[Agile Electronics Story] White → Premium & Unique... Changes in Home Appliance Design

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] ‘Agile Electronics Stories’ is a corner that keenly examines small pieces of information about electronic and mechanical products and devices. From hot new products frequently appearing in advertisements and news, to nostalgic items, and puzzling product and industry terms and news, we will kindly cover them with the heart of a beginner.

These days, the prejudice that "home appliances are 'clunky'" or "home appliances are 'white'" has disappeared.

As the technological capabilities of the home appliance industry have leveled up, the phenomenon of customers insisting on products from specific companies has greatly diminished. Accordingly, home appliance companies are creating their own brands and differentiating their designs. Home appliances are now recognized as part of the design that decorates a home.

In this edition of 'Agile Electronics Stories,' we will look at the design competition sweeping the home appliance industry and the design trends of Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which have risen as representative global home appliance companies beyond Korea.

In the past, home appliances were often referred to by attaching the color 'white' in front. White appliances refer to products such as washing machines, air conditioners, and microwave ovens. Attaching colors to appliances is said to have originated from the American company General Electric (GE). GE unified household appliances such as washing machines, air conditioners, and microwave ovens in white to emphasize cleanliness and a clean image. Additionally, since these products are used for more than 10 years once purchased, it is believed that white was used because it does not easily tire the consumer.

However, the long-standing formula for home appliance colors and designs has been broken. As home appliance technology has advanced, companies worldwide are emphasizing not only technological competitiveness and price but also design differentiation. At the center of this trend are the global home appliance giants and major domestic companies, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.

The two companies adopt different design trends and pursue a customer segmentation strategy. Samsung Electronics offers designs targeting consumers who value individuality, from the millennial generation to those in their 40s. Last year, they launched Project Prism. Kim Hyun-seok, President of Samsung Electronics Consumer Electronics (CE) Division, said, “Prism projects white light into various colors,” and “Samsung’s goal is for consumers to see diverse worlds and have diverse experiences through Prism.” The representative product line of Project Prism is Bespoke. Bespoke allows consumers to customize home appliances in various colors to match their individuality and lifestyle. Especially, the Bespoke refrigerator introduced this year offers 15 color combinations.

LG Electronics, a traditional stronghold of white appliances, launched the ultra-premium product line ‘LG SIGNATURE’ in the market. Luxurious designs have been applied to all product lines such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines. LG Electronics actively applies ‘metal’ design to emphasize luxury and a sturdy image. This year, metal was applied not only to the ‘LG Tromm Washing Machine ThinQ’ and ‘LG Tromm Dryer Steam ThinQ’ but also to the signature brand air conditioners and the wine cellar ‘Signature Kitchen Suite.’ In February this year, Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, visited the Design Management Center at the Seocho R&D campus and urged employees to “create designs that captivate customers’ eyes, excite their hearts, and make them look forward to the next product.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.