9 Hong Kong Designers on the Rise

This week, The Artling brings you 9 designers from Hong Kong on the rise with their charming designs. These designers are not only influenced by their Hong Kong roots, but they infuse their diverse cross-cultural experiences into their creations, merging techniques and elements of the East and West. Their interdisciplinary backgrounds have also played a strong role in their design process, drawing them to particular shapes, forms, and objects. 

From design duos to solo practices, scroll down to learn more about these Hong Kong designers! 

Yellowdot Design

Yellowdot Design was founded by the designers Bodin Hon and Dilara Kan. Bodin is an ex-NASA engineer who trained at Rice University in Houston before entering the field of industrial design in Milan, and Dilara's practice is rooted in her astute eye for visual culture with an appreciation for art. Together, they strive to create work that transcends rational and functional qualities and imbue a sense of true inner beauty with a delightful element of surprise in their projects. Through a collaborative spirit, Yellowdot Design embodies a playful yet exploratory approach combined with a sustainable and people-centred ethos. Their work has resulted in an audacious, influential, and culturally-relevant portfolio that encompasses products, interior design, exhibition design, and furniture.

Lim + Lu

Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu co-founded Lim + Lu, an award-winning interdisciplinary design practice. These talented designers work internationally providing architecture, interior, branding, furniture, and product design services. Lim + Lu’s designs are inspired by familiar images from everyday life, pushing the trend of individualisation by infusing flexibility, practicality, and a breath of fresh air in their pieces.Their 'Split Vase - Rose' is a reflection of their integrative practice; they cast two iconic Ming vases together, resulting in a fusion of forms through their examination of the history of ceramic vases.

Project-J

Specialising in furniture design, Project-J was started by Jackie Luk in 2016. After receiving her training in architecture in Denmark, the simplicity and functionality of Nordic design has since shaped her creations, becoming a common language seen throughout her designs. While the early works of Project-J play with light and pattern, Hong Kong's culture and its density of urban living have also influenced her process, allowing her to combine these multicultural experiences and explore the qualities of space-saving form and diverse materials.

"Every new design is a project. We endeavor to create new living experience through reinvention and reinterpretation of material."

In recent years, Jackie's Hexa designs incorporate her space-saving form a generative subject, utilising the materials to their fullest potential. The result is an integration of traditional craft and new fabrication techniques. 

Noah & Grey

Founded in 2018, Noah & Grey was started by a father and son team, K.C. and Pakho, who strive to build beautifully crafted, purpose-driven designs. The duo explores the dichotomy between old and new, experimenting with materiality, form, and technology, putting people at the heart of their design process. Their work is guided by the rich narratives of the past and driven by the bold inventions of the future. They work across a range of metals, wood, and glass, and each of their lights is assembled and finished by hand. 

Michael Leung

Michael Leung completed his Michael Leung completed the IM Conceptual Design in Context Masters course at Design Academy Eindhoven. His works explore different aspects of design, from crafts and industry to local culture and sustainability. Michael's works have been showcased internationally, including the Milan and Dutch Design Week and DMY in Berlin. He has also held exhibitions in collaboration with the Vitra Design Museum in Germany and the V&A Museum in the UK.in Context Masters course at Design Academy Eindhoven and co-founded his studio in the Netherlands which specialises in interdisciplinary design. 

Alan Chan

Being a designer, brand consultant and artist, Alan Chan founded his own design company and has won over 600 local and international awards during his 47 years in advertising and design. Since 2000, Alan ventured into the new arena of visual art. He was also the first Hong Kong designer to be invited to hold a solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum and Ginza Graphic Gallery in Tokyo.

Alan's designs are inspired by Chinese tradition and culture as seen in his 'Incense Burner (Mountain)', which mimics the misty mountains of the Chinese landscapes. The black steel incense burner preserves the refined taste of ancient Chinese wisdom with a touch of the contemporary aesthetics. 

Joyce Wang Studio

Joyce Wang's architectural approach to design and love of materials is rooted in her degrees in Architecture and Materials Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Later, she received her Masters at the Royal College of Art in London where interdisciplinary collaborations were to influence her work to come.The 'Flint Hourglass' reflects her architectural background with its firm metal centre that cuts cleanly through the terrazzo domed ends, provoking a sense of solidarity and the pausing of time.

Sugo

Sugo was born in 2018 with the sole mission of creating ground-breaking contemporary Biophilic designs. Sugo was started by husband and wife team Kevin and Giulia who are passionate about nature and strive to fuse advanced sustainable technologies with their nature-inspired creations. 'FOGLIA-FILO Floor Lamp' was inspired by the process of photosynthesis in plants and highlights their love for nature.

Darlie Lau

Darlie Lau is a designer with a vibrant imagination and a continued ability to innovate, allowing him to seamlessly blend elements of the East and West in his designs. He aims to achieve the most out of his creations by breaking them down to its essentials, and develop products based on analysis, materiality, sustainability, and a visual reduction process. Precise lines and geometrical shapes give user a distinct impression. To Darlie, design may be objects, but it is also about the people who use those objects.

"Through communication with engineers, users, and products, design concepts are not only transformed into real products, but they are transformed into an industrial production of beauty."

We hope that you have enjoyed learning about these Hong Kong designers, and how they continue to push the boundaries with their designs. Browse more of extensive design collection here.