Sooji Kim
Design
Thesis
Title
My Color: Find your optimal color style
Abstract
My Color is an app that can help users choose an interior color design. Using machine learning technology, users can analyze the colors of their favorite interior designs and get recommendations for styles and colors. With this service, users can get more personalized recommendations based on their actual preferences and save time by excluding a list of irrelevant offers.
Artificial intelligence is becoming one of the powerful technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but most designers are unfamiliar with it nowadays. This paper explored what kind of user-centered service designers can design using artificial intelligence.
Statement
Sooji Kim is a user experience (UX) designer based in Seattle who is interested in multidisciplinary work. As a designer, she likes to explore solutions to problems. She received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design Engineering from Korea and moved to Seattle to participate in the Master of Design program at the University of Washington.
In the era of the Fourth Industrial, the importance of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology come to the forefront. In the design field, working with AI technologies is an inevitable flow for current and future designers. However, many designers are not familiar with using AI in their current workflows.
With this background, she wants to provide a better user experience by using Machine Learning technology. In her thesis, she focuses on exploring the possibility of a technology + design-based project. She researches a way to examine people’s preferred color styles which they might not recognize in their daily lives.
Committee
- Sang-gyeun Ahn, Chair
- James Pierce
Education
- MDes, University of Washington, 2022
- BENGR, Industrial Design, Kongju National University, 2020
Awards
- 2021 – Asia Design Prize, Finalist
- 2020 – Asia Design Prize, Finalist
- 2019 – Spark Design Award : Fall and Winter student design, Platinum
- 2019 – Fire industry design contest, Fire service director award
- 2019 – Korean design exhibition award, Winner
- 2019 – Creative design contest by Korean Intellectual Property office, Gold prize
- 2019 – Spark Design Award : Fall and winter student design, Silver
- 2019 – Spark Design Award : Fall and winter student design, Finalist
- 2018 – Design contest for the improvement of household products by Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Grand prize
Excerpt from Commentary by Heidi Biggs
Is Sooji Kim’s thesis automating the color theory of Joseph Albers? In a way, yes. Sooji’s final project explores machine learning applications within a fundamental element of design: color. Over the course of the past year, she built a machine learning (ML) cluster model that can detect and build color palettes from images and developed it into a working prototype of an app. Starting from the idea that an ML algorithm could help someone discover and cultivate their own personal style of interior design, Sooji pivoted to developing a project where ML helps a user find their own personal color preferences.
