Case Suunto

Creating user experiences for the new era of wearables.

Suunto is one of the world's most respected sportwatch and precision instrument brands. Their products are tested in the harshest conditions and are known for their reliability.

Since 2013, we have worked closely with Suunto's product development team and a number of other vendors to create user experiences and design for a wide variety of products – from watch interfaces to applications and concept design. Our latest project together is Suunto 7, a groundbreaking smartwatch powered by Google's Wear OS.

Client

Suunto

Industry

Sports

Platform

Watch / Mobile / Web

Services

Service design / Digital design / Software development / Continuous improvement

A photo collage of the Suunto team

Innovating together

Working as a part of Suunto's own design and technology team has many benefits. Iteration cycles are extremely fast, and years of co-operation have created an efficient workflow – whether we're operating onsite or remotely.

Mutual trust is a foundation for innovation – our brainstorming sessions have often resulted in taking things to brave new directions. Over time, working this closely together also makes jumping into new projects smooth and effortless.

"This is one of my most fun memories of Suunto 7. The initial plan for the watch had already been established, but together with the design team, we locked ourselves to Amer Headquarters for a long day of brainstorming and came out with a completely revamped concept. Tingling with excitement, we asked ourselves: “how are going to present this?” It was awesome."

Timo Halko, Concepting & Experience Lead, Suunto

Suunto 7 - the next leap in wearables

Suunto 7 is the flagship device that combines Suunto's experience in sports watches with the smartwatch features of Wear OS.

After over two years of development, Suunto 7 was released in 2020. It was met with high praise from critics and users all over the world. We have been closely involved with the project from the very start, helping Suunto build a user experience that meets the standards of the high-end smartwatch market.

Read our blog post on the making of Suunto 7.
Interested in buying a Suunto 7? It's available at Suunto store.

Combining Wear OS with the Suunto Experience

At the time of working on Suunto 7, Wear OS was still a relatively new platform. This was both the source of the project's biggest challenges and most innovative triumphs.

The result is more than just the best of both worlds: it's a user experience that stands on its own and feels intuitive – whether you're in the middle of an intense exercise or using the everyday features on the go.

Suunto 7 smartwatch on a person's wrist.
"Bringing the classic Suunto features to Wear OS was a challenge. The more serious sports devices often have rugged button interfaces and lo-fi displays. Their UIs are shaped around that experience, and it’s not a straightforward task to bring that to a device with a modern touch screen and an OS with its own fixed patterns. In the end however, this sparked novel approaches that ended up serving the possibilities of the platform and the device much better."

Valtteri Mäki, UX Designer, Taiste

Consistent brand experience

Keeping the tone and quality of Suunto's brand experience consistent is vital. In addition to UX work, we have created supplementary materials for Suunto products. This includes product packages, digital/physical marketing materials, user guides, illustrations, etc.

Having these small but important elements made by the same people who know both the brand and the products inside out is a great asset. It gives everything the same personality.

Developing with the users

The most well-loved products are often a result of knowing your audience and being your own audience. Everyone at Suunto is a sports and outdoors aficionado. They know their fans, and continuously consult a selected group of them when working on something new.

In 2021, Suunto 7 got its biggest update so far, the contents of which was based on the user feedback. This dialogue is the best kind of quality control and assures that we're always heading in the right direction.

An image collage of the different versions of Suunto 7 and a runner in the forest wearing a Suunto 7.
”Taiste has quickly learned the ins and outs of the sport business environment and their team has become a part of our operations. They respond to our needs fast and deliver excellent quality each and every time.”

Mikko Ahlström

Head of Design, Suunto

Other work

See all Works