▲ (From left) Kyuseong Lee, Kang-il Chung and Sunwoo Kim, the lifestyle TV product planners at Samsung Electronics’ Visual Display Business

The characteristics of TVs are continuing to evolve in line with the latest trends and lifestyle patterns. Against this backdrop, the role of the television has expanded. Whereas it used to simply be a device for delivering entertainment, the TV has now become a central component of users’ interior design schemes.

To keep up with emerging trends, Samsung Electronics has continued to think outside the box as it explores new possibilities for TVs. Since 2015, the company has been continuously pushing the envelope to develop new looks and features on its televisions, and ensure that consumers can fit their TV to their lifestyle. So, how did Samsung come up with its lifestyle TV line, and what kind of consumer experience is it aiming to provide? To find out, Samsung Newsroom met with the company’s lifestyle TV product planners, who have contributed to solutions ranging from The Serif to The Terrace.

Lifestyle TVs: Becoming More Than Just a Fixture of the Living Room

Vivid picture and a sense of immersion are two fundamental elements that a television must provide, with a well designed product capable of delivering both. Nowadays, lifestyles are shifting, and viewing has moved out of the living room, with people preferring to consume their content in whichever room they are in at the time.

“Our goal was to allow consumers to have a range of different screens for the various spaces in their house,” said group leader Kang-il Chung. “This would allow them to enjoy whatever content they wanted, wherever they were, based on Samsung’s ‘Screens Everywhere’ philosophy.” Chung’s work involves analyzing tech trends and usage patterns, which allowed him to start determining which new features users want from their television.

“In order to establish concepts for new TV products and functions, we look at things like how televisions are being used, interior decoration trends and the overall cultural and lifestyle preferences of our users,” explained product planner Kyuseong Lee. During the planning stage, the product planners focus on connecting the desired user experience to the essence of the product. By doing this, the team seeks to make it easier for the user to comprehend both the product’s story and the distinct experience it offers. Added Lee, “Rather than simply adding lots of different functions, we work to clearly define the main concept of the product, then make it different. In this way, we look to realize all aspects of the core experience to perfection.”

The Serif and The Frame: Bringing Classy Décor to Your Other Rooms

Since the time of its invention, the television has been considered a staple of the living room. But now, with a growing number of users also putting TVs in rooms like their bedrooms and studies, this is changing. In line with this trend, Samsung has expanded what it deems the ‘TV space’ from the living room to a range of other rooms. Along with this, the company has started to develop televisions that not only suit the interior aesthetics of those other rooms, but include features that match the needs and lifestyles of the people using the rooms.

In September of 2015, Samsung introduced its first lifestyle TV, The Serif, which was designed to contribute to users’ interior design schemes. The Serif’s iconic I-shaped design was created by the internationally renowned Bouroullec Brothers, and is an ideal choice for those who want an aesthetically pleasing television that goes well in any space. “We pursued a meaningful design that emphasized people and space, and tried to get away from the usual ‘TV look’,” said Chung. “A lot of consumers claim that The Serif looks more like a lifestyle product than a TV.”

The product planning team’s ongoing efforts to develop new models that blend well with their surrounding environments also contributed to the development of The Frame. Looking like a modern picture frame, this television can be matched to any home décor style and features an ‘Art Mode’ that allows viewers to enjoy artistic masterpieces from the comfort of their homes. The TV’s sensors are also capable of automatically detecting illumination intensity and movement. “Samsung is collaborating with world-renowned curators, renowned art galleries, museums and artists to deliver a broad collection of art through the Art Store,” related Sunwoo Kim. “We will keep working hard to ensure that we are able to display an increasingly broad range of great artworks in stunning resolution.”

Thinking Outside the Box: The Sero for Millennials

And Samsung’s ‘think outside the box’ development philosophy goes beyond considerations of space and expands to form. Whereas a typical television has a horizontal, 16:9-aspect-ratio screen, modern viewers’ increasing use of mobile devices means that watching content on vertical screens is becoming more and more common. The Millennial generation’s tendency to watch things on their smartphones, in particular, has contributed to the increased prominence of vertically displayed content. Thus, The Sero was developed as an answer to the question, ‘what if we could make the TV screen rotatable so that it could better match the lifestyles of Millennial users?’

