(BPT) - By Chung Wook-jun, vice president and head of H&A Design Lab at LG Electronics' Life Innovation Design Center
Home appliances, like furniture items, art and decorative objects, are an essential part of interior design. While flashy, attention-grabbing appliances have been quite popular at times, consumers today are showing a far greater appetite for subtle, sophisticated products that can bring harmony to their indoor spaces, rather than dominate them.
In 2018, to meet the rising demand for home appliances that can blend in well with each consumer's decorating style, LG Electronics launched 'LG Objet', introducing a new concept in convergence products. LG Objet solutions are a premium combination of home appliances and furniture that delivers modern convenience as well as seamless stylistic and spatial integration.
And, in October 2020, the company took things to the next level with the unveiling of the ultra-elegant LG Objet Collection, further blurring the line between state-of-the-art home appliances and designer furnishings. Created to help bring harmony to any living space, LG Objet Collection products leverage the latest technologies to make daily life easier in multiple ways, along with an aesthetic that harmonizes effortlessly with one's taste in décor, whatever it may be and however it might change. Offering various combinations of colors and finishes to choose from, the Collection presents a plethora of personalization possibilities.
At IFA 2022, LG once again raised the bar with the latest addition to the LG Objet Collection lineup: the groundbreaking MoodUP™ refrigerator. Featuring color-changing LED door panels that can be easily controlled with the LG ThinQ app, the unique MoodUP can enhance the atmosphere in the kitchen, reflect the user's current mood or even help to brighten up their day. The ultimate fridge for those who enjoy variety and change in their living environment, the MoodUP can be 'refreshed' with a different color combo whenever the mood takes hold. And for those planning to redecorate their kitchen, the MoodUP can easily match any new décor by changing colors on the app.
Prioritizing and expanding the customer experience, the MoodUP refrigerator can also change its colors or flash in time to music played through its built-in Bluetooth speaker - yet another example of how LG is rethinking home appliances and finding inventive ways to harmonize living space and lifestyle.
The MoodUP refrigerator is a perfect example of how LG products are developed by studying different customers' lifestyles and reflecting their demands. Accordingly, LG product designers play a rather active role in the product development process from the very early stages.
Inspirations can even be found unexpectedly in everyday life experiences. To offer a personal anecdote, a few years ago, an idea for a new product came to me randomly at home. I noticed my wife separating my clothes from those of my daughter and washing them in different loads, an observation that helped our team come up with the LG TWINWash™. This game changer allows users to wash small loads in the compact LG SideKick washer below while running larger loads on top. It is always such a rewarding experience when our customers use our products the way we originally intended and to see them satisfied with the experience.
What's more, in my view, good home appliance design considers not only the functionality and the look of the product itself, but how that product can relate to and harmonize with the space in which it will be placed. Moreover, it should be able to fit in with any space and be able to accommodate the widest possible range of personal tastes.
To achieve this, designers need to consider how the product will allow consumers to curate their space as they want it, without making compromises. This is why LG product designers focus on balancing convenience and customizability, form and function, to create seamless solutions that enhance the customer experience for each and every user.
This story was edited from an editorial feature article published in Yonhap News. To read the full Executive Corner piece, visit lgnewsroom.com.