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Galaxy A8s
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN · PRODUCT UX RESEARCH · CMF
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In 2017, after the sensational release of iPhone X by Apple, the world was waiting with baited breath for Samsung's answer to 'The Notch'
The New Cam had expectations. Simply long press Bixby on your pink-blue Galaxy A8s and say ‘ Open Magic Mirror APP* ’ to show your portrait.
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INTRODUCTION
Samsung GALAXY A8s is technically the world's first smartphone with the front camera placed beneath the display area. The model was to be aimed at the predominantly Emerging Gen-Z + Later Millennials their style preferences, their lifestyle, their hobbies & Social Trends. It intended as a soft opening to determine whether or not to induct the HID feature in the next flagship (s10).
MY ROLE
Trend Research, Analysis, ID, CMF .
THE TEAM
5 designers, 1 product manager, 8+ engineers.
TIME LINE
June 2018 — Oct 2018
My Role as the Product Designer was to Study Chinese Millennial's style preference to Functional Aesthetic to design that evokes Functional Nostalgia to Music
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OBJECTIVE
Design Goals
Samsung Approach Strategy to Smartphone
Game Changing up 'a notch'
Glocalizing Target Group
After the popular response the to the notch, the Interpretation Hole in Display (HID) was to be designed in the most Non-Controversial yet Entropic way.
Based on a Psychosocial Research of the BRIC countries, Chinese Millennials were a precursor in style & taste of their other millennial Contemporaries
Capture Emerging E-Aesthetics
Unique Cam Experience for HID
Capturing & Celebrating the Millennial Style Preferences Through New CMF & ID interpretation.
Celebrating the new Hole-In-Display aesthetic with Unique User Experience through the front cam usage.
PSYCHOSOCIAL USER PROFILE
When we received the brief for the 'Punch Hole' camera phone, as it was called at the time. The strategy was to gauge the reception & the potential of the design, through a soft launch targeting the Chinese millennials.
WHY BRIC?
We Did a BRICS Research (Brazil, Russia, India, China) on Millennials because as of 2018, these countries combined with 3.14 billion, comprise about 41% of the world population.
While generating $19.6 trillion, (23.2% of the GWP), these are mostly 2nd world countries emerging into the 1st world with increasing disposable income as a huge no of younger millennials joining the workforce.
Psychosocial profiling of the BRICS countries would give us the latent needs of the largest emerging smartphone market, who's needs would drive the aesthetic, UX & Tech trends.
BRICS KEY TAKEAWAYS
These countries have a rich cultural & have undergone colonization, civil wars, & revolutions & are experiencing a surge in cultural relevance in their on the go lifestyle
As a result of rapid industrialization & tech literacy, rising prosperity, these millennials are Geopolitically progressive.
Usually a previously agrarian economy, these countries saw a boom in their tech literacy & as a result rich in Intellectual Resources (Human Capital)
Breaking away from the traditions like the 'Joint family' system, having less children, dual income households, resulting in increased stress, decreasing hand's on parenting & as a results breaking away from all previous consumption patterns (Eg, TV)
SELECTION OF CHINA
Land of the Single Children
BRAZIL
RUSSIA
INDIA
CHINA
SOUTH
AFRICA
THE CHINESE MILLENNIAL
As the 'One Child Policy' was implemented in the 1979, as a result an entire generation of single children coming of age & earning became the basis of the Emerging-E category
PSCYCHOSOCIAL PROFILE BUILDING
The First 'Hustle' Culture
As China became one of the fastest growing economies, the resulting rise in Manufacturing caused a rise in literacy, making the Chinese Gen-X the most entrepreneurial & financially stable generation. With increasing literacy, both husband & wife joined the workforce & led to the rise of dual income households
RISE OF DUAL INCOME
Impact on Chinese Millennials
Chinese Millennials were single children who grew up with both parents working
No one to play with
Raised on Internet
Global Competence
As both of the parents worked, many Chinese millennials mostly grew up without hands-on parenting
As Chinese Economic boom followed, they got exposed to the internet & digital market & had international Tech & Cultural Exposure
Most of their parents did financially well enough to send them for higher studies abroad, making them more worldly among millennials
Outgoing
Indulgive
Open Minded
They became the first generation to become International Citizens who easily had a lay of the land in any part of the world
Narcissism Vs Social Awareness: They had enough savvy to be better consumers & definitely enough finances to indulge their fancies.
