SNAP Interviews D.B. Kim

Photo © Gary He

SNAP: In your 25 years designing and branding hotels, what have you discovered that guests want?

D.B. Kim: People want an authentic experience.

But when you launch multiple locations, how can you ensure authenticity across chains?

Design needs to reflect the local culture, while also adapting to modern sensitivities. In China, for instance, traditions vary by city and province. Adapting the cultural aesthetic through material selection is key.

What is your design process?

My teams and I educate ourselves on local history and culture. We also understand the user groups; we learn who the guests are.

Do you think designers automatically consider that materials must wear the same everywhere users encounter the brand?

Well, when I went to architecture school, we didn’t focus on that sort of thing, so I think it takes reminders to prepare for this or that situation. I like to take young designers to factories to show them how yarns are woven, how patterns are conceived, and to let them handle samples to understand costs and product testing. It’s a combination of educating and mentoring.

Speaking of manufacturing processes, many projects now seem to feature a hand-crafted aesthetic. any idea why?

Absolutely. Time is a luxury, and when guests glimpse artisanship in details—stitched leather or honed marble—they immediately appreciate the time that went into making it. In this digital world, you don’t need a trained eye to recognize that something made with human skill is special. It feels authentic.

Kelly Beamon was the products editor for Architectural Record and managed the monthly products newsletter Material World. Before joining the staff of RECORD, she worked as a senior editor for This Old House and Interior Design, and as the managing editor of Surface. As the executive editor of HD magazine, she moderated talks on design trends for HDExpo, an annual hospitality design conference held in Las Vegas. She has also been quoted on design by the New York Times, ABC News, and USA Today and has written columns on American house styles and kitchen and bath trends. She has a B.A. in English from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and 18 years of architecture and design writing to her credit. She resides in Brooklyn with two children, two guinea pigs, and threadbare period original furnishings by George Nelson, Kazuhide Takahama, Charles and Ray Eames, and Gustav Stickley.