JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 12 June 2018 – While innovative technology means that a television may be placed just about anywhere in a home – either turning into a gallery-like piece of art when it’s not being watched or as an integral part of the décor, there is something appealing about a room that is specific to the pieces on the wall and sound of movies or series. Just about any form of entertainment is available online, which means creating a theatre-like experience doesn’t require a whole re-design of a place.

Ahead of planning any interior space, it’s important to first understand what it is primarily to be used for, as well as how many people it will usually need to seat. In a dedicated TV room, the use is already decided; it’s the number of people who will normally be viewing at any given time that then becomes an important factor. Assuming it’s usually a family of six, then of course there needs to be adequate seating for each family member. If the family seldom watches together, the layout could be arranged to accommodate just one or two people watching together. If there isn’t really a spare spot in your home, double up with a guest room – all you’ll need to do is use a sleeper couch as the main reclining option.

Lyle Mitchley, Head Product Manager for TV at Samsung South Africa, says, “We’ve come a long way in terms of television design and innovation and while many people want to display their Samsung TV’s, especially the exquisite Frame, a devoted TV room is becoming trendy, giving people the opportunity to design an area that encourages a truly theatre-like experience.”

In advance of deciding on the seating for the TV room, consider the way you like to enjoy it. Given you’re more likely to spend your time on a romantic movie late at night, you may prefer to go for a low-slung couch with dreamily soft cushions. If you’re an edge-of-your-seat sports fan, a higher, more solid type seating option could be a better choice.

Symmetry and asymmetry are both integral to interior design. Finding a focal point is usually the first aspect of planning. When it comes to a TV room, the obvious centrepiece will be the television. The size of the TV will assist in determining what is placed next to it, as well as how furniture fits in front of it. However, the television is positioned, on a TV unit or flush-mounted to the wall; placing either shelves or pieces of décor on either side of it assists in making the room feel cosier, which is the goal of an entertainment room. Asymmetry in design relates to spaces where the focal point isn’t in the middle of a wall, but rather off-centre.

The rule of three is helpful in this instance – this means placing two additional items that balance the off-centre focal point, to create a holistic visual. An example of this could be if the TV is to the right of the centre of the wall, two plants, one that’s slightly taller than the top of the TV and one that’s slightly lower, will balance it out. This may well be a set of shelves and a small table that create a vertical balance to the horizontal top of the TV.

Before the advent of sound bars, the television focus could easily be balanced with the large speakers to create a surround-sound experience. But, that’s no longer the case and rather than having electronic décor, softer and more aesthetically pleasing items can be put in place.

Adding a sound bar to your TV sound is what makes all the difference. For example, the Samsung 500 W 5.1.4 ch has 15 built-in speakers, including four upward-facing drivers and rear wireless speakers that deliver crystal clear sound. Dolby Atmos transports you into what you are watching with moving audio that flows all around you, even from above,” adds Mitchley.

When it comes to audio, the acoustics of a room also become important. This doesn’t mean having to create a sound-proofed interior, though. Instead, simply ensure that interior elements are soft – vibration bounces off hard surfaces, so if there isn’t carpeting in the TV room, include a rug that’ll help absorb the sound waves.

Whatever your viewing habits are, having a space in your home dedicated to entertainment is a wonderful luxury that hugely enhances your enjoyment.

From refrigerators to audio equipment, product design is continuously becoming more thoughtful, considering people’s lifestyles and how they interact with their surroundings. Samsung Electronics’ latest devices reflect this growing trend, perhaps none more so than its recently launched lifestyle television, The Frame.

Created in collaboration with world-renowned designer Yves Behar, The Frame is truly a game changer for the TV industry, transforming the conventional black box into a piece of art that adds aesthetic value to the home.

Behar attained a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from the Art Centre College of Design before working on various international projects. In 1999 Behar established the San Francisco and New York-based industrial design and brand management firm Fuseproject.

Behar collaborated with Samsung on a sculptural television, mounting one of Samsung’s curved televisions on an artistically designed cube-shaped base. The base contains the speakers and the bulk of the electronics. This project was unveiled at the CES in Las Vegas in 2015.

Samsung went behind the scenes with Behar to discuss what inspired The Frame, his favourite moments working with the consumer electronics giant and how he envisions the future of TV.

Q. Tell us about the collaboration process between yourself and Samsung on The Frame.

Yves Behar: Samsung and my team at Fuseproject have been collaborating for almost a decade now, envisioning new ways that displays can be experienced in the home. For The Frame specifically, we wanted to explore how the display might fit into any room of the house by augmenting its use beyond a device to just watch TV on. This is where we came up with the concept of eliminating the black box and replacing it with eye-catching artworks. The Frame is a smart television that is designed to blend into the décor.

Q. You are known for experimenting with new concepts, materials and technologies. What drives your design decisions?

Yves Behar: My goal has always been to improve people’s daily lives – and thus the world – through design. To do so, I think it’s essential to be inspired by human behaviours and desires. By bridging behaviours and objects through design, we can discover new types of experiences in our everyday lives, all the while accelerating the adoption of new ideas. Rather than designing a product that only comes to life when watching entertainment, we began to think about a display that offers new inspiration in our lives.

Q. What inspired the design of The Frame?

Yves Behar: In our smaller homes and apartments, when a television is off, its black square takes up valuable real estate. At the core of The Frame, is the experience it provides – one that allows users to enjoy a selection of artworks that are automatically displayed and naturally dimmed and brightened throughout the day. Samsung and my team built every element of the TV from the hardware to the art platform on this foundation. The user experience, for instance, is meant to emulate a digital art space, so we designed it to be simple and beautiful just like a gallery, with the artworks themselves as the primary visual focus.

