People

Lead Curator

Marisa Yiu is co-founder and Executive Director/ Lead Curator of DESIGN TRUST, an initiative of the registered charity Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design. Yiu has been spearheading the creation of long-term and meaningful platforms to curate and fund innovative and thought-provoking investigations in various design disciplines. She conceptualized the Design Trust Futures Studio flagship programme as a design community think-tank on new designs for public micro-parks in Hong Kong, to programmes on Heritage and innovation. She is also an architect and Founding Partner of ESKYIU, a multi-disciplinary and award-winning architecture studio based in Hong Kong, founded in New York in 2005. She was the Chief Curator of the 2009 Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture; curated POP-UP Studio-X Shenzhen at the Value Factory, and along with her partner Eric Schuldenfrei of ESKYIU, the duo has been awarded the prestigious 2010 ‘Architectural League Prize’ for their installations featured in the Venice Biennale, received Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard recognition, ‘Design for Asia Award’ for Ephemera, commissioned by Swire Properties Art Basel and Movement culture: installation for Ido Portal. Their studio recently designed the interior architecture and landscape strategies for the 22-storey office tower K11 Atelier King’s Road project, featuring sustainable to heritage elements and a multi-functional exhibition venue. Yiu has been active in lecturing internationally such as Princeton University on ‘Alternative practices’; the China NEXT symposium organized by Architectural Record, UNESCO forum on ‘Historic Urban Landscapes’ in Vietnam, and the AsiaGSD ‘Specific Weights of Architecture: Asian Probes’ conference at Harvard University. She also formerly taught architecture at the Architectural Association in London; New York’s Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; Parsons School of Design; Department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong (2007-2010) and at the School of Architecture, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2010-2014), and since then she has been focusing with passion on DESIGN TRUST’s projects and programmes in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area region with its international partners.

Collaborator

Dr. Louis Ng is currently Director of Hong Kong Palace Museum, a major cultural institution being constructed in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. Committed to promoting the appreciation of Chinese art and culture, and advancing dialogue among world civilisations, the Museum is expected to be opened in mid-2022. Dr. Ng began his career in Hong Kong’s public museum service in 1988 as an assistant curator and became the Chief Curator in 2002 after working in various museums and heritage offices. Prior to joining the Hong Kong Palace Museum in August 2019, he was Deputy Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, overseeing the department’s culture-related institutions including museums, performance arts venues, visual arts centres and public libraries.  A distinguished historian, Dr. Ng obtained his BA, MPhil and PhD in history from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from the University of Sydney. His research and publications focus on Hong Kong history and cultural heritage management.

Collaborator and Master-mentor

Renowned Designer and Artist.  Freeman Lau is now the Founder of KL&K Creative Strategics, the Vice Chairman of the Design Alliance Asia and the Chairman of Hong Kong Federation of Design and Creative Industries.

Having been working as a designer and artist for over 30 years, Freeman has achieved over 300 awards. The project he did for Watson’s Water, including the bottle design as well as the series of activities for brand image building, not only brought him the “International ‘Bottlewaterworld’ Design Award”, but also helped the brand enhance the market share tremendously. His signature set of posters – “Chairligraphy”, won the “Judges Award” and “Bronze Award” in Hong Kong International Poster Triennial 2010 and “Communicational Design” of Red Dot Design Award in Germany in 2011. In 2015, Hong Kong Heritage Museum organized the exhibition “Freeman Lau & Design: Independent Decisions”.

In 2021, Freeman was awarded the Best Publishing Award of Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards as well as DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (WOCD).   

Master-Mentor

Born in Hong Kong, Raman Hui has been working in the animation industry for over 30 years. Since his graduation from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hui became one of the major forces at PDI/DreamWorks responsible for guiding the animation team from commercials and shorts to feature films including the Academy Award^®-winning blockbuster “Shrek”. 

Hui’s directing career started with his co-directing debut on “Shrek the Third” followed by his directing of the studio’s Kung Fu Panda animated short, “Secrets of the Furious Five.” He then co-directed “Scared Shrekless”, a Halloween Special that features the Shrek characters. He later directed a Puss In Boots short “The Three Diablos” and directed the animation of TV series “Dragons: Riders of Berk” and “Dragons: Defenders of Berk”. 

Hui directed his first live action movie “Monster Hunt” in Asia. He brought his animation and movie experience from Hollywood to China, and the movie became the highest grossing movie in China when it came out in 2015. He also directed the sequel “Monster Hunt 2” which also became a blockbuster in China.

