Tuesday December 16, 2008

Stylish appliances

By WONG LI ZA

The latest home aids from LG Electronics are not just functional; they are arty pieces that will give homes a stylish appeal.

REFRIGERATORS adorned with Swarovski crystals and air conditioners that look like works of art are certainly appliances that appeal. At least that’s what the company that produces them hope for.

Seong Jae Seok, LG Electronics Digital Appliance chief researcher, says that working with artists allows the company to add value to its products.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, LG Electronics is a company that has developed aesthetic home appliances via its Digital Appliance (DA) division. LG DA is one of four business units under the parent company – the others are Mobile Communications, Digital Display and Digital Media. The DA division produces air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, cooking appliances, vacuum cleaners, built-in appliances, home networking solutions and major products.

The division has come a long way since manufacturing South Korea’s first refrigerator back in 1965. In 2000, the company launched the world’s first Internet-enabled refrigerator. In 2006, it introduced the world’s first interactive TV refrigerator. In terms of physical design, LG DA is believed to be the first company to move away from predominantly white appliances, offering bold colours like maroon and emerald green, plus special motifs.

A group of Asian journalists was invited to Seoul and Busan early last month to preview the company’s latest products and innovations.

To date, LG Electronic’s accolades include winning the Red Dot Design Team of the Year award in 2006, the first South Korean company to do so. Other companies previously honoured with this title include Apple, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia and Sony. Last year, the company won 21 International Forum Design awards and 29 Red Dot Design awards.

Its latest design novelty is a collaboration with popular South Korean artist Ha Sang Lim to create the Modern Flower series of refrigerators and washing machines, complete with Swarovski crystal embellishments. This stylish range will certainly spice up anyone’s kitchen, but be warned that they don’t come cheap – a Modern Flower Side-by-Side Refrigerator retails at RM11,999.

LG also recently worked with British interior designer Tricia Guild to produce artistic, limited edition washing machines.

Functional art

LG Electronics’ built-in appliances within a kitchen setting.

Superdesigner Seong Jae Seok, chief researcher with LG DA’s design research laboratory (washing machine and air conditioner), said collaborating with artists is one way of upgrading their products.

“To make our products appealing to customers, LG continuously communicates with influential artists for new and fresh concepts,” said Seong at the LG Design Centre in Seoul. (To earn the title “superdesigner”, designers must show exceptional skills, achievement and leadership over a three-year period.)

Seong explained how design considerations vary in different markets: “There are two aspects to consider when it comes to design: globalisation and localisation trends. Since digital appliances are strictly intertwined with our lifestyle, such as the food we eat, the localisation factor carries more weight.”

Seong added that cultural factors affect the design of home appliances enormously and as designers, they adopt these factors to suit customers’ lifestyles.

“Our Swarovski designs target premium product seekers, and appeal more to the South Korean and Asian markets. North Americans like something practical while Europeans tend to prefer minimalist designs,” he said.

Another eye-catching product from LG is its Art Cool range of air conditioners which double up as a wall-mounted picture frame with removable front panels. With a three-way blower, this range won the International Forum (iF) Product Design Award in 2007. The air conditioner, which comes in square and rectangular shapes, can be fitted with an art piece or family photo of your choice.

Besides pleasing appearances, LG products also incorporate eco-friendly features, with appliances designed to reduce energy and water consumption. However, how much do artistic and eco-friendly features matter to consumers?

“Generally, consumers’ awareness of eco-friendly products and how it really affects the environment is still low. At the moment, it’s the artistic aspect that interests them more and to them, being eco-friendly is still mainly about energy-saving and energy efficiency,” said Seong.

However, he said these days, consumers’ needs and demands affect product development in a significant way. “In the past, technologies defined product development. However today, customers’ need has been an influential factor in product development and will drive the entire development process in the near future,” he said.

Seong added that consumers will also seek out more built-in appliances in their homes in future.

LG Electronics’ Swarovski crystalembellished refrigerator and steam washing machine was created in collaboration with South Korean artist Ha Sang Lim.

“The trend will see more convergence between electronic products, appliances and mobile phones,” he said.

Health at home

To add value to its products, LG DA has embarked on a Healthcare Campaign with a range of products that, among others, helps curb allergies and target bacteria.

Choi Sung Jae, manager of digital appliances marketing strategy team, said global climate change and lifestyle habits contribute to health conditions such as obesity, respiratory diseases and skin problems.

“Our products are not medical in nature but will help prevent diseases and enhance quality of life,” said Choi when met at the LG Twin Towers headquarters in Seoul.

Under the campaign, the company has packaged five appliances – air conditioner, washing machine, refrigerator, cooking appliance and vacuum cleaner – that aim to prevent certain health problems.

“The target market of our healthcare products is first, the uncompromising seekers. Then, we also hope to attract the style-conscious buyers,” said Choi.

Simon Hahm, vice president of marketing in the air conditioner division, said the company tries to find a product’s strong sales point from the consumers’ viewpoint.

“For example, our plasma ioniser air conditioner was designed specifically from consumer insight. We also find that Asians are more conscious about health and wellbeing compared to other markets, in particular about allergy. We will continue to focus next year’s air-conditioning models on this aspect,” said Hahm.

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