[Oh! Creator] #44 Digital Convergence Designer, Cho, Hong-rai

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Digital Convergence Designer Hong-rai Cho, Part Four

So then, what exactly is digital convergence design?

In October 2008, the design magazine Monthly Design published a report titled “Diagnosis: The Present State of Korean Design.” It closely analyzed the reality of the design industry at the time, pointed out its issues, and gathered insights from active design experts (many of whom are still active today). These experts discussed problems and improvements in Korean design, the potential for growth, and, finally, their perspectives on “the future agenda of design.” While themes such as user-centered experience design and eco-friendly “upcycling” design came to the fore, VEAM Interactive CEO Hong-rai Cho introduced a term that was then unfamiliar: digital convergence design.

“Digital convergence infused with analog sensibility will become the key agenda.”

Ten years have passed. The “future” mentioned in 2008 is now the present. User-centered experience design has become mainstream, and upcycling design has become a hot issue. So, how close has digital convergence design come to reality?

Q. How do you define ‘new media’?

New media differs from traditional ATL (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines), which only push information one-way. Instead, new media enables direct interaction with the audience—it is essentially a medium of communication and interaction. Broadly speaking, “new media” encompasses a vast flow and concept, and my own work is rooted in communication design centered on digital.

In particular, we execute creative campaigns for digital advertising and marketing, and we focus on media installations in retail environments where customer interaction takes place—grounded in user experience design. Our unique strength lies in having an in-house division called V Lab, which handles everything from software, content, and hardware production to installation and operation—providing a true one-stop system for digital installations.

Q. Then what exactly is ‘digital media convergence’?

This is an issue I often bring up in seminars: by its very nature, “digital” has no tangible substance. I see it as a catalyst that enables the cross-breeding of different entities—whether intangible content, physical content, or even entire industries. Just as digital meets architecture, art, fashion, performance, or food.

Ultimately, if you look deeper into digital, you encounter the essence of convergence: the infinite expansion of functional and physical expression. I simply experienced this early on and have been integrating it into the organization I lead. I embed digital into advertising and marketing, into architecture and retail, and even into my personal object-based works.

I believe that through these multidimensional convergences—whether twofold or threefold—we can create outcomes that are more unique and functionally distinguished. That is the true power of digital convergence.

Q. Could you give us an example?

Last year, I provided digital convergence consulting directly to the owner of a major retail conglomerate. As a prologue to discussing the future of retail, I introduced the phrase: “an environment that recognizes me first and approaches.” That is, in my view, a key keyword for the near future. The client at the time was also deeply considering how to integrate digital into retail. What retail possesses, unlike any other sector, is massive big data.

I emphasized that by utilizing this data to provide services, “retail media convergence” must design a dense and seamless user experience. Compared to the customer data held by banks or financial institutions, retail data is far more precise and meaningful. For instance, a credit card company might know a customer’s purchase list, location, and spending patterns, but retail purchase records can reveal not only behaviors and lifestyle patterns, but also insights into families and their overall lifestyle. Most importantly, they allow for highly targeted marketing. From here, the challenge lies in determining which data to extract and how to process it into meaningful value. AI sits squarely in this trajectory, and I proposed ways to advance it further.

Q. But wasn’t this concept already being discussed five years ago, when omni-channel services were on the rise?

That’s correct. Companies have been preparing for a long time, and on the surface, many experimental stages for commercialization were underway years ago. Technologies such as AI, big data, IoT, and machine learning have already been deeply embedded in the services we use—so much so that we hardly notice how meticulously they are managing interactions at a micro level.

Q. Can you share a successful case?

Among the recognition media devices we developed, we experimented with marketing using beacon technology (short-range wireless communication). Most attempts turned out to be more of a formality than truly effective. One of the few successful activations was SM Entertainment’s SM Artium in Samseong-dong.

Beacon technology offers many advantages, but its biggest hurdle is that users must first download and activate an application in order to receive signals when they enter a specific area. This hurdle prevented adoption in most locations. Clear user rewards are necessary, and in unfamiliar locations, you can’t suddenly push emergency marketing to force app activation.

SM Artium, however, was different. Visitors there had a very clear purpose and were motivated to activate the beacon app because of their fandom for SM artists. This sense of purpose, combined with technology, psychological marketing strategies, and a well-designed rationale, allowed the service to succeed. In this way, I believe that technology shines only when purpose-driven users, technology, and thoughtful marketing ideas come together.

Q. Retail giants such as Shinsegae and Lotte Department Store have also attempted omni-channel services using beacon technology. From what I know, most of them failed. Do you think such technology can succeed in the retail industry? (Related news: “Now Beacons Instead of GPS… Discount Coupons Triggered as You Pass By”)

I don’t see them as failures but as trials—and necessary processes. Consumers need time to be repeatedly exposed to new technologies, to learn them, and to become accustomed to them. What’s needed is familiarity through everyday use. In China, for example, QR codes—which have very low adoption in Korea—are now fully normalized and widely used.

In Korea as well, we can’t predict exactly when or through which service beacon technology will become mainstream, but through continued corporate experimentation, consumers will eventually become accustomed to it. At The V, we are preparing an Android-based innovative advertising platform that also includes experimental elements. In the end, digital has always been a history of ongoing challenges.

Q. Sometimes, the immense pace of digital change feels frightening.

I believe that’s natural. “Digital” is a vast environment, one that is difficult for any individual to fully control. Professor John Maeda once said: “If the last 10 years of digital were an era of overly technologized computing, the next 10 years will be a return to humanity.” I completely agree. Over twenty years ago, I read a passage predicting that digital would evolve into invisible tech, becoming increasingly refined—and I see that as the trajectory we are heading toward.

Q. What do you mean by digital becoming ‘refined’?

It means a world where digital exists, yet people don’t even notice its presence. I believe the most refined form of digital will be invisible computing. Furthermore, I envision a world where the environment recognizes me before I recognize it, and adapts to me in advance. At that point, a broader social consensus will be required to balance convenience with privacy.

Q. Amid changing digital trends, what design principles must never be lost?

In design, there’s something fascinating I’ve often observed: when reviewing multiple design proposals, both trained designers and people from completely unrelated fields often agree on which ones are strong. To me, design is a discipline of aesthetic and rational persuasion. There is no absolute answer, yet good proposals consistently hold both aesthetic and conceptual persuasiveness.

From this base, I believe the essence of design does not change—even in the age of digital media. What is necessary, however, is understanding how different media communicate with one another. As Marshall McLuhan once said in “The Medium is the Massage (or Message),” “To understand social and cultural change, it is impossible without understanding the way media functions as an environment.”

In my view, this points to modes of communication. If we understand the essence of how different media interact, the design methods required for them will naturally follow.

Planning | 디자인프레스 편집부

Writer | 디자인프레스 에디터강

Photos | 김잔듸 (516 Studio)

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