Industrial designer Kim Young-se: A 21st century magician

The 21st century is apparently ushering in the age of design and designers. Last year, British industrial designer Jonathan Ive was selected the person most influential on British culture, leaving behind Joanne Rowling, the author of “Harry Potter.” And Samsung Group Chairman Lee Keon-hee announced at the Milan furniture fair held in Italy that the 21st century is the “era of design.” Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates drew significant attention at the world’s largest electronics exhibition, CES, when he introduced a Korean-made MP3 player in his keynote speech as “a product that will usher in the era of digital life.” This MP3 player, which stole the spotlight as a symbol of digital lifestyle with its diverse functions, including music, movies, a digital camera and games, stood out from other MP3 players for its sophisticated design. The person who designed the player is industrial designer Kim Young-se, the winner of the gold, silver and bronze IDEA award, the equivalent of the Academy Award in the design industry. Let’s take a glimpse at Kim’s design world, which he has created over the past two decades with his unparalleled skills. Design - the secret weapon of the 21st century The goal of design is value innovation. Kim says the mission of designers is to satisfy their personal creative desire and help companies increase their revenues. In his words, the job of a designer is to rescue failing companies from the “red ocean,” where hundreds of similarly-designed products strive to survive amidst cutthroat competition, and take them to the “blue ocean,” where they flourish unrivaled. Sales of the MP3 player that Kim designed skyrocketed 380 times from 1.2 billion won in 1999 to 454 billion won last year, grabbing the second largest market share in the world. Cell phones that he designed have become bestsellers in the European market, and one local firm manufacturing living appliances saw its sales triple since it adopted a corporate image that was also designed by Kim. Kim says that value innovation through design is the only way for Korea, a country with scant natural resources, to survive in the global arena in the 21st century. Design is about loving others So how does Kim view design, the secret weapon of the 21st century? Surprisingly, the definition of “design” adopted by this world-renowned designer is both clear and abstruse. As someone who has designed a vast variety of products from zippers to golf bags, gas burners, and cell phones, Kim, now in his 50s, is also adept at designing products targeting teenagers and young women. What is the secret of his ability to design products that target consumers of various age groups and personalities? Kim says that his secret is love and concern, in other words, the ability to understand others’ needs and having the desire to help them. Kim says he learned that lesson from his son. One day five years ago, his son stayed up all night making coupons for his mom’s birthday. Each coupon had a task written on it, such as “washing dishes ? valid for two weeks” or “washing your car ? valid for one week.” One of the coupons read “loving my Mom ? valid forever.” Seeing how impressed his wife was when she received the coupons from their son, Kim realized what the genuine purpose of design was. Kim says that design is about loving others ? consumers will buy a product forever if they are moved to tears by it. Design is about selling confidence Kim says design is also about selling confidence. He boldly quit his first job at a large design consulting firm less than a year after taking it, because the only thing the firm’s staff of 70 or 80 designers did was automatically draw designs according to customers’ requests, which he didn’t like at all. At his second job, this time at a small design consulting firm owned by a Japanese CEO and having only seven or eight designers, Kim learned a valuable lesson that design was about selling confidence. Kim acquired that idea from his Japanese boss, who always said to his clients in a resolute manner that he “will do something without fail” instead of “will try.” Creating a design is a difficult task, because a design is intangible until the product is actually manufactured. It is essential for a designer to feel confident about his or her design in order to foresee market trends and customers’ responses in advance, and convince clients before the product is rolled out. A 1.2 billion won napkin Kim, who gained a wealth of experience working at an American design consulting company, was the first Korean to open an office in Silicon Valley. Since then, he has established branch offices in Korea and China, and has no difficulty running three offices simultaneously online. He says having a multi-national design team only helps him come up with original ideas. While running his business firsthand, Kim also designs. He allows his employees to telecommute, going into the office only when absolutely necessary, and has scrapped all superficial meetings because he knows better than anyone else that unrestricted thinking is a must when designing. He never carries pen and paper with him, yet more proof that he hates being confined to formalities. “Good ideas cross my mind unexpectedly, like accidents. Like you can’t force a sneeze, you can’t force ideas to come to your mind. Good ideas can occur at any time, in any place ? when you’re shopping or on a plane or having meals and talking to your clients,” says Kim. He is famous for drawing sketches on napkins. He received inspiration to write a book when he wrote inadvertently on a napkin “Design is…” while sipping wine on a plane. And he drew the design of a gas burner, which later brought in revenues of 1.2 billion won, on a napkin while eating a lobster dinner at a restaurant. In a sense, the price of that napkin can be regarded as being 1.2 billion won!   Carefree and wild school years Kim’s unrestricted way of thinking probably stems from his carefree and wild school days. Although he graduated from elite schools such as Gyeonggi High School, Seoul National University and the University of Illinois, he never followed established rules and norms. While in high school, he formed the music group called “Diamond Dwarfs,” in which he played the guitar and was the lead singer. While in college, he formed the duet “Dobidoo” (two goblins) with his high-school classmate Kim Min-ki, and the two earned their pocket money playing at a cafe in Mugyo-dong. Kim developed an interest in industrial design when he was in junior high. He was completely mesmerized when he saw a magazine entitled “Industrial Design” at his friend’s house one day. The pictures of home appliances, lighting devices, openers and ash trays completely captivated him. That day, he decided to become a designer who creates aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-use daily necessities, and he never stopped pursuing that dream until he achieved it.   D+D=D Kim’s unrestricted personality has always helped him face challenges in life. It also explains why he was the first Korean to found his own firm in Silicon Valley. The venturing spirit of Silicon Valley is reminiscent of the challenging spirit of design ? Kim says it was this undaunted spirit that drove Silicon Valley to success. Kim stresses the importance of creating a unique “design ecosystem” that suits Korea, but he vehemently denies that the government can be of any help in realizing that goal. He stresses the role of designers instead. Just as in soccer, where the names of players who score goals are announced to the entire world, the names of designers should be announced as well when their products earn global recognition, says Kim. He says that this would be the ideal way to inspire people to become designers. He places heavy importance on the fact that Korea has many talented people and state-of-the-art digital technologies. Kim firmly believes that by working together, digital technologies and design can make dreams come true. He calls his idea “D+D=D,” or “digital + design = dream.”   Industrial designer Kim Young-se is a design magician of the 21st century who minimizes our daily inconveniences, maximizes companies’ profits and brings joy to customers by creating designs that no one has even dreamed of. We look forward to more of his magic in the future.   Profile Born in 1950 B.A., Seoul National University, Dept. of Applied Art B.A. and M.A., University of Illinois, Dept. of Industrial Design Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Illinois Currently CEO of Innovation, Inc. Major works MP3 iRiver Samsung Anycall “It’s Magic” series of Dongyang Magic’s gas burners LG Smartphone Keyang Electric Machinery’s electric tools Ssamzie’s “Tongue Shoes” Awards U.S. IDEA (gold, silver, bronze) Twice Selected “Best Product of the Year” by BusinessWeek