Jiyoun Kim Studio™ designed the first generation product of lil, a newly launched electronic cigarette brand, by collaborating with KT&G. KT&G is a Korean tobacco company which holds over 60% of market share in Korea, and it has advantage in producing various flavors that appeal to consumers of all ages. Unlike conventional cigarettes, lil uses a blade to heat the cigarettes instead of burning them. This way, lil can reduce over 90% of toxic substance such as tar. However, despite such benefits, it was not easy to convince smokers to switch to using electronic cigarette.

In this project, Jiyoun Kim focuses on changing people’s smoking habits by providing the best experience. Lil reduces unnecessary actions for smoking – such as opening the lid or frequently charging the device – and its simple design provides comfortable grip. Such effort played the key role in providing intuitive user-experience and giving the product the most minimal design, which allows for low product cost and potential for third-parties to take part in producing lil’s accessories.