Front (9.0)
The futuristic front façade of the Olympus Stylus Verve is shaped like a parallelogram, looking as though the upper right corner was stretched before the mold had set. The rounded corner slopes down about 190 degrees, creating a steep diagonal and forming the right side of the frame. Opposite is a cut-out segment for the front of the bar-shaped mode dial. Consuming most of the right portion of the Camera’s front face is a large circle for the lens. When closed, a sliding lens cover moves laterally across the lens opening, sealing the lens inside the camera and protecting it from exterior elements. Above and to the left of the lens opening, elliptically shaped into the top center of the front of the frame, is the camera’s fixed flash. Just to the right of the lens opening are two small circles, one slightly larger then the other. The larger circle is the camera’s metering eye, where shooting measurements are taken. Just beside that is a significantly smaller circle, almost a spec, that is the camera’s microphone. The space to the left of the lens is void of controls and functions and is set aside to display the crucial marketing information: the Olympus logo, model identification, and pixel count.

Back (9.0)
The back of the Stylus Verve is largely dominated by the 1.8” TFT color LCD monitor. Just to the left of the LCD is the circular quick view button. To the right of the LCD screen, at the bottom of the camera’s back face, is a circular navigational pad with an “OK” or selection button in the center. There are four directional options within the navigational controls, each containing a secondary control function; moving the circular directional pad to the left will access the camera’s macro shooting mode, to the right engages the flash selection options. The upper segment of the circular directional pad will enter into the scene selection mode while the lower portion engages the self-timer. Just above the directional pad is a protruding plastic arched segment, for added control and stability, with a strap attachment segment just to the right. Above, there are seven small circular holes leading to the camera’s speaker. There is a horizontal zoom toggle control above, in the upper right portion of the frame. There is also a “quick view” button above and to the left of the LCD screen that will bring the user directly to playback mode.

Left Side (9.0)
The left side of the Olympus Stylus Verve is shiny, rounded metal, forming a sharp diagonal slope, roughly 210 degrees down to where it meets the bottom of the camera; it is utterly void of controls.

Right Side (9.0)
The right portion of the Stylus Verve is composed of a plastic segment, covering the camera’s port terminals. The cover opens upwards, exposing a battery slot, memory card terminal, and USB port. Alongside the port cover is an extended strap attachment.

Top (9.0)
The smooth, curved top of the Stylus Verve expresses the consistent minimalist design aesthetic utilized throughout the rest of the frame. The essential controls included on the top portion of the camera have been shifted to the far right to make the features more accessible to the user’s shooting hand. There is a large shutter release button directly above the shorter power control. To the right of these two buttons is the atypical mode dial. Set in its allotted position, the rotating mode dial contains a ribbed segment near the end of the bar to supply additional grip and traction when making selections. The remaining space on the top of the Stylus Verve is void of controls and provides space for the user to apply his or her left hand when additional grip and support are desired.