[Design Story] A Little Thoughtfulness Makes All the Difference

At one point or another, everyone has been enthralled by an object of beauty, be it a piece of art or a stunning view. Yet, beauty seems to be less of a priority when it comes to purchasing home appliances. Instead, consumers focus on function and reliability, as well as the role the product will play in everyday life. Though Samsung values aesthetics, the company also shares the view of the consumers that function should trump form. Understanding users’ personal needs and applying them to the product are part of Samsung’s “Meaningful Design.”

Designed by Thoughtfulness

Incorporated in all of Samsung’s products is the unwavering determination and faith of the designer. Great attention to detail is put into the design of each item, from the selection of a particular material to the use of a certain color, demonstrating the sincere thoughtfulness of every member of Samsung’s design team.

To symbolize this commitment, designers are recognized in the Designed by signature line. Although their names do not appear on the home appliances, their collective work is honored through the word Thoughtfulness. After all, the designs are not the result of one specific designer’s efforts, but are instead born from a thoughtfulness for all users.

Designed by Thoughtfulness, the design philosophy behind Samsung’s home appliances, is an expression of the company’s enduring faith and will to seek new life values that begin with thoughtfulness towards users.

Additionally, Samsung continuously strives to get closer to the consumer’s life to better understand their needs and produce products that meet their demands. The three design values that illustrate this closeness are: Close to Human Sensibility, Close to Intuition & Essence and Close to Timeless Value.

Close to Human Sensibility

Design must get closer to human needs and emotions, and the shape of a product is a gesture toward the user. Through that gesture, the product’s personality is defined and communicates with its user. Unlike the stiff, machine-like form of traditional washing machines, the flowing character line of the WW9000’s upper panel is a gesture that expresses its readiness to provide the services that the user desires, maximizing sensibility by enabling the user to personally feel a warm, welcoming thoughtfulness.

Along with shape, the feel of a product also helps to form one’s relationship to it. The moment a user steps up to the Chef Collection Refrigerator, for example, a display hidden in the face of its metal door subtly appears and greets the user as if it has been waiting for the user’s touch. To make the display more discrete, Samsung created a Micro Hole Display that projects clear, concise information through an intricate matrix of minute perforations in the metal exterior. This patented Perforation Fill Technology, breaks the conventional paradigm in lighting display techniques that had been in practice for many years.

Likewise, the Knob Dial of the Chef Collection Oven instills a sense of nostalgia for the analog days, while its handle, rounded through delicate trimming, presents a sense of volume by harmonizing with the exterior body of the oven. Furthermore, the door’s weight and grip produce a feeling of reliability and pride, similar to owning a luxury item or a rare collectable.

Close to Intuition & Essence

Products embracing essential and intuitive designs have been created with the users in mind to protect them from danger. The virtual LED flame of the Chef Collection induction oven, a product of Samsung’s proprietary Virtual Flame Technology, intuitively shows the level of heat and temperature being used through an LED virtual flame.

This intuitiveness is also evident in the Chef Collection Oven, as its display maximizes convenience by providing the user with real time data at a glance. The Most Used Oven Mode remembers the settings that have been used most frequently and automatically sets the oven’s controls accordingly, while the Look Depthless feature allows the user to easily operate the appliance with simple, one touch convenience in any mode.

Close to Timeless Value

As household appliances are usually purchased with longevity in mind, it is necessary that their designs have a timeless appeal. Perhaps no other material is more timeless than metal, as its properties and values do not change as time passes.

The Chef Collection Dishwasher embodies the pure and everlasting value of metal, as expressed through the texture of its pure stainless steel surfaces. It presents a sleek and sophisticated design, featuring brushed platinum stainless steel that evokes the pure and everlasting value of the material through handcrafted metalwork.

Even more visually outstanding than a product’s materials is its color. Samsung’s design concept is focused on embracing the colors of nature in their original state, and no other element is more essential than air. As such, Samsung’s airborne color palette embodies life values that are as pure as air and as clean as light. Offering both subtle changes and dramatic contrasts, the colors maintain their distinct characteristics throughout, like the unchanging properties of nature.

Seamless Design, as it is applied to the Chef Collection Line, creates an integrated image by aligning the appliances with the cabinetry of the kitchen. Dedicated to quality materials and a smooth uninterrupted visual plane, the Chef Collection Line completes the integration of contemporary form and function into a single look that harmonizes with the interior of the home and the users’ navigation of space.

Close to Life

Someone designed a washing machine that would warmly welcome the user. This is how doing the laundry became pleasurable. Someone thought of a vacuum cleaner that embodied the pure and clean colors of nature. This is how cleaning became relaxing. Someone dreamed up a convenient kitchen, based on the consumer’s movements. This is how cooking became a joy.

Thoughtfulness is at the center of all of Samsung’s home appliance designs, making them more valuable and meaningful. The thoughtfulness in creating meaningful change and innovation may not at once be recognizable, but it impacts consumers’ lives in a truly significant way. To this aim, Samsung is drawing one step closer to consumer’s lives.

Visit design.samsung.com to read more Samsung Electronics design stories.