Master-mentor

Cynthia Sah was born in Hong Kong and she grew up in Japan and Taiwan. She has completed her studies with a degree at the Bard College in New York and her Master’s degree at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. In 1979, she moved to Italy to learn and immerse herself in the art of carving and working with marble. She has received large commissions mainly from hotels, real estate developers and art collectors in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, England and USA. Her artistic expression is inspired by nature, her inner search is to understand and to touch the core of humanity, a momentary relief to the inevitable mortality, reminding ourselves to look within and to look beyond through art.

Master-mentor

Chelsia Lau is an Automotive Designer with extensive global design experience, and has worked in design studios around the globe including North America, Europe, and China. Currently Lau is the Design Director, Ford New Mobility Studio responsible for developing innovative Mobility Solutions/ Ecosystem through Human-centric thinking and design. Her design philosophy is to imbue each design with a soul and personality that fuels the imagination, dreams and emotions. Drawing inspiration from Nature to achieve unique design elements, her expression of the modern aesthetic can be experienced through the blend of speed, timelessness and sophistication of her designs. Lau has earned professional recognition and praise for her business acumen and leadership in the field of design, including ‘Top 40 World’s Excellent Females’ in 2011 by U+ Weekly and New York Times, ‘25 of Hong Kong’s Most Inspiring and Influential Women’ by the South China Morning Post in 2012 and ‘DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer’ in 2006.

Master-mentor

The vision of Dennis Chan, founder and creative director of Qeelin, China's first Luxury Jewellery Brand is: To bring the best of China to the world.

Chan started his career in London as a designer in a local consultancy. He then came back to Hong Kong to join the design consultancy headed by the renowned “Godfather” of product design, Mr. Ken Shimasaki. In 1989, Chan set up his own company, Longford, providing professional design consultancy services to international brands and institutions.

Over the years, Chan has been continuously challenging himself on multi-disciplinary designs. He believes that design has no boundaries, and his move to luxury jewellery design is the natural extension of his lifelong passion for exquisite timepieces and fine jewellery. His luxury designs for Qeelin first made headlines when the charismatic Maggie Cheung wore the Wulu collection while receiving Gold Palm Award for “Best Actress” at 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Master-mentor

As a world-renowned designer and artist, Dr. Kan Tai-keung started his design career since 1967 and earned numerous awards including the "Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award" in 1979 and the "Urban Council Grand Award (Design)" in 1984. Dr. Kan is the first Chinese enlisted in 1995 “Who's Who in Graphic Design” international reference book of Switzerland. He was awarded the Honour of Bronze Bauhinia Star and the Honour of Silver Bauhinia Star in 1999 and 2010 respectively. In 2016, Dr. Kan was awarded the "HKDA Lifetime Honorary Award" by Hong Kong Designers Association. Dr. Kan actively participates in art and design education and promotion of professionalism. He is now the Honorary Dean of the Cheung Kong School of Art and Design, Shantou University, the fellow member of Hong Kong Designers Association, member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale, the advisor of the Leisure & Cultural Services Department and the Honorary Advisor of Hong Kong Museum of Art.  

Master-mentor

Recipient of the World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer award 2015, Chi Wing Lo’s works encompass the fields of architecture, sculpture, interior, furniture and object design. His prolific output has long been recognized, in and beyond the eminent circle of contemporary Italian design, for his evocativeness in thought, gracefulness in form and meticulousness in every detail. Infusing poetry with usefulness, Lo’s works are inspired by materials and techniques that have passed on to our generation. He wishes to unite wisdom and sensibility of past and present, creating works that are lasting, simple and essential.

Master-mentor

Anthony Lo was appointed Ford global chief design officer beginning Apr. 1, 2021. He is responsible for creating the most attractive and consistent brand experiences with a line-up of products and services that are unique, authentic and true to Ford’s values. 

Previously serving as Renault’s vice president of exterior design, Lo led his design team to create an all-new Renault and Dacia product line-up. He was instrumental in the development of Renault’s “Cycle of Life” design strategy that showcased a series of award-winning concept cars with it such as the Dezir, Captur, R-Space, Frendzy, Twin’Z, Twin’Run and Trezor. 

Prior to joining Renault in 2010, Lo was the director of advanced design for General Motors Europe from 2004 to 2010. From 2000 to 2004, Lo worked in Sweden as chief designer, advanced design, at Saab. Before that, he was with Mercedes-Benz in Japan, as well as Audi in Germany.

Master-mentor

Man Fung-yi is a graduate of the Department of Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. In 1995, she established Artists' House with Mok Yat-san, and devoted herself to art creation and art education after her graduation. In 1999, she obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree at The CUHK and then worked as a part-time lecturer in the same school till 2001. In 2008, she obtained her master of Art (Daoism) in Department of Cultural and Religious Studies at the CUHK. She has participated in numerous exhibitions with her works are featured in many prestigious public collections.

