Changing the Role and Status of Designers in the Development of Goldstar's Korean-style Home Appliances in the Early 1990s

Abstract

Background Since the late 1980s, South Korean consumer electronics companies had looked for new ways to develop products, breaking away from their previous export-oriented strategies, in order to defend the rapidly growing domestic market during the crisis phase of market opening and wage increases. The “ Korean-style home appliances ” that emerged in the early 1990s, as one of these attempts, were the result of localization of product features by focusing on the unique Korean lifestyle. This study aims to reconstruct the product development process of Korean home appliances led by Goldstar and to analyze the changing role and status of designers within the process. Methods This study reviewed articles and interviews from design magazines and major newspapers, as well as related writings and papers. The case studies included a Mulgulrae vacuum cleaner, a Ddukbaegi microwave oven, and a Kimjangdok refrigerator. Results In the early 1990s, the trend of Korean-style home appliance development led by Goldstar not only produced visible changes in the appearance of products, but also changed the role and status of designers. The starting point was the Mulgulrae vacuum cleaner, which was quickly followed by the Ddukbaegi microwave oven. After the commercial success of the first models of these two products, the importance of design was emphasized during the redesign of subsequent models. Design was seen as a tactical tool that could be quite useful for maneuvering in product development, speeding up responses to market reactions. In fact, designers went beyond simply stylizing the appearance of the product and demonstrated their expertise in designing solutions to users ’ needs. The enthusiasm for Korean-style appliances continued with the development of the Kimjangdok refrigerator. It's worth noting that in this case, the company did not just add another name to the list of Korean-style home appliances but went as far as to reorganize the operational system of the product development process.