Attaching importance to consumer-oriented design, LGE Corporate Design Center is assuming leadership of universal design development which develops new technology at home.
Universal design pursues design for all persons including the elderly, the handicapped and children. It is being spread with a fast speed due to the influence of an advanced age phenomenon throughout the world. Research and development about products and environments which include universal design is being briskly unfolded, says President Shin Sang-young, LGE Corporate Design Center in an interview at his office with The Korea IT Times. He recently spoke at an international symposium which was held on May 25 at the Seoul National University of Technology under the theme Convergence of Universal Design and Information Technology.
Shin, who spoke regarding universal design development of new technology, introduced LG Electronics' universal design development content in the following examples. He spoke about a slimmodel air conditioner which included robot cleaning function, a 3 door refrigerator's refrigeration room structure alteration technology, and an auto closing refrigerator which applied new structure so that a door can be closed automatically by improving the refrigerator door's hinge.
As LG design development activity which was converged with IT, he especially named HomeNet which has networked and automated all electric home appliance products of a household. As regarding peculiar item which is in the process of design development for LGE Corporate Design Center, it is a Design pre- Proposal Strategy which presents design reflecting customer demand to the development team in advance, Shin emphasizes.
This means of course to escape from passive features which decorate external appearances in step with established engineers' presentation.
Such a Design pre-Proposal Strategy aims to make hit products by allowing designer to present new product concepts and to carry out an initiative role in product development, according to Shin. Not only the Chocolate Phone and Shine Phone, but also Whisen air conditioners which sold the most in the world are representative examples that attained customer value innovation through design.
From the very first, designers at LG Electronics lead concept development from the stage of its product planning by garnering planning, design, business and marketing staffs to forge a team, said Shin.
The president notes that LGE Corporate Design Center is scheduled to secure four core capacities as the best level in the world, which are concept, style, interface, and finishing. It plans to concentrate its efforts on concept, interface and invisible elements this year.
In a nutshell, LG Electronics' designers are providing customers with convenience and beauty through customer insightoriented design, according to Shin.
Regarding LGE Corporate Design Center's global network on the other hand, a foreign-based design lab was founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1991 to achieve design globalization. More foreign-based design labs were subsequently founded in the cities of New Jersey, US, in 1993; Tokyo, Japan in 1993; Beijing, China in 1998; and Milan, Italy in 2002 to establish an overseas network system.
Right now, the Center is under direct control of the CEO, not any more by the CTO, according to Shin, proving that the LG Electronics CEO attaches his special importance to design. After company-wide design management declaration in June of 2006, Shin said: "Design is actively involved not only in developing products, but also as wide range of resources in all of the value chains."