Mok Yat-san received a Bachelor of Art from the CUHK, and had also received a Master of Arts (Sculpture) from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China. He used to be the President of Hong Kong Sculpture Society and now is a part-time lecturer in the Fine Arts Dept., The Chinese University of Hong Kong. With 30 years dedicated to art creation, Mok has taken part in numerous exhibitions spanning across the globe, ranging from Art Basel in Hong Kong, to BRIC Exhibition London, UK, and Hong Kong Art Biennial Exhibition.

Master-mentor

Edwin Chan studied architecture at UC Berkeley and the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. After graduation, Chan joined Frank O. Gehry & Associates in Los Angeles as Design Partner on many of the firm’s most significant cultural and institutional projects. In 2013, Chan launched his cross-disciplinary architectural and design studio - EC3. Chan have been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, including the honor of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France, a 2017 Progressive Architecture P/A Award, and named one of six finalists for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) in 2018.

Collaborator and Master-mentor

Renowned Designer and Artist.  Freeman Lau is now the Founder of KL&K Creative Strategics, the Vice Chairman of the Design Alliance Asia and the Chairman of Hong Kong Federation of Design and Creative Industries.

Having been working as a designer and artist for over 30 years, Freeman has achieved over 300 awards. The project he did for Watson’s Water, including the bottle design as well as the series of activities for brand image building, not only brought him the “International ‘Bottlewaterworld’ Design Award”, but also helped the brand enhance the market share tremendously. His signature set of posters – “Chairligraphy”, won the “Judges Award” and “Bronze Award” in Hong Kong International Poster Triennial 2010 and “Communicational Design” of Red Dot Design Award in Germany in 2011. In 2015, Hong Kong Heritage Museum organized the exhibition “Freeman Lau & Design: Independent Decisions”.

In 2021, Freeman was awarded the Best Publishing Award of Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards as well as DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (WOCD).   

Advisor

Dr. Daisy Yiyou Wang is responsible for the museum’s exhibition, research, collection, publication, learning and public engagement programmes. She has served as the Robert N. Shapiro Curator of Chinese and East Asian Art at the Peabody Essex Museum and the Chinese Art Specialist at the Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler. With Jan Stuart, Wang co-curated the ground-breaking exhibition “Empresses of China’s Forbidden City” and co-edited the publication, which was merited with the Smithsonian Secretary’s Research Prize. This exhibition was amongst the “Top 20 United States Art Exhibitions” and named the “Most Influential International Exhibition from Chinese Museums” in 2019. A specialist of the history of collecting, lacquer and Qing imperial portraiture, Dr. Wang has published internationally. Dr. Wang is a recipient of a Getty Museum Leadership Fellowship, a Smithsonian Post-Doctoral Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. She has acted as Chair for the American Alliance of Museums’ China Programme, the largest annual U.S.-China museum professional exchange programme.

Advisor

Dr. Tianlong Jiao received his B.A. from Peking University in 1987 and Ph. D. from Harvard University in 2003. Prior to his appointment as the Head Curator at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in 2021, he was the Curator of Asian Art at the Denver Art Museum, the Head and Curator of Chinese Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Chief Curator of Hong Kong Maritime Museum, the Chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Bishop Museum. He also served as faculty or visiting professors at University of Hawaii-Manoa, Xiamen University, Chinese University of Science and Technology and Shandong University. His research specialty is early Chinese art and archaeology. He has curated many international traveling exhibitions in collaboration with major museums worldwide, including the Palace Museum. He also conducted archaeological projects in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Hawaii and Honduras. He has authored/co-authored nine books and more than one hundred research papers both in Chinese and in English. His book The Neolithic of Southeast China (Cambria Press 2007) was the winner of the 2007 Philip and Eugenia Cho Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Asian Studies.

Designer-mentee

Bob Pang, seed grant recipient of Design Trust, writer/columnist, member of DOCOMOMO HK and registered architect, graduated from the Master of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong and has extensive design experience in London, Vienna, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

He was a project architect leading a team on various urban and architectural projects in Arata Isozaki Shanghai studio from 2011-2012. In 2015, he co-founded AaaM Architects.

Pang’s research and photography project, supported by the Design Trust Seed Grant in 2020, aims to map out and reveal the history and aesthetic of Brutalist architecture in Hong Kong.

