From sketches to reality: how the 75-inch Samsung ES9000 was created
Speaking of design, you can give many examples of products designed with strict adherence to the original forms. Therefore, it often happens that the original form / design / appearance, which is thoroughly strengthened in the perception of many people, never changes after that, or changes only in minor details. For example, the appearance of the world-famous Vespa scooter, which Audrey Hepburn traveled around in the movie "Roman Holiday", remains unchanged, even after many years. World-famous luxury items are also examples of timeless design.
It was this philosophy that Samsung designers were guided by in order to create a TV that would always stand out from their own kind, while possessing an emphatically minimalist design. This is how the Samsung ES9000 LED Smart TV was born.
The concept of "One Design"
')
When the design team was thinking about the concept of ES9000, the concept of “One Design” was introduced, implying the almost complete absence of screen frames. The best TV design is one that does not interfere with watching a video. The most important must be the screen itself and the space around it.
“You can take only one thin frame and use it to create an elegant design product” - this is what our executive director repeatedly pointed out to us. A few years ago, the frames around the screens of our televisions could combine different colors and shades, as well as textures, lines, pictures and inscriptions. In the process of developing a new line of televisions, it was decided to abandon all these elements in favor of minimalism: we left a frame that was almost invisible to the viewer, giving only a small glare, from which he would immediately take his eyes off. ” Samsung Electronics.
Design, soaked with sweat and blood
When it came to choosing which materials to use for the front panel, the design team focused on several options, including metal, stainless steel, and plastic. The team decided to use simple metal, because it is a natural material with its cold, ascetic aesthetics and unique properties. This was Samsung’s deliberate decision, as most manufacturers use silver or achromatic metal for their premium TVs.
If the developers decided to move along the “beaten” production path using standard approaches, they would first of all look for the most cost-effective solutions that would reduce the overall cost of production. That is, first of all, they would need to find out how much the production of a new product will cost. However, with ES9000 everything was different: realizing the significant risks associated with high investment costs and the opening of a new production line, the project team, however, was given complete freedom in developing a hi-end device from the world of Smart TV.
“We turned to luxury watches as the main example of products that can be considered attributes of high class. They are distinguished by a durable design that has existed for decades, and require careful metal processing, and the color of copper is taken as the basis - not frivolous and banal, but one that gives a sense of weight. We decided to take for ourselves this color of copper, as a demonstration of luxury and belonging to the premium class, which the ES9000 TV was intended to embody. ” - Hee-Bong Kim, Chief Designer, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics.
It was not an easy task to use a color that had never been used on large TVs before. When the designers offered to dwell on the color of copper, most of the colleagues said that it was a rather risky move, while the other project team participants voiced their doubts about two key questions: “Is this color really suitable for a large TV?”, “Is it too old fashioned, thereby appealing only to a small demographic group of women? ”
In the process of giving a new look to the TV, the participants of the project group faced many questions, but the most important and difficult was the color in which the new product was to be produced. During 24,000 hours of brainstorming, 120 days of speeches with reports and 340 hours of meetings and conferences, the team submitted over 15,000 drawings for review by the management. Throughout this process, the initially chosen copper-red color was changed to gold, then to the color of champagne, and only then it was decided to focus on pink gold. Due to the peculiarities of color, which consists of pink and yellow shades, it was problematic to create a “single color” that could fully demonstrate the restrained disposition and refinement of ES9000. In addition, it was necessary to adjust the number of parts to the large size of the diagonal of the TV, to refine the screen itself and to verify the aesthetic compatibility of the result with the surrounding environment. No less pressing was the question of the different reflections, which gave a colored frame depending on the lighting. To solve this problem, the design team unified the lighting in all the rooms where TV prototypes were exhibited, including in his office, in conference rooms and production rooms.
Creating a complete form of a new product usually requires the development of 40-50 sketches. For ES9000, it took more than a hundred sketches to create before starting to develop the final TV layout. Ultimately, Samsung has created more than 10 layouts of a 75-inch full-size novelty. This time-consuming process allowed us to determine the best color solution for the ES9000: “rose gold” became the main color of the new product line.
Production difficulties
After the design issue was more or less resolved, the development team became a bit more animated ... but that was not the case. As part of the main manufacturing process, which included metal polishing (to add shine), immersion in containers for applying a coating film and painting in rose gold, the development team was most concerned about the process of applying a protective film layer. Unlike conventional TVs, for which the body is created from components and assembled after processing, the entire body of the ES9000 should have been processed immediately, in one production phase.
