Samsung’s AddWash front loader was so good Singapore gave it one of their best awards

While Samsung wins quite a few awards for their range of smartphones on a regular basis, this is  the first time that they’ve been lauded with the prestigious President’s Design Award (PDA) for ‘Design of the Year’ in Singapore on account of their Samsung Addwash washing machine. The front loaders were launched earlier this year and incorporate a small front-loading bay that lets users toss in an extra bit of washing even in between a wash cycle without having to open the main main door.

Yong Sung Jeon, CEO and President, Samsung Southeast Asia with Ken Ding (Head of Product Innovation Team) at the display zone featuring the winning product design.

The President’s Design Award is Singapore’s highest, most coveted honour to designers and designs with a total of 39 Designers of the Year and 99 Designs of the Year conferred since the country launched the awards in 2006. The awards were conferred in a ceremony on 9 December at the Istana in Singapore. Check out why exactly the Samsung AddWash was judged worthy of the award on the official Design Singapore website here.

From left: Irene Ng (VP Corporate Marketing), Ken Ding (Head of Product Innovation), President Tony Tan, Yong Sung Jeon (CEO and President) and Robert Tomlin (Chairman, DesignSingapore).

The citation by the jury presiding over the awards was:

AddWash is an innovative feature on a range of Samsung front load washing machines. It enables users to add articles mid-cycle via a secondary door within the main one, an advantage that until now was limited to top load washers.

Based on a seemingly simple insight gleaned from their customer research, the design team from Samsung Consumer Insight Group successfully exploited a common customer pain-point that has long been overlooked. The result is a product feature that has effectively engendered a new category in washing machines. This has the potential to sway buyers towards front load washers that have the added advantage of using less water while providing a superior wash quality. From a commercial perspective, the outcome of this design innovation will result in better margins for Samsung, proving the tried and tested adage that good design is good business.

This is an exemplary case where insights generated from the observation of Southeast Asian habits are used to create innovations that have global application and commercial relevance.