Client

HMD Global

Role

Executive Global
Creative Director

Agency

In house

Year

2024

HMD FUSION Venom

SYMBIOTE TRAPPED IN GLASS CHAMBER ON SMARTPHONE; A SHAPE-SHIFTING DEVICE FROM HMD IN PARTNERSHIP WITH VENOM: THE LAST DANCE

A unique Smart Outfit has been created in collaboration with Sony Pictures’ upcoming action-thriller Venom: The Last Dance to demonstrate the capabilities of HMD’s latest smartphone technology, Fusion.
Fusion is a new breed of smartphone innovation that operates like a symbiote: you can attach different “outfits”1 that take over the device, transforming its look and performance, akin to Venom and Eddie Brock in the film.
Only three in the world Venom: The Last Dance outfits were created and feature some of Venom’s best lines from the upcoming movie, including “We are Venom” as the welcome sound, a “We are screwed” ringtone and a touching voicemail from the beloved character

The Last Dance (press release)

October 21, 2024, NEW YORK, NY: Human Mobile Devices (HMD), a leading European smartphone manufacturer and innovator, is thrilled to announce the world's first symbiote Smart Outfit for HMD Fusion in collaboration with Venom: The Last Dance. The prototype Smart Outfit has been created to celebrate the start of U.S. pre-orders of the Fusion smartphone. To celebrate the launch of US pre-orders for HMD Fusion, the designers at HMD have teamed up with Sony Pictures’ highly anticipated new action-thriller, Venom: The Last Dance, to create three of the ultimate, unique Smart Outfits for the new Fusion smartphone, which comes with symbiotic qualities. The Venom: The Last Dance Outfit is an innovative smart outfit with 160 electromagnetic arrays that control a Venom-like liquid - ferrofluid - in a glass chamber that can be attached to Fusion via six pins on its rear cover. Once attached, the Venom: The Last Dance Smart Outfit alters Fusion’s physical appearance and ‘Venomizes’ its software, akin to how Venom and Eddie Brock are bonded together as a fused entity in the film.
HMD, CMO, Lars Silberbauer commented on the Venom: The Last Dance prototype: “This has been a fun experiment– like Venom’s search for its perfect host, the Symbiotic Smartphone Experiment went through countless iterations to master the movement of ferrofluid mimicking the character. The one-off innovation coincides with US pre order going live for HMD Fusion today – a new type of smartphone that can change form.”
The three one-of-a-kind Venom: The Last Dance Smart Outfits that have been created come with a bespoke user interface including Venom wallpapers and icons as well as some of Venom’s best quotes from the upcoming movie which include a “We are screwed” ringtone and a touching voicemail “Eddie, I’m with you till the end.” Even the sounds and alarms are Venomized. Fear not, even though the Venom: The Last Dance outfits are nearly as rare as Venom himself, fans can also get their hands on Venom: The Last Dance phone wallpaper if they check out the HMD blog here.
HMD Fusion brings the symbiotic bond between Venom and Eddie Brock to life with cutting-edge, shape-shifting technology. Like Venom merges with its host, Fusion allows custom “Outfits” to seamlessly attach and take over the device. Using six smart pins, these Outfits—much like a phone case—instantly transform both the hardware and software, adapting the smartphone to meet your needs. Fusion outfits that offer protection for Fusion will start rolling out at the end of this year, with smart outfits launching next year including an ultimate selfie outfit and a wireless charging outfit arriving in 2025.
“To celebrate its arrival in the U.S., we’ve teamed up with Sony Pictures to launch a Venom: The Last Dance Outfit concept that’s quite literally, out of this world,” says Raun Forsyth, VP of Design at HMD. “Using 160 electromagnetic arrays, we’ve created a mesmerizing effect where black ferrofluid dances, mimicking Venom’s iconic symbiote in the Venom: The Last Dance Outfit. We’re very excited to bring HMD Fusion to the market, and hopefully you will see the endless possibilities smart oufit technology can create, as showcased with our very exclusive Venom: The Last Dance Outfit .”
The three Venom: The Last Dance Smart Outfits transform the phone’s interface and performance while adding cinematic lines from the latest movie.
When the Venom: The Last Dance outfit is combined with the HMD Fusion device and it boots up, you hear “We are Venom” followed by an animation from the latest movie. The device contains movie easter eggs, including an alarm sound that chimes “Eddie, the time has come” and an in-your-face message notification that yells “Who sent that thing?” in Venom’s voice.
Finally, when you load the phone, you will see a voicemail message has been left that says, “Eddie, I’m with you till the end.” And to round off some of the best lines from the upcoming movie, the device has a “We are screwed” ringtone in Venom’s voice.