How did KIMU start?

While teaching art classes for the students with developmental disabilities in 2008, my students’ unique paintings left a great impression on me. At the same time, I felt it was unfortunate that these paintings were thrown away as they were created for a one-time event. I started KIMU in the hope that the public discovers and connects with these hidden gems.

Nam Jang-won / CEO of KIMU

What’s in a name?

KIMU refers to its artists as "Special Designers” instead of calling them people with developmental disabilities. We do not want to define their design or artwork by the disabilities, and thus potentially creating prejudices. Even without such descriptors, we believe that the public will connect with and feel the special values these work convey. This approach also provides opportunities for designers to impress the world by helping them to be recognized for their own talents.

Nam Jang-won / CEO of KIMU

Which areas are you focusing on in order to create KIMU’s artwork with the designers?

Each designer has their own personality and a variety of strengths, so we are planning to not only create works using the existing styles of KIMU’s representative artwork but also try various other styles and show them to the public. To this end, we are developing a design education curriculum tailored to the characteristics of designers, and we are trying new ways to collaborate with other team members.

Heo Ran / KIMU Bridge Team / Project Planning and Managing

Do you have any memorable messages from people who have seen KIMU’s work?

When we pre-released two works uploaded to the Samsung Art Store—“Cactus and Leopard” and “Venezia”—at this year's Maison et Objet, the largest European interior design fair in Paris, France, many European visitors liked the works, and they were interested in the various colors and styles. In particular, “Venezia” gave visitors a glimpse of the Italian landscape and told us about their Venetian experiences.

Cho Hye-jin / KIMU Lab Team / Maison & Object Exhibition Planning

What kind of responses are expected when a work created by the designers is presented on Samsung’s art platforms?

We are proud that our paintings are captured on TVs, refrigerators, and smartphones. We hope people will see them, appreciate them as creative and wonderful works, and be impressed by them.

Lee Tae-gyu, Song Byung-hun / KIMU Special Designers / Design Development

We hope that this collaboration will serve as an opportunity for Samsung Electronics’ customers to naturally participate in KIMU’s vision to break down prejudice against those with developmental disabilities while allowing them to enjoy and exhibit KIMU's works in their daily lives. Also, I believe it is a great opportunity to showcase works to a global customer base via art platforms on various formats such as TVs, refrigerators, and smartphones.

Nam Jang-won / CEO of KIMU

What ideas do you have for KIMU in the future?

In the future, KIMU plans to expand its scope in order to spread a positive influence with "social design," which tells more diverse social stories. Our project XYZ BY KIMU introduced themes such as the environment, abandoned animals, and mental health to the public in a more modern way through our designs and content. As part of the project, we also released a series of posters with 17 of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, we are trying to expand into new media such as the Metaverse and NFTs through KIMU's works.

Nam Jang-won / CEO of KIMU