Yotaphone 2

The YotaPhone 2 was a dual-display smartphone featuring an LCD front and a curved e-ink rear screen, combining two distinct display technologies in one device. I joined as an external CMF Lead, responsible for every surface: the phone, charging adapter, USB cable, earphones, and SIM ejector pin. The design language was minimal and deliberate, understated to highlight the concept and refined to ensure credibility.

The main challenge was the rear glass. After laminating the e-ink display to its curved Corning glass, a new process back then, a subtle blue reflection appeared at certain angles and vanished at others. This reflection clashed with the dark silk-print on the cover glass, creating a visible edge between two components meant to appear as one. The team had spent significant time trying to eliminate the reflection at its source but failed.

My proposal was to add a precision NCVM coating to the rear of the cover glass, an optical treatment that mirrored the e-ink's angular blue shift instead of opposing it. Though initially rejected due to cost, it became the only viable solution after all alternatives were exhausted. Collaborating weekly across Singapore, China, Taiwan, and with Corning's team, we tested several coating weights over four months until the glass and e-ink moved in unison: neutral together, blue together, seamless from every angle.

This solution shipped in the final product. It only works when unnoticed, which is the point. The best CMF is not what you see but what you no longer see.