Each artwork is scanned and converted into a digital format and is shown with different coloured mounting options according to the artists’ preferences. For the Art Mode function, Samsung enlisted the help of curator Elise Van Middelm, she recruited artists such as Luisa Lambri, Barry McGee and Todd Eberle, who each had works converted especially for this screen.

Q. Were there any moments during your collaboration with Samsung on The Frame that are particularly memorable?

Yves Behar: Perhaps one of the most exciting moments was when we were showcasing a prototype of The Frame we had built in San Francisco. We demonstrated the effect of adding sensors to a TV – a brightness sensor to adjust the backlight of the display and a motion sensor to turn the TV on or off depending on the presence or absence of a person.

Incorporating sensors posed a technical challenge but was absolutely crucial to creating the experience we had designed. The concept was also an entirely new one! It was very exciting to showcase this technological advancement and the passion and conviction I felt was shared between our joint teams.

Q. For you, personally, what has been the most impressive outcome of the partnership?

Yves Behar: Our design process was inherently collaborative; I could not imagine creating nearly such impactful work without Samsung’s close collaboration. Our ability to execute every detail of The Frame, from the sensors to the magnetic, interchangeable wooden bezels, so flawlessly is an achievement in itself.

For me, the most impressive aspect of the TV is its art platform, which features paintings and photographs from the world’s top galleries, as well as partners such as the Albertina Museum, LUMAS, Magnum Photos, Saatchi Art and Sedition. It’s really something to have instant access to hundreds of artworks, which are elegantly exhibited but also with a high degree of realism.

Q. What does TV mean to you?

Yves Behar: I consider myself to be a fairly typical consumer when it comes to watching TV. There are a few programmes I enjoy watching but for most of the day, my TV is turned off. In the past, I designed a piece of furniture to conceal it when it wasn’t in use.

The Frame is really a turning point as it empowers me to keep my display out in the open while simultaneously adding to my home’s aesthetic value through new artworks. I think we are witnessing a new era for televisions, one where they are a portal into art, among other things.

Q. How do you foresee the future of TV?

Yves Behar: Even though technology in the home is becoming more discreet, the television will continue to play a role in our ever-evolving homes. By asking the questions no one else is asking, designers and manufacturers like Samsung will discover new ways to integrate displays into our living spaces.

It’s important that TVs are designed from an experience-led perspective, not a technology-driven one. However, adaptive technologies will enable us to create products that are more personal and less obtrusive. The Frame is a big step in the right direction, but getting rid of the black box is only just the beginning.

Q. What’s your hope for users of The Frame?

Yves Behar: It’s my wish that consumers will appreciate the introduction of art into their daily lives and enjoy the value and inspiration that come with having a gallery-worthy work in their living space. When you buy The Frame, you are also investing in artists – sourcing their work specifically for this display. All the complexities and nuances of The Frame’s design come down to this simple experience.

Market leaders in cutting edge innovations which are tailored to challenge norms and enrich people’s lives through fulfilling needs and desires, Samsung, continues to wow South African audiences as it officially unveils The Frame TV to the local market.  In regular TV mode, this device is a majestic and bold 4K UHD TV, but turn it off and it enters Art Mode and becomes an elegant picture frame for stunning gallery-quality art and showcases great family moments through photographs.

The illusion of The Frame TV being a regular artwork is achieved because it sits flat to the wall, thanks to the no gap wall mount matched by a recessed area on the back of the TV. This is partly possible because there it has no HDMI or other connectors on the back of the screen, only a thin power cable and a bespoke connector to a thin optical cable, which is almost ‘invisible’. This links the TV to a box where the regular cable connections are found.

“The unsightly TV box has evolved over time to slicker smarter designs but still remained the unwelcome ‘centre piece’ in your living room. Fortunately, that is now a thing of the past and there was no better space, timing and fit for Samsung to introduce The Frame TV than at South Africa’s premier décor, design and lifestyle exhibition, Decorex – with an estimated 50 000 followers,” said Justin Hume, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung South Africa. “Essentially this ground-breaking marvel of a TV will enable consumers to decorate their homes with an impressive digital collection of internationally renowned works of art which include architectural photography by Todd Eberle and Nacho Alegre, works from Tobias Rehberger’s 2016 series Screensavers and mixed-media collages by Barry McGee, at a small fraction of the market value.”

This exclusive, professionally-curated Samsung Collection includes 100 works of art from 37 famous artists across 10 genres which include photography, paintings, drawings, and digital works. What’s more, a visit to the online Art Store allows viewing and purchasing of internationally famous artists, either on a permanent or monthly basis to ensure each personal art collection stays fresh. It also has a number of bezel frame options, so whether it’s a Picasso or a family photograph, the right frame can be chosen to match.

But it’s not just the discreet design that makes The Frame an innovative entertainment tool. When not displaying your favourite art or photos, The Frame TV offers exceptional picture quality boasting 4K Ultra HD resolution, 4K HDR, and over 1 billion colours, so you get both beautiful art and a beautiful television. Further, forget multiple remotes all over the place as with Samsung’s OneRemote you can control all your favourite shows, works of art and connected devices without requiring setup.

“To experience the future of TV today as well as the many wonderful features of The Frame TV which led to it winning the ‘Best of Innovation’ Award at CES this year, make your way to Decorex Johannesburg which runs from 9 to 13 August 2017. It’s sure to put you in a new frame of mind about television forever,” concludes Hume.