SKIP NAVIGATION

Towards the
New Normal


In the Midst of Change,
We Look Toward the Better New Day

It's an illustration of enjoying daily life comfortably in the house. 

A state of crisis often demands change. Recently, our lives have rapidly transformed. Social distancing, work-from-home, and online classes have become familiar terms in our daily lives. The entire paradigm shifted for work patterns, relationships, hobbies, and consumer behavior. This is no longer a temporary adjustment, but instead has become a transition to a completely different lifestyle.
Samsung Design closely observes the recent shift of our lives with a keen perspective. Newly emerging values and the transformation of everyday habits are closely examined to draft a new blueprint for the future. In this process, each user’s voice and need is taken in account, as the solution for a new normal and a better tomorrow lies in their perspective.

No Place
Like Home

It's an illustration of a mother, father, and child sitting together at a long table doing their own telecommuting and online classes.

Home as the New Hub of Everyday Life

It’s 8 a.m. in the morning and you’re in the living room sitting by the table with a cup of coffee, opening the lid of your laptop. Normally you would’ve been caught in traffic, stuck on the highway on your way to work by now. It’s great to get your morning back, but getting work done worries you. Communicating with your colleagues is the same with email and messenger apps but adjusting to a completely different work environment is not so easy. You can see your husband working at the dining table and your child on the other side of the table attending an online class. Your child seems engaged with the online lesson, even doing exercises for gym class. Your home has now become both an office and school.

This is the icon of a person sitting inside the house.

We’re living in a world where half the population are required to stay inside their homes. Since we cannot go to the office or attend schools, flexible work schedules and working from home are now crucial part of our lives. Our homes have become a place where we conduct every aspect of our activities, no longer limited to just a place of rest but a shared space for work, exercise, hobby, and more.

It's an illustration of various activities such as sports, hobbies, cooking, etc. in various places in the house.

The role our homes play in our lives now have different meaning. Our current homes are designed with bedrooms and living rooms that help us relax and wind down. As the scope of our activities at home expand, the structure of our homes and its furniture need to change as well. It must now be fully equipped with various smart devices to aid online classes and work. Establishing an environment in which each family member can independently focus on their tasks is important as well.

Care
Before Cure

Caring For Digitally

Your concerns grow deeper whenever news broadcasts talk about the area where your parents reside. You give them a call to see how they are doing and ask them not to visit crowded places. They can’t even go to their regular hospital check-ups anymore, and you’re worried whether they are taking care of their health or if they are feeling lonesome. It seems like they are having trouble using online shopping to get groceries and have proper meals. Not being able to be by their side weighs heavy in your hearts.

It is a picture of a mother and daughter talking through video chat.
This is a picture of you taking care of your health while sleeping with a digital device.
It's an icon that symbolizes how you take care of your health with your smartphone.

Peoples’ interests in health, disease control and prevention are on the rise. On the other hand, there are blind spots in healthcare. Prolonged lockdown and the transition to online are isolating those who are digitally underprivileged. Patients who need continuous care, like those suffering from cancer or dementia, are experiencing difficult times.

With growing interest in health and medical care, contactless medical systems are highly sought after. The digitalization of medical systems, such as remote diagnosis and monitoring, can resolve issues with treating infections and managing patient numbers. The individual need and determination to manage their own health leads to a rise in demand for digital health devices and services. The harmonious combination of medicine, technology, and IoT will transform and lead the world of medicine in the future through initiatives like wearable devices that can check daily sleep patterns and exercise levels or AI caretaker robots that can help those who need physical assistance.

With growing interest in health and medical care, contactless medical systems are highly sought after. The digitalization of medical systems, such as remote diagnosis and monitoring, can resolve issues with treating infections and managing patient numbers. The individual need and determination to manage their own health leads to a rise in demand for digital health devices and services. The harmonious combination of medicine, technology, and IoT will transform and lead the world of medicine in the future through initiatives like wearable devices that can check daily sleep patterns and exercise levels or AI caretaker robots that can help those who need physical assistance.

