Product designer JinSik Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1983. He studied industrial design at Myongji University in Seoul, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2008. Afterward, Kim worked for three years as a furniture and interior designer for Nefs, a Seoul-based luxury kitchen furniture brand. He started a Master’s course in contextual design at Design Academy Eindhoven in September 2011 but left in March 2012 to spend eight months interning for Rotterdam-based Studio Minale-Maeda. He went on to earn his Master’s degree in advanced studies in design for luxury and craftsmanship at the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL) in Switzerland in 2013. Kim established his own studio in Seoul in 2013.
Kim’s work might best be described as functional sculpture; a sense of purity, shape, and materiality—free from decorative detail—drives his designs. He has collaborated with a variety of internationally recognized brands, including Christofle on the Clivage bowl collection (2013); Baccarat on the Spot lamp (2013), working with Manuel Netto Amaral; as well as Hermès, Special. T by Nestle, and Charles Schambourg. Kim’s designs have been exhibited around the world at esteemed venues such as Maison & Objet, New York Design Week, and Paris Design Week. His work has garnered multiple honors, including the industrial design shortlist for the Fight Poverty UM Design Contest, Italy (2010); third prize at the Incheon International Design Awards, South Korea (2010); second prize at the LG Electronics Xcanvas Idea Competition, South Korea (2007); and Silver at the Samsung SDI Amoled Design & Marketing Competition, South Korea (2006).