The Sero is the result of this bold idea. “Developing the Sero with a rotating screen was a long and challenging journey, as it was like we were exploring unchartered territory,” said the product planners. The team had to consider a broad range of factors, such as whether the user would rotate the screen manually or whether it would rotate automatically. The project brought many different teams together as they set out to create a whole new consumer experience, with their efforts eventually culminating in ‘The Sero’. “We are witnessing an increasing amount of consumption of vertical, short-form content on social networking sites,” remarked Chung. “And The Sero allows viewers to use screen mirroring to watch this content in a full screen, immersive format.”

Expanding to Other Spaces: The Premiere and The Terrace

Over time, the focus of Samsung’s Lifestyle TVs has shifted again. Due to the pandemic, many people prefer watching movies at home to going to the theater these days. The Premiere is specifically designed for those who want to create a theater-like environment in their homes. This easy-to-install model boasts a large, theater-like screen with very sharp picture quality. “With The Premiere, you can enjoy your favorite content on an ultra-large screen from the comfort of your home,” related Kim. “With a premium fabric finish, The Premiere also serves as an excellent complement to your interior décor.”

In the current climate, more people are also making use of private outdoor spaces such as balconies. In line with such consumer lifestyle changes, Samsung has introduced its first outdoor TV model, The Terrace. With superior water and dust resistance, The Terrace delivers an outstanding viewing experience regardless of rain, heat or other adverse weather events. Said Lee, “Going forward, the outdoor TV market is expected to grow exponentially. The Terrace provides an optimal outdoor viewing experience, delivering exceptionally vivid and detailed images in both the sunlight and the shade.”

As our TVs become increasingly important parts of our lives, some argue that the evolution of the product is nearing its conclusion. But Chung thinks differently, claiming that, “There is still an unending range of possibilities for what our televisions might become in the future.” He expressed hope that himself and his team will be able to keep introducing new and varied lifestyle TV models to keep providing fresh experiences to consumers.

Samsung’s lifestyle TV product planners believe that TVs need to keep evolving in order to keep up with continuously changing lifestyles. “We want to develop TVs that people want to own, and that they’ll want to show off,” Kim stressed. “Our dream is to build a so-called ‘lifestyle universe’ where each space is equipped with a lifestyle TV that suits the function of the space.”

We’re back with part three of our in-depth series examining the ins and outs of The Frame’s Art Store.

If you’re just joining us, be sure to check out parts one and two once you’re finished here to find out how collections are curated, and to learn more about how The Frame is helping talented artists expand their reach. In this, the last entry in our series, we turn our attention to museums and the role they play in introducing incredible works of art to users’ living rooms.

Follow along as representatives from museums beloved by art lovers and The Frame users alike – London’s famed Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, and Madrid’s iconic Museo Nacional del Prado – discuss partnering with the Art Store to make their masterpieces more accessible.

Q: How did your collaboration with the Art Store come about?

The V&A’s Licensing R&D Manager, Amelia Calver: In March of 2018, we started the V&A Collection for The Frame in partnership with Samsung. This collaboration embraces our defining principles of access, education, inspiration, creativity, design and innovation.

Working with the V&A’s expansive archive, Samsung selected over 20 works of art for the Art Store which span centuries and cultures, yet all embody a story of decorative art and design. From classic wallpaper patterns from the celebrated British Arts & Crafts Movement, to dramatic woodblock prints, users can now enhance their surroundings with a digital display of V&A images that are the perfect mix of art and history.

The Museo del Prado Difusión’s General Manager, Cristina Alovisetti: Samsung has been a long-term Prado partner since 2013. We have been working with the common goal of using technology to make art more accessible to society, creating more opportunities for people to enjoy and learn about it.

Q: What does the Museum find most intriguing about the Art Store and The Frame?

V&A: The V&A is the world’s leading museum in terms of art, design, and performances. It holds 2.7 million objects ranging from ceramics to furniture, photography to digital design, and fashion to fine art. With this in mind, we were immediately fascinated by the concept of The Frame. The way the television has been designed to fit seamlessly into a room and appear as appealing when off as it is when in use is an example of great ingenuity and imagination.

Prado: What we found most intriguing was the idea of The Frame as a window for enjoying art with the very specific added value of enabling users to become curators.

