First, some visual context for Bangle and Young-Ill Kim:
That handle is pretty cool.
This is more Korean than what?
With regards to designers, I do see a difference in my asian friends. Most asian designers I’ve worked with (not many) have been really good at styling. They would work out the details to a much greater degree than the American designers. However, the Americans seemed really motivated to break the mold of the product. If every product in the category was square, they wanted to draw circles. Perhaps that trait is evident in asians drawing the eyes first, westerns drawing the outline. Although, I draw a head both ways. I don’t know what that means.
To bring it back to product, take a look at the following photos. I think Koreans/Japanese customers want to buy western-looking cars (and many other products). Look especially at China. Half the cars are US/European models built locally. Why? I think it is because there was a window for developing a national-style in the early 20th century that is now closing due to globalisation of trends.
This is Toyota’s first car. It looks straight off the drafting table of Chyrsler (think airflow). Why does it look that way? Because that was the competition. Toyota competed by delivering the western-look customers wanted at superior prices with superior quality. They have never really broken away from following the trends.
The different western companies could break away though. Duryea, Benz and others set the standard with a carriage look, but soon companies started to experiment. Nationalistic consumers and high tariffs meant that local companies could experiment with styling without thought of what the next country over was producing. Today, the Koreans/Japanese/Chinese do not have these luxuries.
