Upclose America #198 #198 / February 24, 2023 (Fri) / Confidential |
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During the 2/22 workshop at the Kia America Design Center America, Mr. Schreyer paid a visit to inspire and leave an impact on the Young Kia Designers. He shared his personal stories, works, and design-related experiences. Although the Young Kia Designers initially held the notion that the Mr. Schreyer might be stern and distant, they found him to be warm and detail-oriented through their genuine conversations.
Moreover, the presentation of inspiring objects that each Young Designer found insightful provided an opportunity to discuss the future evolution of cars, increasing interest in individuals beyond the company and facilitating mutual understanding.
Looking forward, it is hoped that more opportunities for staff and employees from each center to interact and share will arise, leading to greater synergy through their exchanges.
(👇 Mr. Schreyer demonstrated his affection by using espresso and a pen to create drawings and autographs.) |
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😉 Newsletter Summary
1. Consumer Trend - Dove and LinkedIn partner to end hair bias
2. Consumer Tech Trend - Mixed Reality Hardware
3. Automotive news this week
- GM Invents Self-Cleaning Touchscreen Displays
- Toyota, Honda Lose Most Customers to EVs
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LinkedIn and Dove have joined forces to combat hair bias and aim to educate one million hiring managers
Black women in US workplaces continue to face discrimination due to prejudices surrounding natural hair and protective styles, which impacts their employment opportunities and career advancement. According to the 2023 CROWN Research Study, a joint effort between Dove and LinkedIn, Black women's hair is perceived as unprofessional 2.5 times more often than other hair types.
To address these findings and combat race-based hair discrimination, Dove and LinkedIn are teaming up on an initiative with three main components. Firstly, all LinkedIn users will have free access to ten LinkedIn Learning courses aimed at promoting a more equitable work environment. These courses will cover topics such as 'Leading Inclusive Teams' and 'Uncovering Unconscious Bias in Recruiting and Interviewing.'
Secondly, both brands will use the CROWN study's findings to raise awareness of the real and measurable negative impacts of workplace hair discrimination on Black women. Lastly, they'll amplify the voices of Black women professionals on the LinkedIn platform to challenge traditional notions of what constitutes 'professional' hair and bring natural hair and protective styles into the mainstream.
The statistics are alarming: 66% of Black women alter their hair for job interviews, and 41% straighten their hair to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards. Black women with curly, coily, or textured hair are more likely to face microaggressions in the workplace, and 20% of Black women aged 25-34 have been sent home from work due to their hair.
In response, LinkedIn and Dove have launched the #BlackHairIsProfessional campaign, with a goal to educate one million hiring managers and professionals by the end of 2023. Are other brands willing to join in, or consider partnering with organizations to further their own efforts towards creating a diverse and equitable workforce?
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Mixed reality hardware
It is anticipated that the number of VR users will reach 100 million and AR hardware users will reach 25 million worldwide this year, with expectations to increase to 125 million (VR) and 70 million (AR) by 2025. In order to expand consumer adoption, VR is receiving significant investment and innovation to address a number of issues.
The first issue is "bulkiness". Headsets are becoming slimmer and taking the form of glasses, and are expected to evolve into more of a contact lens shape. However, there is still a difficult technological challenge in compressing supercomputers into a smaller form factor, but the direction is clear.
The second issue that needs improvement is preventing motion sickness and eye fatigue, which affects 57.8% of people who use VR. By 2025, efforts will continue to improve devices by adjusting for eye fatigue and enhancing frame rates to reduce motion sickness.
Efforts to combine haptic devices with headsets are also noticeable, in order to prevent the need for customers to purchase multiple products.
Two examples that show the trends are examined, such as Argo's Digilens, which presents a way to effectively use VR headsets within a wide space without obstacles and effectively acquire and reflect information from the glasses to reality, unlike the Quest, and like wearing regular glasses.
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WeTac, a wearable haptic feedback electronic skin, is a product designed to provide users with tactile feedback in AR and VR environments. It consists of a thin hydrogel section with built-in electrodes that attach to the palm of the hand and an electronic skin that attaches to the wrist and can be controlled either by touch or via Bluetooth to a smartphone, offering a more realistic solution. |
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GM Invents Self-Cleaning Touchscreen Displays
Many people love touch screens in their cars, but some customers avoid using them due to smudges caused by dust and fingerprints. As a solution, GM has submitted a patent to the USPTO for an automatic cleaning feature that uses photocatalytic coating and ultraviolet (UV) light.
The touch screen with LED display emits red, green, and blue light, and the new display with the automatic cleaning feature adds UV LED. Although UV light is not visible to the human eye and does not affect the visual information on the screen, it activates the photocatalytic coating embedded in the transparent film covering the LED, inducing a chemical reaction that breaks down organic substances that make up fingerprints by attracting moisture in the air.
This automatic cleaning function may become an essential feature that cannot be overlooked for Americans who consume oily French fries or sticky drinks. However, the integration of this feature into vehicles has not been officially announced yet, as it is currently only a patent.
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Toyota and Honda are suffering significant losses due to their conservative electric vehicle strategy
In April, Toyota's newly appointed chairman, Akio Toyoda, showed a skeptical attitude towards electric cars and instead prioritized hybrid vehicles. However, according to a survey by S&B Global, Toyota and Honda are losing more customers in the US market than any other brand due to their delayed electrification strategy.
The survey found that 28% of new Tesla customers are Toyota and Honda customers, which is more than twice the number of BMW and Mercedes-Benz customers. Toyota will now begin producing electric SUVs in the United States until 2025, and plans to produce "a few thousand" EVs every month until 2026.
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As we conclude this week's newsletter, I would like to add Simon Sinek's speech where he paradoxically said that “People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. ” It made me realize that this is something important and should be considered in all our actions, not just in marketing or work-related matters. If you're interested, I encourage you to watch the video below and gain some insight. (Also, have a awesome weekend!) |
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Kia Design Center America
Created by Jenna Chwee
jchwee@hatci.com
101 Peters Canyon Rd. Irvine, CA 92606
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