If we were to imagine a natural progression for enjoying artworks from museums, postcards would come first, paper copies, such as posters, would come next, and high-definition images on devices would follow. The Frame’s Art Store goes further in a way by becoming a part of people’s homes. People enjoy digital content on their devices when they are ‘connected,’ and The Frame and the Art Store create a way for them to continue enjoying art when they are ‘disconnected.’

Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid (@Museo del Prado, by Jerónimo Alvarez)

Q: How does the Art Store’s philosophy of making art more accessible align with the Museum’s?

V&A: When the V&A was founded in the mid-19th century, it pioneered modern techniques of photography, electrotyping and plaster casts, and enabled working people to access the highlights of Western civilization and high culture without having to travel overseas.

In the same spirit, The Frame’s Art Store brings together highlights from the V&A’s collection, from Japanese woodblock prints to William Morris’s wallpaper designs, creating the impression of entering a digital gallery, and therefore widening the level of access to world-renowned art and design.

Prado: The Prado dedicates considerable efforts to sharing knowledge through its website and the richness of its contents. When an artwork cannot be experienced live, the quality of the images becomes a priority, as even the smallest details can offer a new point of view. The way that the Art Store allows us to admire and enjoy art up close is completely aligned with this way of perceiving art.

Q: How would you describe the importance of appreciating art in our everyday lives?

V&A: Art and design are integral parts of home and daily life. As humans, we naturally react – often subconsciously – to our everyday surroundings, and it is therefore important to realize and embrace the emotive nature of art and design in their ability to create beautiful and uplifting experiences.

The V&A is world-renowned for creating such experiences through its collections and blockbuster exhibitions on a variety of themes. What a wonderful opportunity to invite these experiences into the home through the Art Store!

Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London

Q: How would you sum up the selection of art that the Museum is showcasing in the Store?

V&A: The collection includes timeless masterpieces and works from unknown artists, giving you the freedom to discover art you love. It includes the work of the creative pioneers that the Museum is well-known for, such as William Morris, Hokusai and James Francis Danby, but also new and in some cases unknown names and designers, which will help give customers insight into the work and history of the decorative arts museum, and an appreciation for our collection and all its variety.

Prado: Since the beginning, we’ve selected our major artworks with careful consideration for how they would be presented and enjoyed. The constantly updated Prado Image Bank has allowed us to fill our collection with 4K images, achieving the level of quality needed to properly enjoy them through a digital medium.

We selected a wide range of works from the Prado Collection that spans centuries and styles, including both icons and lesser-known masterpieces such as Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights and Velazquez’s View of the Garden of the Villa Medici, 19th-century landscapes like the Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, and still-life and portrait pieces.

Q: Have you noticed any interesting trends in terms of the types of art that users are most attracted to?

V&A: There’s been a huge surge in the desire to connect with the natural world and show our respect and appreciation for it. Patterns by William Morris and some of his contemporaries, including C.F.A. Voysey and Walter Crane, offer a sense of that connection.

Whether you want bold, bright colors like Walter Crane’s Cockatoo and Pomegranate, or more elegant, earthy tones like William Morris’s Strawberry Thief, these designs can help bring a sense of calm and tranquility into the home.

Prado: Still life, landscapes and decorative art are particularly popular. Other pieces in the mix include lesser-known paintings like The Siesta, or Pompeian Scene – a domestic scene in antiquity for a 21st-century home.

About the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A)

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity. It was established in 1852 to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, its purpose is to champion creative industry, inspire the next generation, and spark everyone’s imagination.

About the Prado Museum, Madrid (The Museo Del Prado)

The Museo Del Prado is considered by many to be the greatest public collection of paintings in the world. From the time of its foundation in 1819 the Museum attracted to Madrid the most refined and sensitive art lovers of the 19th century. In the Prado’s tranquil galleries they discovered Velázquez and Goya and through them the entire Spanish School, which from that point onwards enjoyed a new esteem among critics and art historians worldwide. In addition to the key works by those painters, to whose list of names we should add El Greco, the Museum also houses extremely important holdings of the work of other European artists as a result of the collecting interests of the Spanish monarchy. It is consequently impossible to gain a profound knowledge of the work of Titian, Rubens or Bosch without visiting this venerable institution.

During the course of its existence and over more than two hundred years that have passed since 1819, the Museo del Prado has been able to reinforce its collections to a significant degree, becoming one of the most established and highly appreciated institutions of its kind in Europe.

