Nickname: William Ho

Review: Being educated and working in various design disciplines such as Graphic Design, Product Design and Web Design I feel and agree to some points raised in this article. However it also highlights misunderstanding between the South East Asian and Asian Cultures in the East. Using the article example Chinese Food is not all greasy. Perhaps the food/culture has been misrepresented to result in a stereotypical view open to misinterpretation. The food/Culture or design influence is very much dependent on the type of dish cooked in which area. China's bubbling with varying and diverse culture, language & identity. Each province for example has its own local language. The main therom of Eastern Designers reaching the final solution and testing afterwards is agreable which aids the speed at which the East moves in the Design arena. Western design process's move in stages of research, development, rigs, white models, prototyping and then final solution, for products has its merits and weakness's. Designers in Korea have done incredibly well, but pushing the boundaries of their design comfort zone may elevate them into a new level of design.

Date reviewed: Sep 7, 2009 1:25 PM

Nickname: hmmm

Review: A designer should be both a thinker and a craftsman - when we love the craft, we think too much, and don't get anywhere.

Date reviewed: Aug 7, 2007 9:50 PM

Nickname: Cultural Difference

Review: Although I agree that this short interview may not able to cover every detail of Lee's point, he seems not to be talking about individual Koreans, but more about how cultural differences are reflected in the products designed by Korean companies. In fact, U.S. and European companies usually struggle with Korea's culture of "roll-out first, issue handling later" or "time matters more than quality" that US/European based global companies usually experience in Korea.

Date reviewed: Feb 4, 2006 2:47 AM

Nickname: OJaguar

Review: Is Lee so sure about the culture differences among Korea, Japan and China? I would say Samsung is creating a pop culture in Europe. More and more people there are using foldable cell phones, which were barely seen before.

Date reviewed: Feb 2, 2006 3:04 AM

Nickname: colorado

Review: Agree. The product development process needs to start with a direction established by the creative people with the end user in mind and work its way backwards to the engineering details. But I disagree with the assumption implicit in the article that the innovation comes exclusively from the designers. I believe creating a dynamic in which the Industrial Design and User Interface communities interact with other functional teams to establish the ultimate goals that drive the product development process is more effective. Let?s give the credit to all the people that impact the design of successful products, this team includes the designers but they are not alone.

Date reviewed: Jan 30, 2006 3:46 PM

Nickname: perpetualinnovate

Review: Simple line drawings that can be communicated are good enough. I agree that a designer should be a thinker rather than a craftsman. Having good drawing, one may restrict other forms of design expression. Take architects for example, they play with mock ups and installations, give thoughts about them and produce innovative design that breaks the norm. I received a design education that emphasizes thinking rather than drawing, and this gives me a good design direction between good & bad design. We compared designs of similar product and made critiques of them. We realized that an innovative design is one in which the designer is a thinker, where the product interface is more intuitive, human-centered. This form of intuitive design can't be realized by drawing. It needs thinking, playing with materials, and exploring. In less innovative design, the designer relies on drawings to fit the technology from the engineers. He is mere a stylist rather than an innovator.

Date reviewed: Jan 29, 2006 4:30 AM

Nickname: Paw

Review: "Mikey," you have to look at a city in context. Seoul is a very old city that has endured military battles, poverty, depression, and public unrest. Based on it's difficult history and subsequent challenges in civic planning. I'd say it's an aesthetically acceptable metropolitan city w/ lots of character and embedded gems. What do you think of Detroit? How about Philly?

Date reviewed: Jan 28, 2006 9:22 PM

Nickname: Cultural stereotypes

Review: The interview is filled with empty cultural generalizations. "Koreans traditionally don't articulate what they are doing beforehand" ??? I don't know what exactly is meant by the statement, but I am sure there are wide differences in how individual Koreans approach problems that defy any generalizations.

Date reviewed: Jan 27, 2006 8:24 AM

Nickname: pantone804

Review: Coming from the old school, I still strongly believe that drawing skills is a crucial part of design, regardless to which design discipline we are talking about. Drawing is not only about rendering, it's about communicating what you see or think visually. On top of that, learning how to draw helps one build one's sensitivity on form, colour and texture.

Date reviewed: Jan 25, 2006 6:31 AM

Nickname: Mikey

Review: City planners in Seoul seem to have abandoned the importance of the aesthetic in the name of progress. Visitors to Seoul will witness literally thousands of depressing looking, poorly designed "luxury" apartment blocks. Worst of all these blocks all have huge numbers painted 20-feet high on the flank walls.

Date reviewed: Jan 24, 2006 4:12 PM