If you thought industrial design was just about putting components together and adding a company logo, think again. Samsung has a global network of design studios that employs approximately 1,500 designers, making it one of the world’s largest design powerhouses.
Samsung Galaxy Fold6
I sat down to talk to Felix Heck, head of Samsung Design Europe, and Deborah Honig, chief customer officer for Samsung UK, about what goes into Samsung design.
First, Felix Heck explains how the studios are set up and highlights the possibilities of material technologies. “We are not just designers, we also have experts in sociology, engineering and psychology, which promotes a different point of view and promotes creative collaboration. There has been a big shift in user experience in recent years, which is why these disciplines are so important to product aesthetics. Samsung has a global network of studios and each studio is tasked with developing innovative design, identifying regional specific needs and keeping up with global trends.”
He continues: “I work in London and Milan. One of our main roles is trend forecasting. We examine how social change occurs, where it occurs. This means we are looking for a new generation of product design and user experience. We have always focused on design and different talents design different products for people all over the world. And this message takes us on a journey from 1996 that has never changed.”
That’s not to say things don’t change, and Samsung adopts new design identities every few years. In 2000, for example, this was expressed as “Simplicity with Resonance”, and the company has now distilled its focus into three words: essential, innovative and harmonious.
Heck explains that this means “delivering authentic experiences in a simple and clear way and solving real problems. I think the positive impact on what people need when using the technology is also crucial. The Galaxy S24 demonstrates this in a beautiful and solid form with a linear design that focuses on the screen. So when you interact with the device, there is nothing to distract you from what you want to do and you can immerse yourself in it very easily. It provides everything one would expect from a mobile phone, but also has a simple design.”
Deborah Honig says that innovation is something very straightforward for Samsung: “We strongly believe that the purpose of design is also to innovate, but we focus on solving real problems and bringing about valuable change. It’s not just about being first or new. It’s much more about being meaningful and having something that’s really useful.” And harmonious, I’m told, means pursuing a design that sensitively and thoughtfully complements the user’s lifestyle. A great example of this is the Samsung Picture Frame, which is a speaker hidden in a frame. You put the image you want in it and it’s a hidden – and very effective – Bluetooth speaker.
Other items, such as the Bespoke line, which allows people to customize certain aspects of their products, take this a step further.
Honig also explains how her job involves communicating the benefits of Samsung products with things “that help them make the most of their everyday lives. Our findings show that energy efficiency is the number one, main reason why people are adopting smart home technologies in their homes today. Smartthings, Samsung’s smart home platform, is a great example of how we help customers address this basic need: it allows you to connect and control all your smart home appliances in one place and start tracking your energy consumption.”
Honig explains the value of artificial intelligence in such products: If you turn on the AI energy mode, the specific use of the device is optimized. Before, one device couldn’t do it, but the proof is that you can actually see the results now.”
Innovation can be daunting at times, so how does Samsung strike a balance between the innovative and the familiar? Heck is clear: “We always have to consider what is the real benefit for the user. Many devices, including the latest washing machines for example, are display based, and in the end I believe they can be much more useful because they leave out things you previously had to care about. When you understand that this one thing, AI, actually facilitates what you’re trying to do, and you don’t have a steep learning curve, then I think it’s better to let the technology help you.”
And design can be a way to identify a product – the Galaxy Z Fold6 phone is unmistakably Samsung, even if the label has fallen off. So, what is inherent in Samsung’s design?
Heck says, “It could be the most innovative technology from the most human perspective. If you take those two things together, it sums it up really well with regards to the user. Of course, we don’t innovate for the sake of innovation. When we look back at the design philosophy that has guided us for so many years, while recognizing that people’s values are shifting, we recognize that we need to address this. So our design directions are adapting, but I think you can always count on the most innovative technology from the most unique perspective.”
Honig comments on how connectivity has become. Once you have one product, it tries to solve so many questions, and in doing so, it might take away from its primary function, which it needs to do really well. If you can connect the product to others, you can focus on the primary function and know that secondary scenarios can be solved with some of the other technologies that people adopt. Interoperability between products is something that can really help with design.”