* Users looking to discover artwork collection from V&A and Museo del Prado in The Frame’s Art Store can head to Partner > V&A or Partner > Prado.

Welcome to part two of our series spotlighting the artists and institutions behind The Frame’s one-stop art shop, the Art Store.

In part one, we met illustrator Hyun Kim, who discussed how The Frame has helped his playful illustrations find a wider audience. Here, we turn our attention to the curation process in a wide-ranging interview with the Store’s official curator: a world-renowned art advisor who’s spent the last 15 years creating bespoke art experiences, Elise Van Middelem.

Q: What are your main responsibilities as The Frame’s Art Curator & Advisor?

My responsibilities range from researching and recommending artists, to contacting the right partners, selecting specific artwork, and defining key categories.

Q: How long have you been curating art for The Frame?

In 2016, Samsung and [Swiss designer] Yves Béhar reached out to me to collaborate on The Frame, and I was immediately attracted by the possibility of demystifying the art experience. For me, art is a second language – a lens that has helped me understand people from all backgrounds and cultures. Our goal was to make The Frame’s art collection accessible to anyone in this way, which is why it includes artists from the four corners of the world – from Southeast Asia to Canada, and from South Africa to Europe.

We decided to start with a wide selection of artworks covering a variety of categories, including Landscapes, Architecture, Wildlife, Drawings, Digital Art, Action, Still Life, Patterns, Urban Abstract and From Above. This offered The Frame users the feeling that they owned a curated art collection of museum quality.

The names of the categories speak for themselves. However, within each one, my goal was to find artwork that transcends the experience of traditional wallpaper or stock photography, and to replicate the feeling of entering a digital gallery exhibition in which every artwork has been carefully selected. The curation and integration of an Art Store within The Frame came at a later stage.

Q: How have the artists and partners you’ve collaborated with responded to The Frame?

The artists I’ve worked with see it as a great idea that could really change people’s perceptions about how art can be displayed. They’re excited by how it invites art into your home so it can affect you in your own space, at your own pace, and in your own time.

Q: How do you come up with themes for new collections?

The initial set of themes for the Art Store grew naturally out of the creation of The Frame’s art collection. It was a wonderful base to work with and expand from.

Today, themes come with moods. Ideally, we would want anyone to be able to find artwork that fits their mood of the day.

If you take a look at the Art Store’s most popular pieces, you’ll find that the majority of users are drawn to images depicting tranquil scenery, and to the works of the Old Masters. Examples of the former include the Art Store’s most viewed piece, Julia Contacessi’s “Odyssey,” as well as Liesl Marelli’s calming “Ripples of Low Tide II” and Sandy Dooley’s playfully colorful “Painting for Mary.” Classic pieces like Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” and “Almond Blossom” have also struck a chord, which shows that users are most interested in artwork that brings a bit of Nature, or beautiful scenery, into their homes.

Q: Is there a collection in the Art Store that you’re particularly proud of?

I hold the experience of curating the first collection of artworks for The Frame very close to my heart. It was a unique opportunity to collaborate with various artists from around the world to create the most comprehensive, accessible, and stunning museum-quality art collection, exclusively for The Frame.

Through the hands-on experience of curating that collection, I learned what works really well on The Frame. In that way, each collection feels very personal, and each means a lot to me.

Q: In a word, how would you describe your curation process?

Adventurous!

Q: What do you find most exciting about helping people discover incredible works of art?

Like many of my colleagues in the art world, what I find most exciting about The Frame is that it lets art affect you in your own space and in your own time. The Frame has the potential to change our perception of viewing art – how it is approached, collected, and displayed. It allows anyone to learn about art through living with it.

Q: What kinds of artwork would we find on your Frame?

I love to display the drawings of Clare Rojas and ruby onyinyechi amanze, which are available in The Frame’s art collection. Moreover, there are also some wonderful works of art that allow us to bring nature into our homes! Decorating your living space with the landscapes of Cody Cobb, the ‘natural world’ photography of the BBC, and the V&A’s beautiful wallpaper patterns is a fun way to ‘rewild’ yourself during these extraordinary times!

Q: Could you offer any details on what you’re curating right now?

The goal with The Frame was always to create collections that would transcend cultures and backgrounds, amongst other things. These extraordinary times have left us wanting to bring nature closer to our homes. That’s the main idea behind a collection we’re launching soon, called “Biophilia.”

