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Samsung Design Thinking

This is a key visual image that symbolically expresses the four steps of Samsung Design Thinking.

Society is becoming more complex as new technologies and trends rapidly emerge. Since the needs of consumers today are diversified, market predictions become increasingly difficult to assess. Consumers now expect integrated experiences from a product more than its individual quality. If the product’s life cycle was previously the focus from a supplier’s perspective, customer lifestyle must be the new center of attention to provide personalized experiences.

This is a paradigm shift. It is part of a major and inevitable change in this coming age. Creativity is a crucial value for these changes. As an effort to be more creative , many companies are looking to the method of how designers’ think, known as Design Thinking. Various leading global companies are already establishing and applying unique Design Thinking based on company values and culture to present new solutions for customer lifestyles.

Based on employee interviews and company-wide projects, Samsung Electronics defined the Samsung Design Thinking process to empathize with customer lives. This way of working creates valuable customer experiences and will become the DNA of organizational culture and innovation.

About

Samsung Design Thinking

Samsung Design Thinking is a thinking process and mindset used to derive customer experiences. Based on the “Inspired by Humans, Creating the Future” design philosophy of Samsung Electronics, the method of working from a customer’s perspective was defined through analysis of representative tasks in the heritage of this design philosophy. This method consists of a four-step thinking process, a customer-centric mindset, and tools to materialize the processes.

This is an image that embeds the step of Samsung Design Thinking into the shape.

4 Steps

of Samsung Design Thinking

1

DISCOVER

“Discovering new values by deeply empathizing with customers.”

Start every process from the human essence and carefully observe the customer with empathetic curiosity. Design Thinking begins from obtaining insights on people who desire innovation. Place yourself in their shoes. Listen to their stories. Observe them carefully. This is a stage of being immersed in consumers while relating to their lives to discover their underlying needs.

This image represents 'Discover' which is the first step in Samsung Design Thinking.
This image represents ‘Resonate' which is the second step in Samsung Design Thinking.

2

RESONATE

“Defining core values by identifying with the customers.”

Unraveling the real cause of problems and repetitively testing and confirming customer hypotheses lead to discovering customer values. A customer’s problem must be properly understood and defined to present a meaningful solution. The essence of a problem can be derived based on insights gained through interviews, observations, and adapting to the perspectives of customers. It is essential to assess the problem and define innovative values from the customer’s perspective.

3

CONNECT

“Deriving better solutions to expand on customer experiences.”

Ideating and cooperating with experts across various fields and carrying out swift prototyping tests result in optimized solutions. Despite being unrefined, ideas are shared without hesitation and openly accepted from various perspectives. This is a stage that involves creating prototypes to validate ideas, repeatedly verifying customer responses, and merging them with new insights.

This image represents ‘Connect' which is the third step in Samsung Design Thinking.
This image represents ‘Deliver' which is the fourth step in Samsung Design Thinking.

4

DELIVER

“Perfecting products and services to deliver core values to customers.”

Cooperating and collaborating with various stakeholders while making the utmost effort to complete a solution. Working with cross-functional teams is necessary to develop an idea into an actual product or service. It is also important to convince stakeholders of new customer values and mediate the fine balance between customer and supplier using a solid business framework.

20 Mindsets

of Samsung Design Thinking

The Samsung Design Thinking mindset serves as a unifying basis for Samsung Electronics’ perspectives, standards, and decision-making in the process of resolving problems in the customer’s point of view. Design Thinking is a thought processed focused on customers. Placing this method into practice means prioritizing a customer-centric attitude. A mindset is a set of values and perspective that can interpret situations and inform decisions. Samsung Electronics defines this mindset into 20 keywords. These keywords will serve as the north star that guides every step of our journey towards bringing greater values to customers.

  • This is a ‘Consensus Building’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Consensus
    Building

    Clearly sharing and aligning on the direction of the desired output and goals with team members in a project.

  • #
    Creative
    Confidence

    A belief that our creative ideas and suggestions can provide meaningful value to consumers.

    This is a ‘Creative Confidence’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Iterate’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Iterate

    Visualized ideas and solutions are validated from a customer’s perspective, and adjustments are constantly made through feedback.

  • #
    Open Mind

    Never dismiss thoughts and opinions that you may not agree with. Have a positive and flexible attitude towards the opinions of others.

    This is a ‘Open Mind’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

  • #
    Curious

    The desire to explore and understand new and unknown things. Raising the question of ‘why?’ when faced with different situations.

    This is a ‘Curious’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Always Be Inspired’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Always Be
    Inspired

    Prepared to be inspired anytime, anywhere.

  • #
    Empathy

    Be a prospective customer with a considerate attitude, and meticulously observe the experience.

    This is a ‘Empathy’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Collecting Information’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Collecting Information

    Collect and comprehend the phenomena and data that are necessary for the project in various ways.