Most of them ended up being well rounded individuals, who were quite open to try out 'the new', (a precursor to the woke generation) making them a promising consumer group
CORE TAKEAWAY:
Quipped as 'The Future People', Chinese Gen Z is forecasted to be drastically different, as they're the first generation to be raised by single children. What they demand today, the world might demand tomorrow
China's Millennials have gone through a similar growth pattern that's being seen in the current emerging upper-middle class in the rest of the BRICS countries as well as much of the world
As we notice the current Gen Z going through a similar growth as the Chinese Millennials, it could be forecasted that their consumption trends & tech preferences are the precursors of upcoming generations around the world.
THE FUTURE PEOPLE
Entrepreneurial, Individualistic, Open-Minded & Willing to spend
USER PESONA MAPPING
Across the decades the Chinese generational 'Leap' has been more pronounced than the rest
As a previously agrarian economy, they established a powerful industrial base, used the resulting prosperity to reinvest in the 'Human Capital'
While being on of the biggest hubs of 'Intellectual Resources', China is home to some of the most advanced millennials.
From Family Structure
Tend to Live in Families, where even friends are treated as such
Education + Hard work, are the foundation on raising children
Rough Etiquette in Millennials, as habit is stronger than Etiquette
As the Chinese millennial yearn for recognition, but their struggle against yielding to conformity results into Severe Consumerism
Highest Age to Change Ratio as proven with previous generations too
Feeding Snowflake Syndrome
Inflexible but tolerant, in their approach to work or personal life
Self Centered & Competetive, as a upbringing was pamper & neglect at the same time
Explorative out of Peer Pressure, as they want to be seen as open to new things
Narcissism Vs Social Awareness, as snowflakes who were well prepared.
What makes them a promising consumer group?
Starting with a highly inflated sense of self, educated & successful, they are the only millennials with the means to sublimate their snowflake syndrome. Which makes them savvy, well informed & self aware consumers
PARADIGMATIC KEYWORDS:
EXPERIMENTAL
SENSE OF SELF
OPEN MINDED
NARCISSISM
EASY GOING
BOLD
REBEL
EUPHORIA
EXPERIMENT
HUSTLE
DESIGN DECISIONS
The ID & Details
The special gradient-frame anodize and camera ring deco design gives the A8s a unique look and feel. It was designed specifically for young Asian consumers, and thoroughly considered their usage habits and aesthetic preferences.
SPECIAL GRADIENT FRAME
RING DECO
FRAME ANODIZE
CLASSIC CURVE
DESIGN
Design Storytelling
As a rising trend in Chinese Brands, gradients were increasingly used to connect to natural beauty & cultural memories for storybuilding
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COLOR
CMF Design
'Stoic Steel' was one of my ideations that was selected for it's dark gradients over a mirror glass finish. It was inspired from the winter lake and the story was told using satin mimicking a similar feel
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Emotional Storytelling through Materials
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DESIGN
Ring Deco
As the brief required highlighting the triple camera, there were a lot of iterations to make even the flash look like the fourth camera, but the selected design was the ring deco in the matching colour of the top gradient.
UX Strategy
UX Design
We were required to come up with a lot of strategy around the 'punch hole' camera, wallpaper and user story building around photography in general. We also added the new 'bixby button' which was a good place to use a trigger for camera
20 types of Scenes are detected: Food, Portraits, Flowers, Animals, Landscapes, Greenery, Trees, Sky, Beaches, Snow, Mountains, Sunrises and sunsets, Indoor scenes, Text, Waterfalls, Watersides, Birds, Street scenes, Night scenes, Backlight. The accuracy of Scene Optimizer will be affected by the amount, movement, and focus of the subjects.
Scene Optimizer
HIGHLIGHTS
Automatic Flaw Detection
Using intelligent identification technology, the idea was to let user immerse them self in selfies. The flaw detection was aimed to automatically identify blinking, the cleanliness of the lens, motion blur, and backlight issues; when these 4 issues are encountered during shooting, the smartphone will inform you so you can immediately adjust and reshoot for great moments every time.
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Bixby Button
Bixby is like Samsung's version of an attentive assistant who's always at the user's side as a consultant and advisor. Bixby Home can also follow personal information & contents to quickly and efficiently prepare information you need at a swipe of the screen, like daily itinerary, photos of the day, the weather forecast, and more. Bixby can also learn user's routine and most-used apps and remembers what the user asks for and how, to best suit their needs over time.
PRODUCT STRATEGY
Precursor to S10
Debuting the HID Display for the S10 series was a risk, hence it was first debuted through the Galaxy A8s as sort of a 'soft opening' to see the feedback. Not only the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, it was soon adopted by multiple other Chinese brands even before the launch of S10.
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