It was found that standard electroplating baths, in which electrolytic coating is usually applied to the case, are not designed to process a 1.7 m wide TV and 1 m high. The first attempt to get out of this situation was anodizing (instead of an electroplating bath) to apply a glossy coating on panel surface. Anodizing is an electrochemical process of obtaining a protective or decorative coating on the surface of various alloys. Most often, the technology of anodic oxidation of alloys in a solution of sulfuric acid is used for post-processing, and is a good option to reduce production costs, since the subsequent polishing of parts is not required (no one has canceled a reasonable rate of return). In the end, anodizing did not bring the expected results and was excluded from the production process: the gloss obtained during processing did not give the full-fledged “pink gold” color.
The development team was forced to launch a new production line and bring all the processes to automation, starting with polishing. The reason was that it was almost impossible to provide the required level of quality using the traditional method of "sanding" sharp corners by hand and glossy surface coating. New tanks have been developed to cover the panels. Tanks that are used for automobiles and oil (!) Tankers were considered as possible options, but most of the plants that could supply such tanks were located in the southern part of the country, which created another headache - the long process of transporting tanks to the plant. As a result, new coating baths were created, which had the following dimensions: 120 cm in height, 45 cm in width and 200 cm in length. When they were finally created, the team was forced to admit that it was still unable to reach the expected level of profitability if a new model was launched into mass production. The problem was, again, in the dimensions of ES9000, because of which workers had to manually lower the 75-inch frames into the electroplating baths and then take them out.
“We had to work out the most optimal solution. Through trial and error, we had to determine how many seconds it takes to keep the frame of the TV immersed in the electroplating bath, how many seconds to wait after the frame gets out of there and how many seconds it should be immersed in the next bath. The human factor should also be taken into account: mistakes always happen, despite the professionalism and skill of the workers. Our only method of quality control was to conduct regular, extremely thorough and rigorous quality checks. For a while, there was a joke among the workers that the inspections carried out by the Samsung Electronics inspection were more stringent than the inspections by inspectors at NASA. It was not unreasonable: even minor defects on the rear side of the TV panel did not pass the quality check. ” - Yoonsoo Kim, Senior Designer for Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics.
The development team was seriously worried about the launch of the model in production, since the profitability of the project was about 60%. Nevertheless, company executives insisted that the project team focus on improving technological processes and creating a top-class product, as originally planned, and not on improving profitability. Fueled by a collective desire to achieve true excellence, the ES9000 gradually took shape. Currently, Samsung Electronics is building automated bath lines to cover surfaces side by side with polishing production lines in order to maintain high product quality, regardless of size or technology.
Design for people and exceptional quality
In the process of creating the design of the ES9000 TV, Samsung developers sought to create an emotional connection between the product and the user, giving the first more human-centered value. The change in Samsung's corporate identity in TV design, which occurred in 1996, determined the general direction of development of the entire TV category of the company. The early concept, which served as a “starting point” for designers and developers, was created with an emphasis on a symbiosis of design and advanced technology. Since then, the focus has shifted to providing home warmth and comfort for the user.
For example, on Bordeaux TV (2006) and Touch Of Color (TOC, 2008) TVs, the appearance was designed to reflect the beauty of the sunset and crystal glass for wine. Studying and taking into account the needs of consumers, Samsung has been able to develop an innovative design for SMART TV TVs, giving new opportunities to customers who will use TVs for a long time. Previously, work was conducted with a focus only on attracting new customers.
From the very early stages of developing a new product, employees of Samsung’s marketing, design and development departments got together to create and develop an ambitious project called ES9000. They were engaged in in-depth consumer research with a special focus on potential customers of ES9000. Research results showed that potential customers prefer to buy unique products and are more passionate about culture, leisure and art. The development team was well aware of the need to be extremely careful in creating a customer-oriented design for this customer segment. It is likely that this consumer segment would not be at all interested in standard household appliances, including televisions.
In the midst of universal market competition, product quality is a great source of pride for Samsung. Customer satisfaction undoubtedly depends on many factors and small nuances.
To create only one frame for its new Samsung TV, it was necessary to design hundreds of test samples. I had to mix colors a thousand times to eventually create one single color - “rose gold”. This is a testament to the design philosophy of Samsung and its own unique approach to creating an elite product.
