LG Electronics Launches 'Design Crew' with Generation Z for the First Time... Discovering Customer Insights

Design crew participants are taking a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] LG Electronics has launched the 'Design Crew' program for the first time this year to communicate with future customers. The participants are Z-generation university students (those born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s).

According to LG Electronics on the 8th, the Design Crew program, which started in April, will continue for six months until September. Previously, LG Electronics selected 16 university students through three stages: document screening, written test, and interview. The competition rate was 39 to 1.

The participants have diverse majors such as design, media communication, fashion, and comparative literature. LG Electronics did not restrict majors during the selection process.

LG Electronics decided to start this program because it judged that understanding the Z generation properly is important to reflect the needs and emotions of future customers in design, which is the factor that determines the first impression when customers first encounter a product.

LG Electronics discovers new design insights through the process of communicating with and understanding future customers. Participants gain vivid practical knowledge and experience opportunities by engaging with designs that provide innovative experiences to customers. The Design Management Center, which designs LG Electronics products and services, operates the program.

The Design Crew operates by having Z-generation participants select topics worth sharing based on their perspectives and awareness of issues, complete content while receiving coaching from internal and external experts. Employees of the Design Management Center listen to the participants' content to deepen their understanding of future customers.

This operation method differs from existing contests or industry-academia cooperation, which only submit results. Participants and LG Electronics designers continuously communicate for six months, understand each other, and accumulate diverse experiences. Participants also directly participate in workshops at the Design Research Institute to propose ideas for products and services and verify concepts.

Kang Minkyeong, a university student participating in the Design Crew, said, "I have grown and broadened my view of the world by exploring and contemplating the new area of design that I had never encountered before," adding, "Through the Design Crew, I came to believe that it is possible to change the world through design."

Kim Hyuntae said, "Unlike school or other design activities, the Design Crew was an opportunity to learn from mentors with various expertise such as marketing, management, and technology, and to think about designs that can change the world together with crew members who are not design majors."

Lee Cheolbae, Executive Director of LG Electronics Design Management Center, emphasized, "Our role is to predict the future life of the younger generation and prepare the optimal customer experience," adding, "The Design Crew activities will be a valuable opportunity to communicate with the Z generation, who are the future leaders."

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