Samsung Ads
Hypergrowth & Execution
Co-founded Samsung Ads, a startup embedded within Samsung Visual Display. Built and scaled a zero-to-one ad tech platform and monetization strategy across Samsung’s global TV footprint. Operated as design founder and team #4, helping transform a hardware-driven culture into a design-led software business.
Crafting the DNA of a Design-Led Culture
At Samsung Ads, design didn’t just shape the product—it shaped the culture. As the founding designer, I developed a set of principles to instill a shared language and design mindset across a nascent org of engineers, product managers, and stakeholders who had never worked with design before.
Principles
Design starts at the constraint.
Understand the scope and guide the user from the start to the end goal. Design with intention and make the user flow effortless and enjoyable.
Design is efficient.
Knowing where to start is key to the experience. Clearly telling the user what is important through good design and hierarchy. Being consistent will help the user understand design.
Design is about the user.
Ego has no place. Start with the user's needs and craft contextual experiences. Clearly, define the design's objectives and solve them first. Be accurate and concise.
Great design is invisible.
Sweat the details. The more effort put into the design, the less effort a user has to take to understand it. Design intuitive and universal experiences without sacrificing quality.
Design is clear and concise.
Keep it simple stupid. Show the user only what they need when they need it. Stay honest and keep your intentions transparent. The user should always know what they are getting into.
Design is the difference between ordinary and extraordinary.
Delight the user and exceed their expectations. Spend time designing solid experiences, and then take the time to make them extraordinary.
Challenge & Goal
Samsung wanted to enter the ad revenue space—but faced deep-rooted challenges:
No precedent: no ad stack, no org model, no roadmap.
Design de-prioritized: engineering and hardware ruled the culture.
Organizational silos: fragmented teams across Korea and the U.S.
Cultural and operational friction: timezone, language, and legacy mindset barriers.
Goal: Launch an ad platform and build a design-led org from scratch—under the radar.
Approach & Leadership
Built a Design-First Culture:
Held internal design seminars for non-design peers to instill design thinking.
Created a collaborative culture: open-door reviews, shared ownership of design.
Authored and enforced a scalable design workflow for engineers and PMs.
Grew the Team at Speed:
Personally hired core team: UX designers, PMs, frontend engineers.
Mentored product managers on abstraction, synthesis, and speed of execution.
Took on interim GM responsibilities for a sister team spanning functions and offices.
Designed for Scale:
Created the first centralized design system for Samsung Smart TVs (Tizen).
Unified marketing aesthetics with embedded UI—bridging gaps across units.
Collaborated with IAB to define Smart TV ad guidelines, still in use today.
Drove Strategic Alignment:
Filed a patent for AI-powered visualization of global TV usage data.
Led design partnerships with Korea HQ, pushing vision alignment across continents.
Identified new business opportunities, influencing long-term product roadmap.
Solution & Impact
Launched Samsung Ads platform: Now a core $335.6M+ revenue channel.
Established first Smart TV design system: Still foundational in 2025 product line.
Filed strategic patent: Created new data products for advertisers using AI.
Scaled org: From 4 to 30+ across design, product, and engineering within 18 months.
Built culture: Embedded fast, iterative, user-first thinking into a slow-moving giant.