Despite a large degree of uncertainty about what the future holds for the new product, Samsung decided to invest even more in promoting the production line for ES9000. The new flagship will soon be available in 43 countries of the world and in the near future is called to represent Samsung Electronics as the leading global manufacturer of TVs Smart TV, which the company is already the eighth year in a row.
Video:
Specifications:
It was this philosophy that Samsung designers were guided by in order to create a TV that would always stand out from their own kind, while possessing an emphatically minimalist design. This is how the Samsung ES9000 LED Smart TV was born.
The concept of "One Design"
')
When the design team was thinking about the concept of ES9000, the concept of “One Design” was introduced, implying the almost complete absence of screen frames. The best TV design is one that does not interfere with watching a video. The most important must be the screen itself and the space around it.
“You can take only one thin frame and use it to create an elegant design product” - this is what our executive director repeatedly pointed out to us. A few years ago, the frames around the screens of our televisions could combine different colors and shades, as well as textures, lines, pictures and inscriptions. In the process of developing a new line of televisions, it was decided to abandon all these elements in favor of minimalism: we left a frame that was almost invisible to the viewer, giving only a small glare, from which he would immediately take his eyes off. ” Samsung Electronics.
Design, soaked with sweat and blood
When it came to choosing which materials to use for the front panel, the design team focused on several options, including metal, stainless steel, and plastic. The team decided to use simple metal, because it is a natural material with its cold, ascetic aesthetics and unique properties. This was Samsung’s deliberate decision, as most manufacturers use silver or achromatic metal for their premium TVs.
If the developers decided to move along the “beaten” production path using standard approaches, they would first of all look for the most cost-effective solutions that would reduce the overall cost of production. That is, first of all, they would need to find out how much the production of a new product will cost. However, with ES9000 everything was different: realizing the significant risks associated with high investment costs and the opening of a new production line, the project team, however, was given complete freedom in developing a hi-end device from the world of Smart TV.
“We turned to luxury watches as the main example of products that can be considered attributes of high class. They are distinguished by a durable design that has existed for decades, and require careful metal processing, and the color of copper is taken as the basis - not frivolous and banal, but one that gives a sense of weight. We decided to take for ourselves this color of copper, as a demonstration of luxury and belonging to the premium class, which the ES9000 TV was intended to embody. ” - Hee-Bong Kim, Chief Designer, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics.
It was not an easy task to use a color that had never been used on large TVs before. When the designers offered to dwell on the color of copper, most of the colleagues said that it was a rather risky move, while the other project team participants voiced their doubts about two key questions: “Is this color really suitable for a large TV?”, “Is it too old fashioned, thereby appealing only to a small demographic group of women? ”
In the process of giving a new look to the TV, the participants of the project group faced many questions, but the most important and difficult was the color in which the new product was to be produced. During 24,000 hours of brainstorming, 120 days of speeches with reports and 340 hours of meetings and conferences, the team submitted over 15,000 drawings for review by the management. Throughout this process, the initially chosen copper-red color was changed to gold, then to the color of champagne, and only then it was decided to focus on pink gold. Due to the peculiarities of color, which consists of pink and yellow shades, it was problematic to create a “single color” that could fully demonstrate the restrained disposition and refinement of ES9000. In addition, it was necessary to adjust the number of parts to the large size of the diagonal of the TV, to refine the screen itself and to verify the aesthetic compatibility of the result with the surrounding environment. No less pressing was the question of the different reflections, which gave a colored frame depending on the lighting. To solve this problem, the design team unified the lighting in all the rooms where TV prototypes were exhibited, including in his office, in conference rooms and production rooms.
Creating a complete form of a new product usually requires the development of 40-50 sketches. For ES9000, it took more than a hundred sketches to create before starting to develop the final TV layout. Ultimately, Samsung has created more than 10 layouts of a 75-inch full-size novelty. This time-consuming process allowed us to determine the best color solution for the ES9000: “rose gold” became the main color of the new product line.
Production difficulties
After the design issue was more or less resolved, the development team became a bit more animated ... but that was not the case. As part of the main manufacturing process, which included metal polishing (to add shine), immersion in containers for applying a coating film and painting in rose gold, the development team was most concerned about the process of applying a protective film layer. Unlike conventional TVs, for which the body is created from components and assembled after processing, the entire body of the ES9000 should have been processed immediately, in one production phase.
