[NEXEN CULTURE] Meet the Design Team

"Design is essential in tire design"

Summary

• Last month, we announced that NEXEN TIRE's CONQUEROR and PUREBACK concept tires were recognized at the IDEA Design Awards.
• The South Korean tire maker has been working with students from prestigious art universities across the peninsula to create concept tires in collaboration with the Korea Design Membership Plus (KDM+) since 2015.
• NEXEN TIRE met with the design group that contributed to the company's success and emphasized the significance of tire designs.

Meet NEXEN TIRE's R&D Design Team (from top left to bottom right): Kwonchul Choo (team chief), Minwoo Kim, Jongsoo Park, Sungkyung Lee , Jinhyuk Kim, Hyeongkwon Lee

Q: What does the design team do?

The design team in charge of tire design and pattern performance research at the Magok lab.

Our team is largely divided into design parts and performance parts. Throughout the product development process, the company is responsible for setting tire patterns and sidewall design directions and concepts, complementing the engineering elements in the pattern to achieve the actual key performance of the pattern, and selecting the final design. In addition, we are conducting research to differentiate our design through various projects.

Q: What are some of the roles and responsibilities of your team?

We believe that purpose, economical, aesthetic, adhesive are the four major components of design.

We are in charge of design and performance to create new designs that meet these requirements. Tires have improved in beauty and performance as time has gone on and consumer demands have grown more demanding.

Therefore, the team deeply considers the trend patterns and sidewall designs to select various car makers' OE tires.

Above all, we conduct and supervise various research projects to produce differentiated designs compared to other companies.

We are also always working on developing tires that will lead the next generation through continuous concept tire development.

Q: Can you describe the design and development process of the concept tire that won the IDEA Design Award this year?

Through collaboration with the Korea Designer Membership Plus (KDM+) and the Korea Institute Design Promotion (KIDP) every year from 2015 to present, the team has shared and mentored the creative ideas and professional tire design know-how of the nation's leading college students and proposed future next-generation tire and mobility concept designs.

The effect of this collaboration can be used in design marketing, global design awards, etc., along with creative idea inspiration from various students, and can serve as a springboard for our next-generation design through future design concept proposals.

In the future, we will continue to work with KDM+ and KIDP, as well as with promising universities at home and abroad to design future mobility.

Q: The CONQUEROR and PUREBACK differ from earlier concept tires in what ways?

As ESG management became a matter around the world, this concept tire was conducted with a topic closely related to the environment. The PUREBACK tires, selected as the best performance among collaborative products, are eco-friendly tires that prevent air pollution from microplastics caused by tire wear. Each tread has an inlet and is designed to store microplastics generated during driving in a central capsule in real time for effective separation and discharge.

The second CONQUEROR tire is a transform tire specialized for winter icy roads to prepare for harsh future conditions. Usually, it is possible to drive at high speed by maintaining the shape of a four-season tire, but when a smart sensor detects harsh icy roads, snow, and slippery roads, spikes protrude from the tread, improving stability and mobility on the icy roads.

Q: What set NEXEN TIRE apart from other tire manufacturers in terms of design?

Our principle when it comes to tire design is, “Breaking away from the conventional practices.”

Tires have been round for a long time, and the designs of tires have not been very distinctive or different. As a result, we prioritize performance, functionality, and design at both our company and other businesses.

The needs of consumers have, however, evolved with the times to include a variety of products that combine eco-friendly, innovative, sustainable, and artificial intelligence. As these technologies advance, we are developing a number of differentiating strategies to enhance tire patterns and sidewall visibility while creating our distinctive identity.