  • This is a ‘Learn from the Scene’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Learn from
    the Scene

    Get your hands dirty and closely observe in the actual field rather than assuming something would “happen that way.”

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    Explore the
    Problem Space

    View the problem from various angles and contemplate on the real reason for the problem.

    This is a ‘Explore the Problem Space’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Understanding Context’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Understanding Context

    Instead of being limited by products, think in the context of culture, era, and lifestyles to understand the essence.

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    Hypothesize
    & Verify

    Establish a direction for ideas through reasoning and testing based on hypotheses. Be able to doubt reasonably.

    This is a ‘Hypothesize & Verify’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Creating
    Customer Value

    Clarify the customer experience values we want to deliver through our products and services.

    This is a ‘Creating Customer Value’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Learning Agility’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Learning
    Agility

    In addition to one’s own area of expertise, actively study other field to gain better understanding.

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    Learn Through Experimentation

    Discover new problems and unexpected variables of products through prototyping and testing.

    This is a ‘Learn through Experimentation’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Visualization’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Visualization

    Materialize abstract ideas and customer values to visualize them.

  • This is a ‘Passion & Perseverance’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Passion & Perseverance

    Persist in finding solutions while accepting unexpected variables and obstacles.

  • #
    Collaborate in Diverse Teams

    Proactively cooperative with various collaborative partners and relentlessly work towards achieving project goals.

    This is a ‘Collaborate in Diverse Teams’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.
  • This is a ‘Communication’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

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    Communication

    We persuade partners and officials with different roles and specialties in their language.

  • #
    Make It

    Prioritizing the materialization of an idea and its final quality over the idea itself.

    This is a ‘Make it’ image of Samsung Design Thinking 20 Mindsets.

38 Methods

of Samsung Design Thinking

The Samsung Design Thinking method is a tool to resolve problems. When solving a complicated problem, these methods becomes a guide to help identify what the issue is in the customer’s perspective. Actual tools that can be applied to projects have been newly developed or customized and organized into 38 tools. These tools can be selected and combined based on the context, situation, and goal of a project, and detailed instructions are provided along with worksheets and card-type toolkits.

This image represents 'GET READY' which is the first step in 38 Methods of Samsung Design Thinking.

GET READY

  • Project Brief
  • Finding Polaris
  • Value Cards
This image represents ‘DISCOVER' which is the second step in 38 Methods of Samsung Design Thinking.

DISCOVER

  • Customer Profile
  • X Diary
  • Interview Tips
  • Question Builder
  • Journey Map
  • Persona Report
  • Media Scan
  • Inspiration Note
  • Affinity Diagram
This image represents ‘RESONATE' which is the third step in 38 Methods of Samsung Design Thinking.

RESONATE

  • Pop to Insight
  • Point of View
  • POV Scoping
  • Viewfinder
  • Exploration Board
  • Pechakucha 10X20
  • Value Statement
  • Conditional Voting Tips
This image represents ‘CONNECT' which is the fourth step in 38 Methods of Samsung Design Thinking.

CONNECT

  • Trigger Cards
  • Mashup
  • Reverse Brainstorming
  • Concept Bundle
  • Storytoon
  • Prototype
  • Prototype Scoping
  • Test Scenario
  • Test Note
  • Test Tracking
  • Eight Napkins
  • World Café
This image represents ‘DELIVER' which is the Fifth step in 38 Methods of Samsung Design Thinking.

DELIVER

  • Newspaper
  • ASK 3WR + 6P
  • One Visual Summary
  • Business Lens
  • Pivoting
  • Pitching Tips
This is an outro image with Samsung Design Thinking Playbook.

The Samsung Design Thinking is a consumer-oriented thinking method that helps maintain customer perspective and creates best solutions through creative ideas. It is Samsung Electronics’ creative way to work that verifies and refines customer-oriented solutions, while setting a single goal towards customer experience innovation that transcends functional and organizational goals.

Through diverse project experiences and knowhow, Samsung Electronics found their unique values that prioritize the customer above all else and a differentiated working method was established through close examination of project processes and results. This led to the definition of Samsung Design Thinking, a solution and perspective unique to Samsung Electronics that was dedicated to creating innovative customer experiences. Samsung Electronics will continue to develop and improve on the creative approach of finding solutions to problems based on deep customer empathy, all for the ultimate goal of bringing endless innovation to the experience of Samsung’s customers.

Be Bold. Resonate with Soul.

* Samsung Design Thinking Playbook : A playbook is a type of guidebook used in football matches where teams can quickly and easily be informed of their strategies based on the opponent’s attack or defense formations. The Samsung Design Thinking Playbook is a strategic guide filled with various tools and processes that help designers keep a consistent outlook on complicated and difficult problems in the perspective of customers to creatively resolve issues.
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