HONGIK UNIVERSITY’S INDUSTRIAL DESIGN DEGREE SHOW 2025
Held from November 3 to 8, 2025, the Department of Industrial Design at Seoul-based Hongik University presented its annual Graduation Exhibition under the theme ‘The Use of Uselessness: What If.’ Moving beyond conventional purpose-centered design, the exhibition serves as an open dialogue between function, emotion, and culture, challenging students to find creative value in concepts that exist beyond conventional utility.
The theme embodies a future-oriented design attitude that celebrates curiosity and imagination, encouraging graduates to break free from binary thinking. From product and mobility to spatial and interaction design, many projects leverage technologies like emotional AI and advanced robotics, reflecting Hongik’s commitment to nurturing designers who understand the evolving relationship between humans, technology, and society with both analytical thinking and creative sensitivity. Below, we dive into some of the standout concepts that showcase the creativity and technical expertise of the next generation of industrial designers.
Hongik University’s annual Industrial Design Degree Show 2025 | all images courtesy of Hongik University
EDEN BY DOHYUN PARK AND SEOKHYUN AHN
EDEN is an AI home ecosystem that moves beyond the functional convenience of standard smart homes to offer true comfort. Inspired by nature, EDEN creates an environment precisely tailored to the user’s emotions and lifestyle through personalized light and scent. By naturally harmonizing technology, EDEN creates a personal ‘Eden’ within the home, offering a next-generation experience where technology supports emotional well-being rather than just functional needs.
EDEN by Dohyun Park and Seokhyun Ahn
HALE BY HYUNBIN SEO
HALE explores how future technologies could shape the next generation of extreme sports by proposing personal flight as a new athletic domain. Beginning with the idea that people continually seek stronger, more immersive forms of thrill, HALE enables users to move freely in three-dimensional space through body-driven control. The project envisions a future where flight becomes an accessible, skill-based activity, dramatically expanding how intensity, challenge, and physical performance are experienced.
HALE by Hyunbin Seo
AETHER BY HWIGU YU
Project ‘AETHER’ is a next-generation Urban Aerial Care System designed to redefine city infrastructure. The system is anchored by a central Mothership, a floating hub buoyed by a lighter-than-air gas envelope, which drifts effortlessly above the urban canopy. Rather than just monitoring, AETHER actively interacts with the city environment through three specialized drone units dedicated to real-time data analysis, rapid emergency response, and logistics support, ensuring the safety and prosperity of its citizens.
AETHER by Hwigu Yu
SHERPA BY JAEHWAN PARK ANDJEON JAEHO
Designed for the physically and mentally demanding environment of modern cultural complex malls, Sherpa is a smart, cart-type companion. It reduces physical burden and provides timely, relevant information, adapting to varied spaces through a contextual automation system. This system shifts between autonomous and manual modes with a simple handle-tilt action, aligning the device’s functions smoothly with the user’s pace and optimizing the overall shopping experience.
Sherpa by Jaehwan Park andJeon Jaeho
ROOT BY EL JYIDI CHAIMAE, WONJEONG PARK AND SI ON LEE
ROOT imagines a future where technology becomes the only bridge back to nearly disappeared natural environments. Redefining camping, the project features three speculative products: an AI companion robot that guides and supports emotional comfort; an AI-responsive tent that adapts to climate and mood; and an XR nature system that overlays reconstructed ecosystems onto artificial terrains. ROOT invites viewers to reconsider the bond between humanity and nature when reality and simulation converge.
ROOT by El Jyidi Chaimae, Wonjeong Park And Si On Lee
OASIS BY SIHEON SONG
OASIS is an urban green robotics platform that reimagines parks and forests in the city, overcoming their limitations to provide people with refreshing, nature-friendly moments of rest. As robots become everyday companions, spaces must adapt to coexist, transforming into unique robotics platforms that bring not only convenience but also new, restorative experiences to urban life.
OASIS by Siheon Song
HUSH BY SANGEUN PARK
HUSH is a quiet, proactive home AI designed for true rest, exploring how spatial AI can approach people gently. The system offers subtle, emotional suggestions for well-being. For example, ‘The Window’ projects its proactive AI interface like sunlight, ‘The Kettle’ uses steam mist as an AI screen to notify you as if breathing, and ‘The Light’ senses context, breathing together with the user. The space becomes a living, breathing ecosystem that nurtures rest.
HUSH by Sangeun Park
BUBBLIN BY HYUNMIN KIM
Bubblin’ is an AR-glasses service that allows people to explore Seoul instantly, guided by AI and intuitive bubble UI interactions. Designed for efficient leisure, the service eliminates the interruptions of navigation and planning. The AI surfaces highly recommended spots visited by friends or celebrities and naturally guides the user through the city, allowing them to simply move through places they feel drawn to at the moment.
Bubblin by Hyunmin Kim
SOUZ BY JAGYEONG KIM AND HANBOM JANG
SOUZ is a premium retreat brand that merges Korea’s traditional healing principles with a modern lifestyle. Rooted in the medical philosophy of So-uju (the ‘human microcosm’), SOUZ reinterprets Korea’s healing culture. The personalized retreat program focuses on three dimensions — Body, Mind, and Soul — using traditional Korean constitutional diagnosis, bathing culture, and sound therapy inspired by Pungnyu music to help every visitor rediscover their complete self.