Sustainability has always been a central theme for us designers; we understand the crucial role design plays when it comes to creating a sustainable future. So at a time when caring for our environment has become ever more important, let us take the opportunity to commemorate World Environment Day by sharing our vision for a better tomorrow through design.

Don-tae Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of the Corporate Design Center at Samsung Electronics

It will certainly take time to fully achieve environmental sustainability in a way that everyone can benefit from. For many, environmental issues may have been difficult to relate to until they’ve started to experience tangible changes in their daily lives, such as using air purifiers due to fine dust problems or wearing masks to prevent the spread of viral diseases. From a design perspective, even if initiatives such as waste minimization, upcycling and energy efficiency maximization are put into place, there is still always more to be done. On top of this, designers always need to consider the aesthetics of their design in addition to its environmental footprint.

There are three main principles behind the concept of sustainable design. The first is the Eco-design Process. This is where eco-friendly initiatives, such as low energy consumption and high energy efficiency, are implemented throughout the entirety of a concept’s design process, from planning through to development. An example of this would be the upcycling approach Samsung harnessed when producing special edition Galaxy S20+ cases. In order to develop cases that utilized end-of-life PET water bottles, Samsung partnered with premium Danish textile brand Kvadrat. The collaboration saw over two years of sustainable development and planning to ensure that the end products would be both aesthetically relevant and eco-friendly. The resulting manufacture process differed from that of conventional cases in that it harnessed recycled yarns to create a substantial material to work with; from sourcing these recycled materials to ensuring the products passed Samsung’s stringent reliability standards, the entire design process had sustainability built into it.

Samsung’s sustainable Galaxy S20+ cases, created in collaboration with Kvadrat

The second key principle of sustainable design is to create resonance with those who use the products by involving consumers’ considerations in the eco-design process. Samsung’s recently introduced ‘eco-packaging’ for its global lifestyle TV products is one such example. The innovative cardboard packaging, which serves both as protection for the TV product and can also be used in numerous ways as a piece of sustainable furniture, was developed out of the understanding that, when consumers purchased TVs, they were also often purchasing other furniture items for their homes at the same time. In order to give these consumers more eco-friendly furnishing options, the TV’s packaging comes with easy-to-follow DIY instructions on how to transform the versatile cardboard into a standalone shelf, a TV table or even a cat house. The end goal of this was to give consumers more options when looking to take part in environmental protection – and to help them avoid being wasteful.

Samsung’s lifestyle TV packaging can be repurposed to serve as a cat house

The final principle is to give consumers the tools they need to make real changes to their lifestyles towards living sustainably and protecting the environment. Samsung’s SmartThings Energy¹, part of Samsung’s IoT platform SmartThings, is a service that allows users to easily and comprehensively monitor their home’s electricity consumption. The service is designed to provide users with a more grounded understanding of their energy consumption and the effects their energy reduction efforts can have, as it provides this information in the form of visualizations. Such a service is capable of raising its users’ awareness of sustainable living and encouraging them to take steps towards more eco-friendly behavior.

In 1996, Samsung elevated design to being one of the company’s core competencies, and since then the company has consistently placed users at the center of its design philosophy. This is in line with Samsung’s mission of contributing to a better global society; if a sustainable society is not the end goal, then what use does any such action have? This is why the company opened design studios all over the world, including in Seoul, San Francisco, London, New Delhi, Beijing, Tokyo and São Paulo to research and study emerging sustainable design and lifestyle trends. Today, over 1,500 of our designers are studying sustainable development and design and collaborating to find solutions that are able to meet the company’s high sustainability expectations.

Samsung Electronics will continue to develop products and solutions that reflect the concerns of consumers who value ethical consumption and environmentally-friendly initiatives. We will also keep working towards creating a sustainable future for all with eco-friendly designs that have the consumer at their core.

¹ Currently only available in South Korea

Samsung received the gold award for the Sero and the Bespoke customizable refrigerator. The Sero, which means “vertical” in Korean, has the ability to pivot between horizontal and vertical orientations. This new lifestyle TV features a modern and elegant design that stands out in any space. The Bespoke refrigerator, customizable to customers’ personal tastes, consists of eight models ranging from one-door to four-door units and offers a replaceable front panel of the sleek door which allows mixing and matching of different materials and colors, reflecting personal preferences in style. The ‘Kitchen Fit’ door was employed to give a ‘built in-like’ look to any kitchen.

