiative designed to rethink how consumer tech products made by inviting talented fans to help shape real devices.
Nine months. More than 700 submissions. Four emerging creators. One smartphone that shows what’s possible when a company builds with its community, not just for them.
Rather than treating community as a feedback loop, the program unearths emerging creative talent and gives them the chance to shape design, software, and marketing of the product. The 2025 edition spans everything from hardware design to custom lock screen elements, packaging, and marketing, giving the next gen of creative talent a platform to shine – the 2024 edition won a prestigious iF Design Gold Award.
Meaningful Collaboration
This year’s edition drew over 700 submissions across design, software, accessories, and visual storytelling, highlighting a growing appetite from creators who want deeper, more meaningful collaboration with the brands they love.
The four winners – Emre Kayganacl (Hardware Design), Ambrogio Tacconi & Louis Aymond (Accessory) Jad Zock (Lock Screen Clock & Wallpaper Design) , and Sushruta Sarkar (Marketing Campaign) — selected for their originality, craft, and ability to push Nothing’s design language forward. Each represents rising talent in their field, and the programme gives them a rare platform: the chance to co-create with a global tech company and see their ideas brought to life.
They worked side-by-side with Nothing’s Design, Software, Marketing, and Creative teams in London, turning concepts into production-ready work – another example of Nothing’s belief that great ideas can come from anywhere, and that co-creation can create a new kind of relationship where fans contribute like part of the team.
For this edition, Nothing refined the process by releasing all briefs simultaneously and giving participants more time and resources to iterate with Nothing’s teams. The company also introduced a £1,000 cash prize per category to support creators in developing their work.
Blurring the Line Between Fan and Team Member
Beyond co-creating products, Nothing is building a broader model where its community helps shape the company’s direction. Alongside initiatives like Community Edition and the elected Community Board Observer, who brings community perspective into Nothing’s Board meetings, the company continues to expand the ways fans can participate in its future.
Last week, Nothing opened a new $5 million community investment round at its $1.3 billion Series C valuation, giving supporters the opportunity to invest at the same price per share as institutional investors. The round reflects Nothing’s shift from establishing its hardware foundation to building AI-native operating systems, and the belief that the next era of personal technology should be shaped with the people who use it.
Early access opens on 10 December via Wefunder (US) and Crowdcube, with publicaccess from 11 December.
Product Details
Stage 1 – Hardware Design
The winning hardware and packaging design, from Emre Kayganacl, took inspiration from the aesthetics of late 90s and early 2000s technology, when things looked starkly different to what we see in the market today. It’s a bold, new and nostalgic colour exploration that looks like a game toy from the past, while staying true to Nothing Phone (3a)’s futuristic identity.
Stage 2 – Accessory
The winning accessory design, a new category for 2025, is the Dice. Dice have been used for over 5,000 years across cultures as symbols of chance, strategy, play, and shared moments. Each face features numbers rendered in Nothing’s Ndot 55 font, blending the classic dotted aesthetic of dice with the brand’s precise and technological identity. This accessory taps into a global language of play with a distinctly Nothing signature.
The design was created by Ambrogio Tacconi & Louis Aymonod (Reveland), who worked with the Nothing Brand & Creative team to bring it to life.
Stage 3 – Lock Screen Clock & Wallpaper Design
The winning software design element is a custom clock face comprising multiple font weights. The design reduces visual clutter and guides the eye intuitively to the key components. It also aligns with Nothing’s ethos and intentional aesthetics, meaning users stop instantly forgetting the numbers they just checked. The design created by Jad Zock who collaborated with the Nothing Software team in London.
The device also comes with an exclusive wallpaper designed by Jad as a visual bridge between the rear colour and texture to the front interface. There are four versions that the users can pick from – two blue and two purple, referencing alternate colour explorations and playful hidden ‘easter eggs’.
Stage 4 – Marketing Campaign
‘Made Together’ is a campaign that celebrates the design process and collaboration within the Nothing community. The design language and activations reflect the essence of Nothing, which is ‘making tech fun to inspire human creativity.’
The key aspect of this campaign: it’s not tied to a specific final phone design, but rather celebrates the concept of collaboration itself. Regardless of which design ultimately chosen for the phone, the campaign stays relevant and striking. The Campaign created by Sushruta Sarkar, who worked with the Marketing team at Nothing to bring it to life.
Availability and Pricing
Phone (3a) Community Edition available across all markets and has been developed on Phone (3a) 12+256 GB.
Moreover, Nothing will produce just 1,000 units of Phone (3a) Community Edition. 20 units will be exclusively available in the Philippines via Digital Walker Website starting December 16, 2025 at 10AM. Priced at PHP 22,490.