It was found that standard electroplating baths, in which electrolytic coating is usually applied to the case, are not designed to process a 1.7 m wide TV and 1 m high. The first attempt to get out of this situation was anodizing (instead of an electroplating bath) to apply a glossy coating on panel surface. Anodizing is an electrochemical process of obtaining a protective or decorative coating on the surface of various alloys. Most often, the technology of anodic oxidation of alloys in a solution of sulfuric acid is used for post-processing, and is a good option to reduce production costs, since the subsequent polishing of parts is not required (no one has canceled a reasonable rate of return). In the end, anodizing did not bring the expected results and was excluded from the production process: the gloss obtained during processing did not give the full-fledged “pink gold” color.
The development team was forced to launch a new production line and bring all the processes to automation, starting with polishing. The reason was that it was almost impossible to provide the required level of quality using the traditional method of "sanding" sharp corners by hand and glossy surface coating. New tanks have been developed to cover the panels. Tanks that are used for automobiles and oil (!) Tankers were considered as possible options, but most of the plants that could supply such tanks were located in the southern part of the country, which created another headache - the long process of transporting tanks to the plant. As a result, new coating baths were created, which had the following dimensions: 120 cm in height, 45 cm in width and 200 cm in length. When they were finally created, the team was forced to admit that it was still unable to reach the expected level of profitability if a new model was launched into mass production. The problem was, again, in the dimensions of ES9000, because of which workers had to manually lower the 75-inch frames into the electroplating baths and then take them out.
“We had to work out the most optimal solution. Through trial and error, we had to determine how many seconds it takes to keep the frame of the TV immersed in the electroplating bath, how many seconds to wait after the frame gets out of there and how many seconds it should be immersed in the next bath. The human factor should also be taken into account: mistakes always happen, despite the professionalism and skill of the workers. Our only method of quality control was to conduct regular, extremely thorough and rigorous quality checks. For a while, there was a joke among the workers that the inspections carried out by the Samsung Electronics inspection were more stringent than the inspections by inspectors at NASA. It was not unreasonable: even minor defects on the rear side of the TV panel did not pass the quality check. ” - Yoonsoo Kim, Senior Designer for Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics.
The development team was seriously worried about the launch of the model in production, since the profitability of the project was about 60%. Nevertheless, company executives insisted that the project team focus on improving technological processes and creating a top-class product, as originally planned, and not on improving profitability. Fueled by a collective desire to achieve true excellence, the ES9000 gradually took shape. Currently, Samsung Electronics is building automated bath lines to cover surfaces side by side with polishing production lines in order to maintain high product quality, regardless of size or technology.
Design for people and exceptional quality
In the process of creating the design of the ES9000 TV, Samsung developers sought to create an emotional connection between the product and the user, giving the first more human-centered value. The change in Samsung's corporate identity in TV design, which occurred in 1996, determined the general direction of development of the entire TV category of the company. The early concept, which served as a “starting point” for designers and developers, was created with an emphasis on a symbiosis of design and advanced technology. Since then, the focus has shifted to providing home warmth and comfort for the user.
For example, on Bordeaux TV (2006) and Touch Of Color (TOC, 2008) TVs, the appearance was designed to reflect the beauty of the sunset and crystal glass for wine. Studying and taking into account the needs of consumers, Samsung has been able to develop an innovative design for SMART TV TVs, giving new opportunities to customers who will use TVs for a long time. Previously, work was conducted with a focus only on attracting new customers.
From the very early stages of developing a new product, employees of Samsung’s marketing, design and development departments got together to create and develop an ambitious project called ES9000. They were engaged in in-depth consumer research with a special focus on potential customers of ES9000. Research results showed that potential customers prefer to buy unique products and are more passionate about culture, leisure and art. The development team was well aware of the need to be extremely careful in creating a customer-oriented design for this customer segment. It is likely that this consumer segment would not be at all interested in standard household appliances, including televisions.
In the midst of universal market competition, product quality is a great source of pride for Samsung. Customer satisfaction undoubtedly depends on many factors and small nuances.
To create only one frame for its new Samsung TV, it was necessary to design hundreds of test samples. I had to mix colors a thousand times to eventually create one single color - “rose gold”. This is a testament to the design philosophy of Samsung and its own unique approach to creating an elite product.
Despite a large degree of uncertainty about what the future holds for the new product, Samsung decided to invest even more in promoting the production line for ES9000. The new flagship will soon be available in 43 countries of the world and in the near future is called to represent Samsung Electronics as the leading global manufacturer of TVs Smart TV, which the company is already the eighth year in a row.
Video:
Specifications:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/163003/
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