Nature-based collections – for example, artworks depicting flowers in spring or the sea in the summer – have proven particularly popular with Art Store users. I am very much looking forward to seeing our newest nature-inspired collection make its debut.

The homely world of Hyun Kim’s artworks is waiting for viewers in The Frame

Illustrator Hyun Kim has been working as an artist for 18 years now, bringing to life the joy found in the everyday with his art – but nowadays at the forefront of his mind are questions about what could be next for him in getting his art to new audiences and how to keep the process exciting. Then Samsung’s lifestyle TV, The Frame, came along.

Kim’s works are imbued with a sense of warmth relatable both to adults and children, conveying fairy-tale-like stories to users of The Frame all over the world.

In order to learn more about how Kim’s work and The Frame came together in such harmony, Samsung Newsroom visited Kim’s workshop.

Creating Magical Worlds for All Ages

Kim’s work expresses those universal childhood experiences that both children and adults cherish, including the beauty of nature, time spent playing with friends and the magical world of children’s toys. “I always try my best to portray the world as seen through the eyes of children, a world of warmth and lovely things,” explained Kim. “I want those who view my art to find comfort in it – just as they would in an embrace from their mother.”

‘Gooly Gooly Friends’ by Hyun Kim. This artwork tells the story of friends having an adventure deep in a forest

This distinct warmth to Kim’s style is how his collaboration with The Frame came about. Since the living room, where many users’ TVs are situated, is the heart of the home and the center of the family space, Kim’s work is capable of appealing to both children and adults at the same time. Users can even choose which specific illustrations of Kim’s are showcased onscreen, so as to make it atmosphere suitable for a mealtime, a child’s birthday party or just a relaxing weekend.

As an artist open to new experiences, this collaboration was particularly meaningful for Kim. “I, myself, had purchased The Frame TV because I was interested in the way it allows users to bring artworks straight into their living room,” said Kim. “I was particularly pleased to then be asked to collaborate with The Frame’s Art Mode artwork collection – it fills me with awe to imagine that there might be someone on the other side of the world taking in my art in their living room.”

QLED Color Quality with an Artist’s Stamp of Approval

Following the invitation to collaborate, the artists involved, including Kim, got to work selecting which pieces were to be included in The Frame’s gallery. Given the wide range of users The Frame has, the artists had to carefully consider how to appeal to all tastes. “As I wanted to choose works of mine that could be enjoyed by all members of the family, I visited many families with children to see which works appealed most,” explained Kim. “The artworks of mine that I ended up choosing are subsequently ones that are easy to understand and very family-friendly.”

In order to ensure that the original feeling of his artworks was delivered through the screen of The Frame, Kim also worked on his artworks’ digital optimization process. When creating physical copies of his artworks, such as prints or exhibition versions, Kim had often been limited with accurate color rendering as print colors can only be realized using the four ink colors of magenta, cyan, yellow and black. However, digital colors have no such limitations, meaning the coloring of the digital versions of Kim’s artworks can be rendered more accurately.

Kim’s artworks were realized for The Frame using QLED Quantum Dot technology which is able to realize 100% of the artwork’s original color, detailing and texture. “When my artworks are printed on paper, the colors often end up being slightly different to my original work,” said Kim. “However, The Frame delivers my artworks colored as I originally did, ensuring that my original intention is conveyed to users. Artists like myself are often very sensitive about the coloration of their artworks in reproduction, but The Frame’s 4K Ultra High Definition has left me very satisfied.”

Getting Closer to Art Without Leaving Your Living Room

“With The Frame, you will find yourself encountering more and more art on the regular,” noted Kim. “As a result, you’ll be able to discover your own personal taste based on the works that you enjoy the most.”

Kim hopes that users of The Frame find his artworks peaceful when they encounter them on The Frame’s Art Mode. “You don’t need a lot of time or thought to understand my artwork,” he noted. “I want to make art pieces that give users the same feeling as comfortable clothing does; I hope my illustrations provide a moment of relaxation in the midst of users’ busy days.”

* Users looking to discover Kim’s Gooly Gooly Friends in The Frame’s Art Store artwork collection can head to Partner > TONYBUNNY or Artists > GOOLYGOOLY.