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SAMSUNG DESIGN DELHI

Global Design
That Embodies
Unique Character

  • This is Mahelaqua’s profile photo.
    Mahelaqua

    Senior Designer, SDD

  • This is Monika Chandra’s profile photo.
    Monika Chandra

    Senior Designer, SDD

“ Global and local come together as a single design that shines with brilliance. ”

“ Global and local come together as a single design that shines with brilliance. ”

This is a photo of SDD designers working together.

Tell us about any notable trends or sentiments in India recently.

Mahelaqua India has the largest population of Gen Z and Millennials in the world, even surpassing China. This attracts a lot of attention from global companies. While these companies contribute to rapid globalization, they also focus on the unique and diverse local needs of Indian Gen Z and Millennials. As Indian Gen Z and Millennials have deep emotional connections with their Indian roots, culture, and society, their lifestyles are a fusion of global trends and local inspirations.

I’d assume India has a diverse culture considering how large and populous it is.

Monika You’re right. India is like a melting pot of culture due to different explorers and rulers passing through over the course of history. Local customs that have been passed down for generations became the foundation for India’s diversity which contributes to its various cultures and ways of life. India’s diverse demographic is the reason why this country is quickly becoming one of the most important markets in the world. India’s working-age population is on the rise, which is apparent in its huge Gen Z and Millennial population.

What is SDD’s secret know-how for embracing all this diversity?

Monika SDD is located in Delhi, which is India’s industrial and financial hub. It is home to more than 250 Fortune 500 companies and over 7,000 startups. This unique trait of this city helps us stay up-to-date with ongoing trends and respond quickly to major issues. Mahelaqua SDD is comprised of designers from different regions of India. This gives us an edge in better understanding local needs and opportunities. We are able to quickly and meaningfully react to situations with an open and aware mindset.

Where do you focus on when reflecting local characteristics to the design?

Monika Globally significant aesthetics and local insights must always be combined with one another. We think it is important to create designs that can keep up with trends while naturally blending with its surroundings when placed in homes or actually used. Mahelaqua SDD’s mission has always been to understand and fulfill local demands with meaningful and scalable innovation. Through UX projects over the years such as Transliteration, Low Memory Solution, and Chat Over Video, we have strived to create context driven designs that inspired local innovation. We also believe that Indian Gen Z and Millennials represent innovative markets while also influencing global insights.

This is an image of Samsung’s refrigerator which the camellia patterns are applied.

Camellia Pattern Refrigerator

The refrigerator that recently had a camellia embedded in the door was very impressive.

Monika We took from the insight of Indians liking floral patterns. Traditionally, flowers have been a means to please god and a symbol of fertility as well as a source of inspiration for countless local crafts. We chose a camellia flower this time because it is a flower commonly found in India and it also resembles the Indian rose. We applied different opacities to the petal layers and exaggerated the floral pattern to give a dramatic feel to it.

Tell us about any difficulties you encountered when designing it.

Monika As I mentioned earlier about demographic diversity, it was a challenge to come up with designs that was meaningful for both the younger generation with a progressive mindset and the older generation with traditional sensibilities. That is why we started working on a non-floral and geometric design. We plan to release several designs by 2020 in the India market.

This is an image of Samsung Galaxy J2 Core.

Galaxy J2 Core

I heard SDD also designed the Galaxy J2 Core smartphone.

Mahelaqua That’s right. It was a low-spec smartphone that was equipped with a youthful and innovative UX in an India-inspired signature style.

What was the ultimate goal during the design process?

Mahelaqua Our mission was to design an easy UX for first-time smartphone users based on insights from Big Data. We objectively analyzed usage behaviors and patterns, and then made a confident decision to enhance features and bring more depth. We eliminated redundant or unused features. This allowed us to make a meaningful and easy UX for the Galaxy J2 Core driven by Big Data that ultimately contributed to better performance as well.

  • This is an image that shows the inside of the SDD office.
  • This is an image that shows the inside of the SDD office.

Share with us about the future you are envisioning as a designer at SDD.

Mahelaqua SDD’s vision is to focus on the growing influence of Gen Z and Millennial users of India who will lead local and global innovation. We believe this will help us drive both local and global innovation. Monika As a satellite design studio based in Southwest Asia, we will strive to strengthen our position regionally as well as globally. Through continuous research and interactions with users, we will cater to unmet and unarticulated local needs. We plan to continue collaborating with the Seoul Office to create designs that embody the essences of both ‘global’ and ‘local.’

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