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SAMSUNG DESIGN JAPAN

The Origin
and Starting Point
of New Business

  • This is Norio Okada’s profile photo.
    Norio Okada

    Head of Office, SDJ

“ Collaborate closely and shape opportunities for new business. ”

“ Collaborate closely and shape opportunities for new business. ”

This is a photo captured by SDJ designers.

I’d like to know what the consumer culture is in Japan these days.

Norio ‘The concept of Danshari (断捨離), which is to minimalize and declutter one’s life, is popular these days. There is a strong tendency to carefully pick and choose the best quality even when purchasing everyday items.

Even so, isn’t there a cultural disposition toward valuing individuality?

Norio That’s right. There are a lot of people who desire to express their individuality upfront, and high school students are at the center of this phenomenon. Most people pursue both uniqueness and practicality.

I’d imagine there are specific design trends that are popular in Japan.

Norio ‘Kawaii,’ which means ‘cute,’ is a deeply rooted trend. Pink is especially at the forefront of this trend, as it is combined with various materials or applied in gradations and iridescent colors in fashion items. Recently, the nuance for ‘Kawaii’ is expanding to either ‘Kakko Kawaii*’ or ‘Otona Kawaii,’ and expectedly, pink is at the center of these trends as well.

Kakko Kawaii A word combination that blends the words Kakkoii (cool) and Kawaii (cute) to mean a cool kind of cuteness.

Otona Kawaii A word combination that blends the words Otona (adult) and Kawaii (cute) to mean a mature cuteness.

  • This is an image of SDJ designer’s sketches.

    Galaxy J

  • This is an image of SDJ designer’s sketches.

    8FLICK UX

I think the Galaxy J’s colors are an extended part of that as well.

Norio Yes. The Galaxy J that we developed previously was an exclusive model for the Japanese market and SDJ was in charge of its product, UX, and CMF designs. The exterior minimizes parting lines and eliminates graphic patterns to emphasize its simplistic beauty, while prominently expressing pink and white colors that are preferred by Japanese women in their 20s and 30s. The product was quite well-received, which lead to its exterior design and colors being applied to products released in Taiwan.

  • This is an image of SDJ designer’s sketches.
  • This is an image of SDJ designer’s sketches.
  • This is an image of Samsung Galaxy J.

    Galaxy J

  • This is an image of Samsung 8FLICK UX.

    8FLICK UX

I heard that the Galaxy J’s Japanese input system 8FLICK was an important aspect of the design.

Norio Japanese uses hiragana, katakana, and Chinese characters all at the same time. It was important to create a design that optimized the mobile input system for Japan. 8FLICK helps users quickly transition between hiragana, katakana, and Chinese characters to write text without typos, all within the space of a limited smartphone screen.

  • This is a photo of SDJ designers working together.
  • This is a photo of SDJ designers working together.
  • This is a photo of SDJ designers working together.

What do you think is most important when applying trends to a design?

Norio Whether it is a global trend or a Japan-specific trend, it is difficult to directly reflect trends. It is important to perceive the differences in cultural background, lifestyles, and market maturity in places where the product will actually be used and adjust accordingly.

In those cases, is there an advantage that is unique to SDJ?

Norio I would say ‘footwork.’ Since we are a smaller team, we can be quite agile. We are always exploring new territories by rapidly integrating advanced CMF and innovative technologies, which are Japan’s unique strengths, and are continuously challenging ourselves to elevate the quality and efficiency of our advanced development proposals. We want to continue to achieve maximum performance with a minimum crew and be a great model example for other design studios.

  • This is a photo of SDJ designers working together.
  • This is an image that shows the inside of the SDJ office.

Tell us about SDJ’s goals.

Norio Our goal is to have Japan’s advanced design lead new business opportunities for Samsung Electronics and contribute to the company. This is impossible without the close collaboration with designers based in Seoul. We think it is just as important to design a synergetic collaborative process with the Seoul Design Office as it is to designing actual products.

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