Essentials: Jae S. Min of Volkswagen Group of America

Continuing our recurring HYPEBEAST Essentials series, the latest piece highlights the day-to-day pieces of Jae S. Min of Volkswagen Group of America. A native of Seoul, South Korea, Jae experimented with an array of industrial design techniques after graduating from Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design with honors in the winter of 1994, seeing designs like his medical equipment, Kenwood audio electronics and professional fitness equipment all hit the market. Soon after, the promising designer joined the Audi/Volkswagen Design Center California in Simi Valley before living in Ingolstadt, Germany to serve as exterior designer of concepts like the Audi Allroad project over a nine-month stretch. Since relocating to Santa Monica in 2006, Jae and DCC have been credited with countless innovations over the past six years, designing the likes of the sporty and luxurious RoadJet Quattro hatchback and the convertible Cross Cabriolet Quattro — a precursor to the Audi Q5 production model — all while serving as a design instructor for senior undergraduate transportation design at his alma mater since 1995. Currently the Chief Designer of Group Interior for all brands following a stint as Chief Designer for Audi at DCC, Jae S. Min’s Essentials exhibit his commitment to the progression of knowledge and cultivation of new and original ideas. Dominated by design instruments like a Dell Precision M4500, Apple iPad, Wacom Cintiq 12 x 12.1 Interactive Pen Display, Wacom Intuos3 4 x 6 Wide Format Pen Tablet and Moleskine notebook, the designer’s necessities also include everyday-carry items like a Blackberry Torch, Montblanc wallet, Tiffany and Co. money clip and, naturally, keys to his Audi A6. For more information on Min’s insights into design, check out the video seen here.

Photography: Brandon Shigeta/HYPEBEAST