Several years ago, Norwegian scientist and photography enthusiast Victor Henning had a problem: He found that his smartphone could take incredible images, "but in decisive moments, I missed the speed and precision of my real camera." The slippery smartphone form factor isn't ideal for quickly pulling out and aiming, nor quickly adjusting settings.

Henning had some ideas for how to add DSLR-style controls to an iPhone, and approached Norwegian industrial design consultancy Frost Produkt for help. The project was called the Fjorden Grip.

"In a world where smartphones are rapidly replacing dedicated cameras, Victor Henning - founder of Fjorden, embarked on a mission to elevate smartphone photography by combining the convenience of iPhones with the precision of DSLR-style controls," Frost Produkt writes.

Design and Development Process

Victor teamed up with Frost Produkt and we started an iterative design and development process. Extensive prototyping, involving cardboard models and 3D prints in combination with user testing was employed to refine the ergonomics of the Fjorden Grip. One of the key challenges was fitting the internal components and electronics within the slim, pocketable form factor of the grip.

Result

Fjorden lets you take better photos by turning your iPhone into a professional compact camera. It offers the same physical camera controls as a DSLR but is small enough to fit in your pocket. It clips into, and out of, compatible Fjorden iPhone cases in less than a second, so you can take it along to a new iPhone when you upgrade. Aesthetically, the Fjorden Grip has been inspired by the construction and craftsmanship of classic cameras such as Leica and Rollei. The clean, functional and ergonomic design is designed to work well with the iPhone, while retaining its own, timeless visual identity.

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Accessories and packaging

As part of the project we developed a range of accessories including wrist straps, carrybags, iPhone cases for several models and a magnetic Magsafe adapter that can be used for all iPhone models after iPhone 12. We also developed the packaging system for all Fjorden products.

Fjorden was launced on Kickstarter July 2021 and received over 2000% funding.

Following the success of the Kickstarter campaign, Henning was able to launch Fjorden as a viable business. Then, last month, it was acquired by none other than Leica!

Congrats to Henning, and nice work by Frost Produkt.