Samsung’s design chief Mauro Porcini sends ‘design message’ to all smartphone makers: 'Humans are attracted by…'

Samsung’s newly-appointed president and chief design officer, Mauro Porcini, has advice for all smartphone makers in the world. He has issued a broad challenge to the device manufacturers, saying that they must move past minimalist design and advance toward a more “expressive design language.” Speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Design forum in Macau, Porcini contended that the current sleek, standardised approach fails to meet fundamental human needs.“[Humans] are attracted by complexity, diversity and variety,” Porcini was quoted as saying by Fortune. He pointed to successful industries like fashion, automotive and architecture, noting that they offer a wide spectrum of design choices that allow consumers to personalise their identity.“We deserve the possibility of choosing different kinds of languages on the basis of who we are, to enable us to express ourselves through the products that surround us,” he emphasised.Porcini, who oversees 1,500 designers across mobile, displays, TVs and home appliances at the company, outlined his vision for the tech giant through a unique equation: AI x (EI + HI). This equation stands for: Artificial Intelligence amplified by Emotional Intelligence and Human Imagination.Porcini stressed that companies must inject their products with purpose and humanistic values, especially in an era where the public fears AI and technology might “erode human qualities”.“They want purpose from individuals, from companies, from entities of any kind. They want positive impact. They want hope. They want optimism,” he said, highlighting that designers are uniquely positioned to steer companies in this direction because “We sincerely care about people.”Porcini aims to “create something original, something new, [and] something that can really change the game” for Samsung. The Italian designer expressed excitement about returning to the tech world recalling his thesis on wearable technologies while studying industrial design in Milan during the 1990s.