Designer-mentee

Yat Muk Studio’s Chinese name is inspired by the meaning, “a lifetime of woodwork”, and creating furniture that lasts a lifetime is the studio’s vision. Founded by Ken Chow, the studio is dedicated to exploring and researching Hong Kong’s local heritage of woodwork, seeking to redefine true craftsmanship as opposed to wood engineering in general.

Chow has devoted his working life to the craft of woodworking with his passion, constantly perfecting his craft techniques through experimentation and innovation. Having apprenticed in Taipei, Taichung, and Jilin, China between 2016 and 2019, he aims to explore the authenticity of carpentry crafts by observing the difference in the woodworking craft and culture in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan.

Designer-mentee

Niko Leung, owner of design studio Future is Transparency, is a product designer working in the realm of object, material, installation and spatial design. Leung holds a BDesfrom Design Academy Eindhoven (NL). She was previously a part-time tutor at Lee ShauKeeSchool of Creativity in Hong Kong teaching Visual Art, Design and Spatial Studies. Leung enjoys travelling, had been a resident artist in Jingdezhen (CN), Fiskars (FI), Den Bosch (NL) and Arita(JP). Leung was awarded Young Design Talent Award in 2017 to undertake a work placement at StudiomakeArchitects in Thailand.

Niko has practiced at architectural ceramics manufacturer Royal TichelaarMakkum(NL) as a craftsperson. Eight years in the Netherlands has brought Niko an experimental and can-do attitude in her work. Niko co-founded “Hong Kong Soil” with Loky Leung in 2021, as an initiative to research and advocate purposeful reuse of discarded soil from local construction sites. The “Hong Kong Soil” initiative is a Design Trust Feature Grant Project.

Designer-mentee

Su Chang is principal of Su Chang Design Research Office, a research-driven, interdisciplinary architectural design practice based in Hong Kong. His built work and architectural proposals situate historical typologies in contemporary cultures, focusing on how architecture and landscape can intersect to create space in between for new public life.

Chang’s writing and translation work similarly connects architecture’s physical presence to its participation in a larger geography of ideas, most recently in the Chinese edition of Iñaki Ábalos’s The Good Life: A Guided Visit to the Houses of Modernity, as well as essays, interviews, commentaries, and projects in Wallpaper, Taiwan Architecture, and Harvard GSD Platform. Chang has been teaching architecture design at the University of Hong Kong since 2018.

Chang received his Master in Architecture with commendation and Dean’s Merit Scholarship from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Previously, Chang was educated at Peking University, ETH Zürich, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies with First Class Honour and full scholarship from the University of Hong Kong.

Chang is a recipient of Design Trust Seed Grant.

Designer-mentee

Hong Kong type designer, graphic designer, and musician. Graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2009. Co-founded Trilingua Design with Chris Tsui in 2010. In 2018, he published the book “A Study on Hong Kong Beiwei Calligraphy & Type Design”, which documented the eight years of research on Hong Kong Beiwei, as well as his type design “Hong Kong Beiwei Zansyu”. The book has won the “Grand Award” and the “Distinguished Publishing Awards” of “Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards 2019”. The type design has won “New York Type Directors Club’s” Typeface Design Award. Winner of “2019 DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award”. He is co-curator of Hong Kong largest design festival “deTour 2020” & “deTour 2021”.

Chan is a recipient of Design Trust Seed Grant for his project entitled “Hong Kong Beiwei Kaishu (Typography) Research Project” and a Designer Mentee of the Design Trust Futures Studio 2019 which he developed a graphic design concept that bridges the Haw Par Mansion’s history and myths to the contemporary music foundation.

Designer-mentee

Elaine Yan Ling Ng, nicknamed the ‘techno fairy’ by Elle Deco, is the founder of The Fabrick Lab, which brings together textiles, electronics, biomimicry, interiors and installations. A British Chinese materialologist, Ng graduated from Central Saint Martins in London where she earned her MA Design in Textile Futures with distinction. An alumna of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Management in Leadership, she is a TED Fellow and has been globally recognized, by multiple design awards, including AD100 The Game Changer by AD Italia, The Influencer by INDE. Awards and received The Emerging Talent Award by Design Anthology, GGEF’s Eco Innovator Award, Swarovski’s Designer of the Future Award and Tatler’s Gen T Award. She has worked with Nissan Design Europe and Nokia Design Beijing and is one of the top 50 brightest connectors, creative visionaries, influential innovators and disruptive talents in Hong Kong. In 2020, Ng was appointed Nature Squared’s Chief Material Innovator.

