Lee Don-tae, co-president of London-based Tangerine, is now Samsung's new chief of design. Tangerine is a global design consulting firm founded by Apple senior vice president of design Jonathan Ive.
Samsung revealed to the Korea Joongang Daily that 47-year-old Lee will head all of Samsung's design initiatives. As of last month, the Gangwon native became Samsung's vice president and global design head of the Design Management Center, overseeing the design for all Samsung products. He will be reporting directly to Samsung President Yoon Boo-keun, who also leads the company's consumer electronics business.
"Lee will be in charge of leading innovation of overall and general design of Samsung products including smartphones," said a Samsung official who added Lee "will work to elevate Samsung's design prowess overall rather than focusing on a specific product."
Lee, who graduated with a master's degree from the Royal College of Art in London, is the former CEO of Ive's Tangerine. Samsung executives say they hope for Lee to bring Tangerine's design philosophy to Samsung as he did with Apple.
Ive was among the first four people of the consultancy. He joined Tangerine in its second year, joining current CEO Martin Darbyshire and Clive Grinyer. Ive left the company to join Apple after working on Project Juggernaut commissioned by the iPhone and iPad maker.
Tangerine's most popular work is the redesign of British Airways' business class cabins, where the team created more space around Z-shaped seats that could be folded down to turn into beds, while adding 20 percent more seats and increasing the airline's profits by more than $700 million. project was led by tangerine founder and CEO, Martin Darbyshire and the victorious concept was designed by tangerine's Creative Director Matt Round. Lee was a member of the project team.
Lee was also a design consultant for companies such as LG and Toyota and worked on innovative projects such as solar streetlights and electric car charging stations.
Industry watchers are keeping an eye on Samsung's new hire, not just because Lee is a close partner to Apple's chief of design but also because Lee considers himself not just a designer; he is a design entrepreneur.
"Design isn't a tool to achieve the designer's self-realization," Lee wrote in his book Foresight Creator. "The designer should always consider the risk of the company."
As Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee said in 1996, the decisive point in conducting business in the 21st century will be design management. This is particularly true in the maturing smartphone industry, where more and more smartphones from various manufacturers are starting to offer the same functions. For many people, design will become a major influence in their buying decisions.
Design is not a particularly strong suit for Samsung. At best, its devices have been a hit-and-miss with their designs. At worst, Samsung's designs have turned plenty of people off from buying what could have been an otherwise great product, such as when people shied away from the dimpled back panel of the Galaxy S5, the faux leather stitching of the Galaxy Note 3, and the cheap, glossy plastic of the Galaxy S4.
While Samsung's then mobile design chief Chang Dong-hoon stepped down from office, pundits and customers were heaping on the laurels for Apple's designs. Having Lee onboard will likely give Samsung a leg up in the design department where Apple has always won. Still, it's not going to stop Apple loyalists from accusing Samsung of parroting Apple's moves.
