Samsung Bespoke Appliance Configurator
Leading interface design as a refrigerator configurator grew into a kitchen planning tool.
- Client
- Samsung
- Role
- Lead designer
- Agency
- Razorfish
- Year
- 2021–2024
- Scope
-
- Configurator UX and UI
- Refrigerator and kitchen experiences
- Navigation and interaction design
Bespoke Design Studio lets shoppers choose appliance models, mix door finishes, and see their choices together in a kitchen. I led the interface design as the experience grew from a refrigerator configurator into a full kitchen planning tool.
The problem
The project began during COVID, when shoppers couldn’t easily visit stores. Bespoke refrigerators had interchangeable door panels, making color and finish central to the purchase. The simulator needed to help people judge those choices without standing in front of the product.
The decision
Keep the product visible while people configure it. As the studio expanded to other appliances, combine a guided first pass with ways to revisit choices without starting over.
My contribution
I was the primary designer and made the core interface decisions, with support from other designers and collaboration across UX, creative, project management, and development. I started as a Senior Designer and continued the work as an Associate Design Director.
From the 2021 launches to later iterations
The refrigerator simulator launched in March 2021 and the kitchen simulator followed in September. The order-rate results below cover March 2022 through February 2023. The designs below come from August 2023 iterations and Q2 2024 working files, not the 2021 launches.
Keep the kitchen visible while choosing finishes
During refrigerator development, I challenged a depth-selection step that offered no visual feedback and questioned whether its step indicators added useful guidance.
When the staging implementation dimmed the kitchen behind the color popup, I requested that it remain visible so shoppers could judge finishes against their surroundings. The creative team raised the same concern. The kitchen designs below carry that priority into a larger configuration flow.
Make room for more appliance choices
Adding ranges, microwaves, dishwashers, and other appliances introduced different models, options, and compatibility rules. I fixed the configuration panel’s position so controls stayed in a predictable place when people switched appliances.
I made the interior selector a text button to clarify its purpose, moved step navigation out of the menu, and chose Back instead of Reset so people could revise a choice without discarding their work. Category tabs supported movement between appliances while option tabs held each product’s decisions.
Refrigerator
- Model
- Depth
- Colors
Clementine Glass
Range
- Fuel type
- Model
- Colors
Navy Steel
Cooktop
- Model
- Size
- Colors
Wall oven
- Model
- Colors
Dishwasher
- Model
- Colors
Navy Steel
Microwave
- Model
- Colors
Range hood
- Model
- Size
- Colors
Appliance artwork from the configurator, arranged for this page.
Guide the first pass, then allow revisions
We considered an open flow that let people move freely between options. I chose a stepped first pass because we felt it would make each appliance easier to complete. That was a design judgment, not a tested result. After completing the relevant choices, shoppers could return to revise them.
The sequence still allowed broader kitchen editing: switch appliance categories, retain choices for unchanged products, and review, edit, or remove saved appliances. Shoppers could check out saved items without completing every appliance. Compatibility rules also mattered: a range and cooktop, or a microwave and range hood, could not occupy the same space.
-
Choose a model
Start with the door layout and features.
-
Set the depth
Compare dimensions and storage capacity.
-
Pick the finishes
Choose a color for each door panel.
Q2 2024 working designs of the model, depth, and finish steps. Prices are placeholders.
Saved designs and purchase review
I separated saving an appliance from reviewing it for purchase, so shoppers could keep building their kitchen before checking availability and adding products to the cart.
Proposed navigation changes
I proposed opening up the sequence after shoppers chose a model: move directly between depth and color, switch appliances without Next, and make off-screen tabs easier to discover.
1 Switch appliances directly
I proposed making the category tabs available without clicking Next, so shoppers could move between appliances as they built their kitchen.
2 Revisit options after the model
Keep the model choice first, then let shoppers jump between depth and finishes without repeating the sequence.
Refrigerator and kitchen order rates
Both experiences exceeded their order-rate benchmarks.
- 2.51%
- Refrigerator order rate, compared with a 0.87% target
- 3.72%
- Kitchen order rate, compared with a 0.82% benchmark
Source: Samsung Digital Appliances, Adobe Analytics, March 2022–February 2023. Order rate measures qualifying appliance orders per visit; both benchmarks use the earlier refrigerator experience from 2021.
These results reflect the combined work of product, design, engineering, and marketing. They predate the later redesign and do not isolate my contribution.
Lessons from guided configuration
Bespoke grew from helping shoppers customize one refrigerator to helping them configure a kitchen. I led the interface decisions across that expansion, balancing a guided first pass with the ability to revisit choices without starting over.
The central trade-off changed as the experience grew: a sequence could help someone complete an appliance, but it could also get in the way of revising it. My later proposals kept the model choice first and opened the remaining options sooner, carrying that tension into the next iteration.