UPDATE: Tangerine has reached out to us to clarify that Jony Ive did not found the design studio, but instead was one of the first four people at the firm and joined in its second year. Tangerine was founded by Martin Darbyshire, its current CEO, and Clive Grinyer.
Save for recent devices like the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung has never gotten much praise for its mobile hardware design. Thanks to a new hire, though, that could soon change.
Samsung Electronics has hired Lee Don-tae, who previously worked as co-CEO at design firm Tangerine, which was founded by Apple designer Jony Ive. Lee is now working at Samsung as vice president and global design chief of its Design Management Center.
“He will work to elevate Samsung’s design prowess overall rather than focusing on a specific product,” a Samsung official said of Lee. Another statement from a Samsung official confirmed that smartphones will fall under Lee’s direction.
Samsung netting a big name designer like Lee Don-tae is big news in itself, but the fact that Lee was also an executive at Jony Ive’s design firm makes it even more interesting, as Apple hardware often receives high praise for its design. Exactly when we’ll begin to see Lee’s influence on Samsung hardware is unknown, but this news is sure to bring more attention to the designs of Samsung’s upcoming mobile devices.
What design features would get you interested in Samsung's future smartphones?