• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

2

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow

1

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down

2

Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for

3

The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Brainstorm Design

The Best Design Is About Creating a Seamless Experience, Says Samsung’s Design Chief

By
Eli Meixler
Eli Meixler
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Eli Meixler
Eli Meixler
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 6, 2018, 10:52 PM ET
Fortune Brainstorm Design 2018
015 Fortune Brainstorm Design 2018 Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 Singapore 09:55 - 10:15 MEANINGFUL AND CUTTING EDGE: DESIGNING FOR CONNECTED CONSUMERS “Good design” can no longer be dependent on beauty and functionality but on whether it is meaningful to the people it serves. The leader of Samsung’s award-winning design team shares a rare glimpse into the creative strategy behind some of their most recent innovations and how the company’s unique design philosophy guides all aspects of the business. Don-Tae Lee, Executive Vice President and Head, Corporate Design Center, Samsung Electronics Interviewer: Clay Chandler, Brainstorm Design Photograph by Stefen Chow/FortuneStefen Chow/Fortune
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

If good design is about creating a seamless experience, there are few who understand this better than Samsung’s (SAMSUNG-CT) executive vice president Don-Tae Lee, who spoke with Time Inc. executive editor Clay Chandler at the Brainstorm Design conference in Singapore Wednesday.

“We always think of how we can create sense of seamlessness and cohesiveness across our products so we can deliver a singular experience to consumers,” Lee said. As the head of Samsung’s seven corporate design center studios (only his second job, Chandler noted), Lee oversees a staff of over 1,500 designers working to harmonize Samsung’s diverse family of products — from smartphones and TVs to home appliances and computing devices. When a customer is using a Samsung product, Lee said, the experience must be identifiable as one that flows from a Samsung product. “That’s the kind of seamless experience we try to achieve,” he told Brainstorm Design.

Lee joined Samsung in 2015 from London-based design firm Tangerine, his first stop in the design world. The company also famously produced Apple (AAPL) design mastermind Jony Ive.

Samsung was then reeling, battling smartphone rivals Apple (AAPL) in a costly lawsuit and seeing off competition from Chinese upstarts Xiaomi (XIAOMI), and Huawei (HUAWEI). The South Korean tech and electronics giant’s last quarter profits dropped 37% in 2014, while reviews found its flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone a lackluster reboot of the S4.

Lee has since overseen a reinvention of Samsung’s design identity by helping “move the brand of Samsung” from being a technology-driven company to being “a user-and life-style centric brand.” The company is also stepping up to competitors Apple and Google in the next major tech battlegrounds: smart home appliances like the Frame TV, a new television that’s “designed as a beautiful object, whether turned on or off,” Lee said, after Samsung learned that most consumers spend four hours per day watching TV — meaning 20 hours per day, the television was turned off. “We realized that the TV needs to be branded into the home environment,” Lee said, by allowing users to customize their “off” display with famous pieces of art, or family photos.

Another product, Family Hub, promises to “change the pattern with the kitchen environment,” often the heart of a family home. With a smart refridgerator at its core, Family Hub aims “to combine different products in the home environment” with an interactive screen that will help simplify domestic tasks, Lee said.

Read more: ‘We’re Going to Get Better at This.’ Samsung Is Still Betting Big on the Smart Home

Lee also oversaw the reimagining of Samsung’s Galaxy Note smartphone series, adding real metal and glass to improve the feel of phones while also boosting cutting-edge hardware, like a revamped high-speed camera and facial and iris recognition software. The New Galaxy Note also incorporates pioneering features, like a writing stylus that aids rapid communication between teams, Lee said.

Samsung also presented a slew of new digital Smart apps at CES 2018 that connect users in their cars to all of their SmartThings-enabled home appliances via a “digital cockpit,” Lee said. Users can turn on lights, or turn up their heating before even entering the house.

In fact, combining new digital opportunities with the experience of driving a traditional car is “one of the biggest challenges” facing designers today, Lee said. That’s where seamlessness comes in again. Focusing on user experience helps Samsung’s global design teams “coordinate” their efforts in markets across the world and create “products in the home environment to work together,” Lee said.

“We respect the consumer and we try to make meaningful innovations inspired by consumers to create the future.”

For more coverage of Brainstorm Design, click here.

About the Author
By Eli Meixler
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in

Photo of ballots being counted and sorted
PoliticsElections
Nearly 150,000 California mail ballots rejected in June primary, a record high thanks to late-arriving ballots
By The Associated Press and MIchael R. BloodJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Photo of the nun
North AmericaImmigration
Nun detained by ICE on her way to Mass speaks out for first time: ‘For me, a nun, not to go to Mass…it was very, very heartbreaking’
By The Associated Press, Valerie Gonzalez and Jamie StengleJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Court illustration of the author testifying
LawTerrorism
Salman Rushdie describes a ‘lake of blood’ as his convicted attacker faces terrorism charges tied to the 2022 stabbing
By The Associated Press, John Wawrow and Jennifer PeltzJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
A gun lays on a table next to a row of ammunition.
Lawgun control
Two gun rights groups are suing the U.S. Virgin Islands over concealed carry for nonresidents
By The Associated Press and Danica CotoJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Vice President JD Vance sits in on a meeting.
North AmericaJD Vance
The Secret Service is investigating a member of JD Vance’s detail over a suspected news leak
By The Associated PressJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago
Google logo is displayed on a smartphone in front of the EU Flag.
CybersecurityGoogle
EU strikes Google with $1 billion fine in major crackdown on antitrust regulations even as Trump threatens retaliation
By The Associated Press and Sam McNeilJuly 24, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
23 hours ago
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
Big Tech
Jensen Huang made his $172 billion fortune on AI chips. His family's $75 million gift to Vanderbilt argues art decides what technology is for
By Sydney LakeJuly 23, 2026
2 days ago
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
Economy
The $39 trillion U.S. national debt isn’t as high as Japan’s and Singapore’s relative to economy size—and yet it's still worse somehow
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 23, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 24, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 24, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 24, 2026
21 hours ago
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
3 days ago
Turns out Dead Internet Theory was right: AI agents are eating the Web, growing by nearly 8,000% and rewiring the Internet's business model
AI
Turns out Dead Internet Theory was right: AI agents are eating the Web, growing by nearly 8,000% and rewiring the Internet's business model
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.