Unraveling
the Innovation
of Tomorrow

When I think about San Francisco, the first word that comes to mind is ‘innovation’. Tell me about the qualities that are unique to that place.

Robert New ideas and tech trends are not just adopted here, they are born here. Seounghyun San Francisco is the loveliest city in the world. People from different cities and cultures around the world gather here to create an entirely different and unique lifestyle together.

I want to hear about the design trends that are popular in San Francisco right now.

Seounghyun Micro trends are always present. However, the beauty of Silicon Valley is that a certain trend doesn’t dominate everything else. It knows how to embrace all tastes and styles. Robert ‘Design for Good’ is a popular topic here. Designers examine their work to see if there are positive impacts to society, and unintended consequences of our designs are thoroughly discussed.

I know that you have been designing wireless earphones. I am curious about the team that was part of the Galaxy Buds design.

Robert Galaxy Buds was designed by Sean Bornheimer, Rhys Bonahoom, Seounghyun Son, and myself. The team members have expertise in design, product development, strategy, user research, and rapid prototyping. The team’s unique and diverse backgrounds allowed them to create and absorb the divergent perspectives necessary to break outside of the traditional iterative product development process.

I’d like to hear more about the Galaxy Buds design project.

Robert Galaxy Buds are Samsung Electronics’ third generation wireless earbuds. First, we closely examined how people listened to music and made phone calls. Our design goal was to create the most convenient, comfortable, and capable earbuds. Seounghyun In an age where mobile devices have become truly versatile, we contemplated and explored the idea of a next generation mobile device that could lead the industry and offer brand new experiences.

What was most important when designing them?

Robert Ergonomics. Peoples’ ears come in many shapes and sizes. Designing a product that can safely and ergonomically fit into any ear was a challenge in itself.

I’d imagine there was a lot of trial and error.

Seounghyun Definitely. Ears are especially complicated and sensitive body parts that change in sizes as people mature. That is why ergonomics was so important for the design. I think we modified the design at least a hundred times. More than 300 people of different ethnicities participated in the test programs.