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They may trace the idea to iPhone, but Samsung's smartphones have their own niche and the proof is the numbers sold worldwide.
One of the key selling points of the Samsung smartphone is the design, and, as the Korean major's Head of Design, Mr Donghoon Chang, says: “It's innovation, not just something to make things look pretty.” He calls it a fusion of technology, looks and user experience.
Local element focus
Talking to some Indian journalists that the company hosted at the Seoul headquarters of Samsung Electronics, Mr Chang, Senior Vice-President, Mobile Design Group, Mobile Communications Business, also an alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said the emphasis on user experience is simply because Samsung sells phones in over 150 countries.
Realising that customer usage shifts with culture, the attempt is to infuse into the design the local element. So, to that extent there is nothing purely Korean about Samsung's smartphones.
Design centres
A global approach to selling smartphones means big investments in design and its strategy.
Thus, Samsung has six design centres worldwide, including in Delhi, London, Tokyo, Shanghai and San Francisco. With the headquarters in Seoul, the investment in design is obviously significant.
Happening of design
But how does a design itself happen?
According to Mr Chang, who has directed design projects of various global hit models with emphasis on user-experience , it is different for existing and new products.
If for the former, it is a combination of user feedback and design team's own innovations, the latter demands extensive research, designer imagination, and iterations.
While much of the design happens incrementally, disruptive ideas come from the designer.
For instance, the Galaxy Note.
Also, there must be a match with the manufacturing capability.
Evolving designs
According to Mr Chang, design is constantly evolving with shifting customer preferences.
For instance, in the case of cell phones, the swing has happened from functionality to overall user experience. There is now also an emphasis on eco, sustainability and so on.
These are often reflected in the rounded design of devices and even subtle colours, as in the case of the ready-to-be-unveiled Galaxy S III.
In line with this, the retro look is back, he said.
Designers are discovering that many of the elements of the past can be used today also.
Mr Chang concluded by saying that Design 3.0 is all about user experience. Samsung itself has started on its third five-year design period and customers can expect even more meaningful products.
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