Looking back at the planning and design of the Palm Pre, Forbes talks to the development team as we get a pretty outrageous and interesting look inside the inspiration of the Palm Pre:

Duarte directed designers to mock up “mood boards” covered with images of grassy fields and Zen gardens that evoked the organic ethos they wanted to instill. They pinned the images next to their computers. Whenever an idea came under debate, Duarte would ask: “Would that fit in this picture?”

Rendering those ideas in physical form was Bell’s job. A curvy shape was in order. Bell had to figure out how to make the phone reliably slide up at an angle to reveal a physical keyboard–and sturdy enough to do it again and again.

And in another interview with Michelle Koh, we learn a little bit about the design of WebOS:

We always wanted to make sure that we loved the product, the interface, and the experience. As a designer, you have to be invested in the product experience and to also consider it a major driving force in certain situations. The design shouldn’t be totally self-referential but there is a place for it when it’s defining an original archetype and setting a new bar. I think that is the situation we were in.

What a journey it must have been for these folks at Palm… and it all culminates tomorrow with the launch of the Palm Pre. I think it is safe to say that they can consider their work a success regardless of how the launch goes tomorrow.

This kind of gives the first Palm Pre Commercial new meaning… does it not?