People at SIF: Cool Showcase Design

Can you imagine a world without designers for products that you use? If your imagination stops at the world of products with no style, you are underestimating the role of designers. Product designers contribute so much more than just style. While recognizing the importance of its appearance, for product designers, designs need to address product’s functionality and compatibility to our life. As the famous American architectural designer Charles Eames once said, “Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design”.

The design of Samsung Food Showcase is a perfect example of this quote. At this year’s SIF, I had a chance to have a pleasant chat with the Designer of Food Showcase. It was a great opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of product design as well as the mind of a great professional.

To give a short introduction of Samsung Food Showcase, its design was one of the finalists for an award at this years’ IDEA. Its interior design is widely considered as innovative in the product design industry, because it has redefined the use of space of a refrigerator by introducing a new concept called ‘Incase and Showcase’.

Background and Inspiration

ST: It is difficult to tell how unique Food Showcase is, but it has a very unique interior design. You have introduced a concept called ‘incase and showcase’, which almost feels like a page of a book; you can flip through a refrigerator. What was the inspiration for this design?

Park: There are few things that we wanted to do. It needed to be space efficient and it needed to be easy for everyone to use.

We’ve noticed that one common perception of a refrigerator is that it is difficult to find things you need, like a maze. No refrigerator starts out as a maze, but after a certain point, organizing can get out of hand. Therefore, finding what you want takes longer and longer as more and more food piles up inside the refrigerator.

ST: That is how I feel about my refrigerator. I guess I am so used to it now that I expect nothing less.

Park: There are two main problems with that. First, it provides an annoying experience, and second, it consumes more energy, as the refrigerator door stays open longer. If cool air escapes the refrigerator, it needs to generate more cooling air to keep the same level or freshness, thus, more energy used.

This was not going to happen with Food Showcase. Just like any other project, we had to do some intense research. First, we observed consumers’ behavior very closely; who uses the refrigerator and how and when they use it. For example, we have found out that housewives were the group that uses the main sections of the refrigerator for stocking food. Dads and the kids were using the refrigerator mainly for snacks and beverages, which is normally considered a secondary use of a refrigerator. However, there is nothing secondary about the secondary use, because we discovered that it occurs more frequently than the primary use, which translates into more opening of the refrigerator.

This was interesting, because current refrigerators are built and designed based solely on the primary option, stocking food. We felt like this was a contradiction as more frequent users, the secondary users, are left out of the calculation. Therefore, we wanted a refrigerator for everyone in the family, not just for one.

ST: I never thought of it that way, but it makes total sense. Designing a refrigerator that is for the whole family sounds easier than imagining it. How was it possible?

Park: To design a refrigerator that is convenient for everyone, we analyzed each family member’s characteristic, then we immediately realized something needed to be done with the doors.

Uniqueness of Samsung Food Showcase

ST: Doors of the refrigerator?

Park: Yes, unfortunately, many people don’t really consider the door section of a refrigerator as part of the refrigerator. People are not sure what to make out of it; they would just put anything from beverages to plastic bags full of leftover food or unidentified objects. It is somehow assumed to be a secondary space.

Therefore, we decided to make this section user friendly and as efficient as the main section of the refrigerator. That is how ‘Showcase’ was created. We totally reconstructed and redefined the space of a refrigerator. We made sure every space of a refrigerator is useful, top to bottom, and we made it easy and efficient to use for every family member.

ST: To some people the expression, ‘easy for every family’ might sound a bit vague. Can you give us an example of how Food Showcase is easy and efficient for everyone?

Park: If you take a look at the ‘Showcase’, you can see how it has considered physicality of each family member. For example, each space is adequately structured for everyone in the family based on their heights. We placed a drawer at the bottom of the showcase, so kids can find and take out snacks all by themselves without having to reach over the top somewhere. The top is built for the adults of the family. Every space of the refrigerator has a definition and purpose for everyone in the family, so instead of a maze it became a sort of unspoken rendezvous place for the family. We rebalance the space.

Future and Innovation

ST: It is difficult for me to imagine how a refrigerator can be more innovative in the future. I mean, no offense, but a refrigerator’s job will always be keeping food fresh. Having said that, Samsung Electronics is known for its ‘innovation’, what is the future for refrigerators?

Park: You’re right to some extent. A refrigerator is a home appliance, which is totally different to hi-tech digital gadgets like smartphones. I believe there is a more analogical and emotional side to home appliances, such as refrigerators.

The innovation of home appliance products is not always as noticeable as digital products. However, I believe the type of innovation we bring is different. It might not be very noticeable in terms of its function or specification. What we pursue to innovate is the ‘behavior’ or human pattern. For example, we want to change the way people use refrigerators; more efficiently and more comfortably. I believe this could be achieved by improving on the hidden details and we really focus on every detail of the product and users’ behavior.

For example, people might assume that the door is just a secondary space for a fridge, a place where you can’t really store anything, but we changed that with Food Showcase. We always try to think out of the box, even the parts people don’t notice. There is always room for improvement.

Philosophy of Product Designing

ST: What is the most important factor when it comes to designing a refrigerator?

Park: As I emphasized in the beginning, a refrigerator needs to be easy to understand, meaning everyone should be able to find what they want easily. This hasn’t been the case till Food Showcase. It is important to make it easy to organize and make the inside look organized.

From a marketing perspective, it is important to make it universal. Every country has its distinctive culture. I think it is important to respect and bring out the uniqueness of each culture while bringing all of them together, which is always a challenge.

ST: Why would I choose a Samsung refrigerator? How is it different to others?

Park: As a designer I can say this. The focus of our design is not only about its appearance. We are not a type that redefines shapes. For example, we don’t change the shape of a drawer or the shelves just for looks. Our focus is behavioral. We want to change people’s pattern. We want to make it as easy as possible for the consumers. The functionality and compatibility to humans are the main focus.

Our design philosophy is not about being the trendiest or fanciest. Refrigerators are products that have a relatively long life cycle. I think it is something that people want to use and see in their house for the next decade or so. Therefore, our design focused on being natural, controlled and simple to make it long-lasting without being played out or boring.

From the Designer

ST: Is there something you want to tell to the consumers?

Park: We put a lot of time and effort into designing Food Showcase. We have done countless tests and market and consumer research. We put a lot of thoughts into every single aspect of this refrigerator, especially from the user side. If you take a look at the showcase, you might notice many of our suggestions for each section of the refrigerator. I am not saying you should follow it, but if you try it out, you might find a way that fits perfectly just for you. So I would like for people to try out our suggestions and make Food Showcase truly just for your family.

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