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Great Design will increase Brand Value and Market share

Samsungs Chairman first discovered that Samsungs products were ‘lost in the crowd’ when he visited other retailers in Los Angeles. He then ordered his managers to concentrate less on saving costs and rather to focus on developing and designing unique products that will differentiate Samsung from its competitors.

Samsung’s main strategy was to attract better and younger designers that would create stand out products. They began by doubling their design staff and increasing their design budget. They also hired the U.S. design firm IDEO to help create new product innovations. An Innovative Design Lab was set up, which allowed designers to study under experts from the Art Center College of Design. Samsung placed most of its efforts dispatching young designers to many different countries to gain inspiration and stay current with what was happening in the industry. CEO Yun stated “Good design is the most important way to differentiate ourselves from our competitors”. Great Design would inevitably be one of Samsungs main distinctive capabilities.

Designers Challenged to Speak up

Samsung Designers have broken through the barrier of Confucian hierarchies and were encouraged to speak up and challenge their superiors even though their Korean tradition made it reluctant to speak out of turn and have respect for elders. At Samsung Design Center, designers are free to dress how they feel and there is a relaxed culture where they are encouraged to work in teams and as equals.

Designers – More Power to Influence

Changing Procedures in the design department gave designers more power to influence how a product gets ‘built’ and not only how it should look on the outside. Designers were given the opportunity to come up with concepts for engineers and come up with entirely new product categories. Designers were allowed to go...