Totally Opposite Design Concepts: Samsung Curved UHD TV and Chef Collection

If everything happens for a reason, that would include the design of Samsung products as well. For more than 40 years, Samsung has been designing its products to maximize the user experience. Since all products have different purposes, naturally, there are different design concepts for different products. This emphasis on different design concepts was very apparent when we had the chance to stop by the Seoul Living Design Fair, which took place at the end of March 2014 in Korea. We spotted two product lineups that seemed to have totally opposite design concepts: Samsung Curved UHD TV and Samsung Chef Collection home appliances.

To see products’ design concepts, there is nowhere better than booths at exhibitions. A booth is a place where people get to experience the product, therefore, the booth need to represent everything about the product, so that as soon as they step in they are engaged. Thanks to the Seoul Living Design Fair 2014, an annual expo showcased the latest trends in home and building interior and exterior design, we got to immerse ourselves in the booths’ offerings. Let’s see what role the design plays in product experience and how the concept is presented by Samsung.

The Curvature of Samsung Curved UHD TV

The design of Samsung’s first Curved UHD TVs is characterized by its curved shape that mirrors the curvature of an arena. The purpose of the curvature is obviously not only for its unique look. Through this curve, viewers can have an immersive viewing experience from almost any angle. The level of the curve was carefully calculated, which the optimal curvature turned out to be 4200R. This provides the best picture quality from a normal watching distance of 3-4 meters. Therefore, the curvature was well represented at the fair’s booth as well.

Chiho Kim, a famous Korean designer who designed this zone, said that he used a circle or a round football-stadium-like design because a circle seemed to be the perfect shape for demonstrating a nice curve. With a mirrored ceiling and wall in the middle of the zone, the seven Samsung Curved UHD TV U9000s and the zone itself seemed to be in harmony, creating a beautiful half circle. White wires intertwined together forming an arch around the zone further showed the beauty of the curve. In fact, the white wires were selected for the beauty of the curved lines from the wires interlaced in the wheels of a carriage.

Inside the zone, as visitors approached the TVs, curved lines appeared on the TVs following our movements. Seokjun Han, a well-known Korean visual artist who also took part in designing the zone, said that he intentionally used a type of media art where millions of small pixels come together, delivering the ultimate high resolution and an ‘immersive viewing experience,’ which are the two main features of the Curved UHD TVs.

Thus, the round exterior design of the zone and the curved lines shown on the TVs seemingly represent the curvature of the Samsung Curved UHD TVs.

The ‘Straight Line ‘of Samsung Chef Collection Premium Home Appliances

On the other hand, the design of Samsung’s Chef Collection Kitchen appliances has lots of 90 degree angles with straight lines. The kitchen is a limited space where a lot of activities happen, therefore it is important for the appliances to have a spatial efficiency, which is why the Chef Collections are designed with a concept of ‘Line.’

Samsung designed them for high efficiency in installing them in the kitchen, the sides of the products fitting in every corner of the kitchen. In fact, many consumers have praised Samsung’s refrigerators, ovens, and dishwashers for their easy installation even in small kitchens. So here is how the booth for the Chef collection represented this.

Unlike the Curved UHD TV zone, the exterior design of the Chef Collection zone seemed to be very straight with squared angles like a house. Inside the zone, which was dim, were the Chef Collection 4-Door Refrigerator, new Electric Slide In Range, and the latest dishwasher, which seemed to emerge from the wall due to the shadowy lighting and the LED backlights.

The designs of the products were very neat, simple, and high-end even without any special decorations. This seemed to be because of the brushed stainless surface with metal horizontal lines and clear straight ends. The material artist, Seokbyoung Jung, who designed the zone, said that he used a special hairline called the ‘metal wire’ for the exterior design to present the straight adornment of the products and the artisanship of the Samsung Club des Chefs. A team from a company specializing in space design and the artist connected the 40 km long wires horizontally manually all around the zone in 3 layers, 1.5 cm apart between each layer.

Thus, the Chef Collection zone designed like a house, the presentation of the products, and the metal wire, all distinctly demonstrated the horizontal and vertical lines of Samsung home appliances.

To conclude, Samsung’s designs each have a meaning and which serves their purpose. The curved TV designs provide ultimate immersive viewing experience and the straightness of the home appliances offer convenience to the consumers and neatness in the house. Hence, when you look at a Samsung product later, try to think of the reason why the product is designed as it is.