Reconnected

It's an illustration of a singer performing online and an online audience watching it.

The Evolution of Online Communication

You open a can of beer and set up your desk, with a smartphone on one side and a laptop on another. Your friends connect to the video conference one by one. They’re all in pajamas, and you see frequent cameos of dogs and cats appearing on screen. It’s fun to hang out in a bustling pub but meeting up on a video call has its own charm. There’s no dress code, and nobody needs to worry about getting home too late. The concert you planned to go got cancelled, but there’s a new online concert that will be held in its place. Each member on screen raises their glass, cheering against the monitor screen.

A icon that high-five through mobile screens.

Online social gatherings are trending due to the increase of people interacting with each other through video calls instead of offline meetups. This cultural shift is apparent in pop culture as well, as famous musicians, orchestras, and artists are replacing their offline concerts with digital ones and art museums are beginning to open online exhibitions.

It's a picture of a person who eating alone and making a video call with smartphone.

‘Ontact (Online Contact)’ communication is a new way of life created by our contactless culture. There are continued efforts to connect with each other by transcending physical limitations. However, images and sounds transmitted over the screen still pose restrictions to communication. Once we can fully express sentiments that are currently absent in online interactions and totally convey the excitement and liveliness of onsite presence in indirect environments, digital communication will evolve to the next level.

Better Me

Self-Improvement on My Own

With more time to spend indoors, you are starting to search for things to do alone. Slacking off all day at home seems a waste of time, and there is a desire to rid of the lack of energy you feel from prolonged social distancing. You register for an online cooking class and dust off some baking tools you’ve impulsively purchased a couple years ago. The class is taught in real-time, so you can ask questions directly and get immediate feedback from the instructor. Things that were harder to do when watching instruction videos are now easier because of the live class. You manage to bake an impressive Victoria cake on your first try.

It's an illustration of hobby activities such as exercising, cooking, and drawing while watching online courses alone in house.
This is a picture of self exercising with the help of a wearable device.
Icon for self-improvement.

More alone time has given us the opportunity to make self-improvements. There is an increasing influx of online classes, fitness programs, and contents related to hobbies and self-improvement.

Social distancing has given us the chance to focus on ourselves. There are more products and services that help us take on new challenges and reach out goals. Peoples’ interests are growing for self-sustained hobbies like home cafes, home training or for contents like e-books, audio books, videos, and other online contents. The diversification of online platforms, enhancement of smart devices, and innovation in VR services will further upgrade our lives.

Privacy & Safety

An image that shows the path of travel of an infected person through digital epidemiology.

Quarantine as a Daily Routine

A text alert appears on your phone every 30 minutes. There is a new update for your neighborhood and its surrounding area. You see detailed information on the latest confirmed case and their travel route. You immediately notice familiar locations, like the restaurant you’ve been at last week and the convenient store you frequent go and feel a bit uneasy. All this public information is for safety purposes, but on the other hand you cannot help but feel restless about reading someone’s personal information. You wonder about being in their shoes, and having your personal information exposed.

icon with a mask.

South Korea was able to quickly diagnose the situation and successfully quarantine the disease by closely tracking contacted individuals and systematically conducting epidemiological surveys. As the pandemic becomes long-term, the government predicted a transition to a new normal in which quarantine and preventive measures coexisted with everyday life. There is continued heated discussions about the boundaries of protecting personal information and collecting information to provide public safety.

In this era of a pandemic, the level of disease prevention is correlated with the amount of information available. Websites that quickly track and share information on confirmed cases of the infection and apps that provide updates on the availability of provisional masks have become incredibly helpful for carrying out preventive measures against the virus. However, we cannot ignore the risk of leaking personal information and invading privacy. We need a solution that proposes clear guidelines to secure personal rights while securing everyone’s safety.

It's an illustration of enjoying daily life comfortably in the house.

Change can lead to different results depending on how we embrace it. We truly transform for the better when we care for others with empathy and have ideas that are both creative and systematic. When everyone chooses to give their best to overcome these current hardships, we will usher in a brighter future for us all.
We will get through this together

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