“Samsung Electronics has pursued lifestyle innovations based on both reflection of current trends and its insight into customer needs in the future. We will continue to strive to create the experiences that our customers want from Samsung with unique design thinking, incorporating innovative technologies and attempting bold creative challenges.” said Dontae Lee, Executive Vice President and the Head of the Corporate Design Center at Samsung Electronics.

Including the two gold awards, Samsung was given 34 other iF Design Awards in the product category:

• Galaxy Fold, a foldable smartphone that optimizes content viewing experience when unfolded and maximizes portability when folded.
• Galaxy Watch Active2, a smartwatch that has a soft, seamless silhouette with reduced bezel size for expanded viewing experience.
• Space Monitor, an integrated clamp monitor stand which helps maximize desk space and allows its users to reclaim their workspace.
• AirDresser, a clothing refresher that has a full-length mirror highlighted with a pinstripe pattern and color gradation to accentuate any space harmoniously with its premium look.
• Samsung Induction Plate, a portable and slim dual induction range, is ideal for cooking multiple dishes at once. It has a sleek design appearance, making it a refined centrepiece when placed on the kitchen or table.

Samsung won two iF Design Awards in the packaging category:

• Galaxy Fold package, featuring new graphics, showcases a folded version of the original Galaxy logo.
• Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ packages demonstrate an eco-friendly approach, removing unnecessary elements and using pulp mold.

Samsung won 17 iF Design Awards in the communication category:

• Foldable UX for Galaxy Fold offers seamless experiences between the cover display and main display.
• Emotional Air Conditioner UX emphasizes necessary information subtly yet vividly through ‘Ambient Lighting.’
• Samsung Flip UX is an intuitive electronic board UX that digitizes the analog experience to allow easy use.
• Samsung ‘Resonance,’ an exhibition in the Milan Design Week 2019 which was an integrated brand communication campaign to convey the spirit of Samsung’s design philosophy.

Samsung won eight iF Design Awards in the professional concept category:

• GEMS (Gait Enhancing & Motivating System), an exoskeleton that assists in posture correction and helps health management on mobile devices.
• Device Sync, a feature that enables effortless connection between IoT devices through Vision Recognition and real-time Generative Visualization technologies.

Organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH, the iF Design Award contest started in Germany in 1953. Design submissions are subject to comprehensive evaluation for design, innovativeness, functionality and seven additional categories including product, packaging, communication and professional concepts.

iF Design Award 2020 winners are announced online through the iF Design Award website and iF Design app and winning designs will be presented at the iF Design Exhibition from May 2^nd to May 10^th during Berlin Design Week 2020.

For more information, please visit https://ifworlddesignguide.com.

Originally launched as a product design studio for North America in 1994, the SDIC will merge with a new user-experience research arm to expand its role from designing products mostly individually to designing multi-device user-experiences. The mission of the SDIC will be to contribute to creating stronger insights based on a deep understanding of consumer lifestyle trends, as well as adapting to the changing trends and emerging lifestyle patterns of local markets. The center will also play an important role of envisioning product concepts that do not exist today and assist in the launch of those products to market. The SDIC is part of the Corporate Design Center, located in Seoul, and one of seven Samsung design studios globally.

Dr. Federico Casalegno, Head of the SDIC

Dr. Federico Casalegno, who has extensive experience as a designer and a social scientist at MIT, has recently joined Samsung Electronics. Dr. Casalegno’s expertise and interests lie in the impact of networked digital technologies on human behavior and society.

“In this age of connected devices, it is imperative that a designer understands and considers the cross-device user experience for every design element of a product, because most products no longer serve a standalone purpose anymore.” said Dr. Federico Casalegno, head of SDIC. “Our mission is to understand people and lifestyles to deliver meaningful experiences, through beautiful yet functional design, enabled by innovative cutting-edge technologies. With a talented team of multi-disciplinary designers, the SDIC will seek to leverage insights from the North American market and tap into the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial spirit to design inspiring products and experiences.”

“At Samsung, we recognize that our design and innovation have to be meaningful to people. It has to help people do more. User experiences must involve awareness of the other devices around them and work together. This is what consumers expect today,” said Don Tae Lee, head of the Corporate Design Center. “With the launch of the new center, we are establishing the framework to deliver that sort of experience to people across all our consumer devices.”