Ng was a grant recipient of Design Trust. Her feature project includes creating an on-going textile experimentation, a synergy between traditional craft and modern understanding of material. Ng also participated in DTFS 2019 as Designer Mentee and created Dancing Phoenix (Feature Carpet Design) in collaboration with Tai Ping and mentored by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu.

Designer-mentee

Jacqueline Chak is a founding partner of EDIT and EDITECTURE; a multi-disciplinary architectural, fashion, art and interior design practice in Hong Kong. Founded in 2014, EDITECTURE has earned a wide range of various disciplinal work and an award winning design studio. Chak has received the Prestige 40 under 40 award in 2021 as well as Perspective 40 under 40 in Hong Kong and China in 2019, for her achievements in the design industry of Hong Kong and international design scene.

Through fashion and style, intertwining with the design discipline at EDITECTURE, Chak wishes to present a new methodical of comprehensive design concept of design and lifestyle, building an edit of established and emerging designer brands, reinforcing the core value that “everyone is their own editor in life”.

Designer-mentee

Studio Florian and Christine is a multidisciplinary design studio, currently based in Hong Kong. As a two-person led practise, both designers are MA graduates from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. The two come with experience working internationally and their expertise includes, industrial design and fashion / material innovation design.

The studio works at the intersection of sustainable materials, heritage crafts and social innovation. For the past three years, they have been investigating local waste materiality, collaborating with master craftsmen and working with various 3D technologies. Their research focuses on investigating how traditional handcraft can become integrated with modern technology and contemporary culture.

Awarded the Design Trust Seed Grant two times and participating in DTFS 2019 as designer mentee, the duo has been actively learning about Hong Kong's heritage craft for the past years and transforming their work.

Designer-mentee

Established in Hong Kong and Jingdezhen, Julie & Jesse is the creative partnership of designer Julie Progin and artist Jesse Mc Lin. Their work stretches across the fields of design, craft and art, blending research and material experimentation into the making of innovative porcelain objects and installations. They embrace a unique approach to each project, drawing on its cultural and historic context, as well as resources close at hand. Each work manifests the duo’s constant process of reinvention.

Julie & Jesse have exhibited at institutions including M+ Museum, Design Society, the Triennale Di Milano. Their works are held in private, corporate and public collections such as the China Ceramic Museum, M+ Museum and the K11 Art Foundation.

The duo participated in design*lab’s Feature Grant research, and Design Trust Futures Studio 2019.

Designer-mentee

Batten and Kamp is a creative partnership between Alexandra Batten and Daniel Kamp. The New Zealand born, Hong Kong-based design art duo create functional sculptures, acquired by galleries and collectors around the world. Their works are made one at a time by the couple and their production partners from a converted factory space, between a densely jungled mountain and a bustling port at the edge of Hong Kong Island.

Batten and Kamp are represented by galleries in New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Geneva, Seoul, Copenhagen and Hong Kong. Their works have been exhibited in solo shows at Novalis Art Design and Designart Tokyo and included in many group exhibitions, as well as international art fairs including Enter Art Fair Denmark and Fine Art Asia Hong Kong. Their works and practice are featured in Hype Beast, Designboom, Design Anthology, Sight Unseen, ID Magazine, Somewhere magazine, Axis Magazine, Ignant and more.

Designer-mentee

Stickyline is a prominent Hong Kong-based creative duo comprising Mic Leong and Soilworm Lai whose distinctive, large-scale sculptures of the polyhedra mask the creative engineering, mathematics and geometric structural complexity of its genesis. By using paper and metal, the duo creates minimalist aesthetics, durability, simplicity in shapes, combined with technologies in kinetic, sound and light to enhance the experience in their works.

In 2013-14, Stickyline was invited by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design (AoD) and Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) to participate in the International Design Festival Berlin 2013 and exhibited in Milan Design Week 2014 under Stickyline. Collaborations with brands include Henrik Vibskov, Ralph Lauren, Mercedes-Benz, Puma, Paul and Shark, Lomography and Givenchy.

Leong and Lai's project On/Off was awarded Design Trust Seed Grant in 2016. Their installation was later launched at Sea World Culture and Arts Centre, Shenzhen in 2017 and received a DFA Design for Asia Award 2018 - Silver Award.

Designer-mentee

Tin Lau is an artist and pan-disciplinary designer. He was a student at Design Academy Eindhoven. Now living in Hong Kong, he has worked on commercial and public projects as a graphic, product, interior and exhibition designer. “Tin 1”, a ball point pen he designed for Shenzhen Comix Group, was given Best Stationary of China Gold Award by Paperworld China, Messe Frankurt. Tin also works as a consultant, providing insight, bridging parties and forming projects across commercial, art and design.