Jaehee Kim

About

In the midst of a rampant struggle for survival, humanity has formed a civilisation, and we live in an age of abundance where we can have sushi delivered to us with a few clicks from our sofas. With so many choices, our junkyards are overflowing with items that are still fully functional. Why do we abandon them? Why does every new design make the previously defined beauty look outdated?

Jaehee Kim is an Industrial Designer from Seoul. His works aim to respond to some industrial designs that prefer to safely stay within predefined product types and are reluctant to explore further forms by being uniform and standardised. Through intrinsic exploration of form, He invites people’s interpretation of everyday objects in an emotionally durable way. He incorporates humour and technology by designing a conceptual model overlaying speculative affordances.

1. Cylinder 001, Cuboid 001

Cylinder 001 and Cuboid 001 are pioneering home appliance designs merging functionality with emotional engagement. By personifying the moving parts of box shapes, they breathe life into industrialized products, fostering attachment. Their silicone bodies offer a soft, futuristic touch, breaking away from rigid designs. These appliances provide visual feedback through physical interactions, making them accessible to the hearing impaired by using movement cues instead of sound, thus combining utility with a sense of connection and innovation.

2. Coffee Grider

The coffee grider is a satirical work of art challenging conventional designs. Its intentionally ambiguous form overlaps with familiar design cues, creating a puzzling yet humorous interpretation of its function. The piece playfully critiques the contemporary disconnect between form and function in design, highlighted by the unexpected correlation between the coffee grinder’s rotation and a bicycle pedal’s movement.

3. Found Form Experiments

We live surrounded by hundreds of objects, touching them, using them, and living with them. However, the more often we use an object or the longer we use it, the more we ignore or even forget its existence. In fact, when they were first designed, they must have been created through great thought and repetition. By arranging and combining these ready-made objects, it poses a question about the underlying definition of the designed form.

Instagram: jaeheekim.design
Website: jaehee.kim
Email: jaeheekimdesign@gmail.com