Household Appliances on Design Diet to Keep Only the Essentials

Recently, products with simple designs without “the extra weight” have become popular in the household appliance market. Against this backdrop, domestic household appliance companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are releasing products with high-end technology and simple designs.

Industry experts say that the code of simplicity is spreading even for the household appliances, as the wave of minimalism grows among today’s consumers. This is quite different from the mid-2000s. Just 10 years ago, household appliance companies applied extravagant designs on the appliances in collaboration with renowned artists and designers to escape from the traditional “white” household appliances.

In contrast, the trend now is that higher-end home appliances tend to have simpler designs with core functions without the extravagance.

Samsung Electronics explains that the recently released refrigerators, RS8000 and RF8000, are of “flat design.” The products have been designed with lines and sides to look homogenous with the kitchen environment. Notably, the RS8000 has hidden most functions inside the refrigerator, leaving only the essential parts in the exterior. For example, the display screen that informs the product status has been put inside. “We can improve the aesthetic aspect of our products through simple designs while maximizing on the hidden inner spaces so that the users can conveniently use the kitchen space,” said a company employee.

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LG Electronics is also highlighting classic design in its premium product line of “LG Signature.” Torsten Valeur, a world-renowned designer who participated in the design for LG Signature explained, “LG Signature has been designed to ultimately represent ‘elegant simplicity’.” It is LG Signature’s vision to incorporate the “beauty of essence” through refined designs. For example, LG Signature OLED TV realized the wallpaper design with a line screen frame and 2.5mm-thick panel.

European architects and designers are expressing favorable reviews on the design of LG Signature. Hadi Teherani, a German architect evaluated, “a good design needs to be practical and comfortable, and LG signature is both.” British interior designer Ashley Hicks expressed that LG Signature has “a design with uniqueness, comfort, and beauty.”

An official of the household appliance industry explained, “’simple design’ that expresses refined beauty while allowing intuitive use of the product is the trend throughout the industries including household appliances