Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
ANNEX B: PRESIDENT‟S DESIGN AWARD 2011 JURY PANEL
1. Ms Lei-Mei Julia Chiu Executive Director Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP); and Professor Musashino Art University (Japan)
2. Mr John Denton Founding Director Denton Corker Marshall Pty Ltd (Australia)
3. Mr Brandon Gien Managing Director Good Design Australia; and Chair Australian International Design Awards (Australia)
4. Mr Garrick Hamm Creative Partner Williams Murray Hamm (United Kingdom)
5. Prof Heng Chye Kiang Dean School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore (Singapore)
6. Mr Fernando Menis Founder Menis Arquitectos (Spain)
7. Mr Mok Wei Wei Architect & Principal W Architects Pte Ltd (Singapore)
8. Mr Neil Porter Director Gustafson Porter Ltd (United Kingdom)
1 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
9. Mr Matthias Sauerbruch Founder and Director Sauerbruch Hutton Architects (Germany)
10. Mr Richard Seymour Co-Founder Seymourpowell (United Kingdom)
11. Mr Michael Sorkin Founder Michael Sorkin Studio; and Chair New York Institute for Urban Design (United States of America)
12. Mr Tai Lee Siang Group Managing Director, Architecture Ong & Ong Pte Ltd (Singapore)
13. Mr Tan Yoong Owner and Designer Tan Yoong (Singapore)
14. Ms Jureeporn Thaidumrong CEO and Creative Chairwoman nudeJEH (previously JEH united) (Thailand)
15. Mr Tham Khai Meng Worldwide Creative Director and Chairman Worldwide Creative Council Ogilvy & Mather, New York (United States of America)
16. Mr Nathan Yong Furniture Designer Nathan Yong Design (Singapore)
2 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Jury Biographies
Ms Lei-Mei Julia Chiu Executive Director, Japan Institute of Design Promotion Professor, Muasashino Art University (Japan)
Leimei has spent most of her adult life working to help designers and students of design promote their work across national and cultural barriers. Born in Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), raised and educated in the United States and later in Japan, she has acquired a diverse cultural and academic foundation. Leimei specializes in international policies on creative cities and has worked with governments and academic institutions across Europe, North America and the Pan Pacific Rim to implement design policies and strategic visions for the development of creative industries.
She has lectured at design conferences and academic institutions in over 31 countries. From 1997 to 2001, Julia served as an Icograda Vice President and Executive Board Member of the International Council Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) from 2007-2009. A recipient of Icograda President‟s Award, she has served on numerous competition juries including Adobe Design Achievement Awards, APCI Award, BIO, Red Dot Design Concept Award, Red Star Award, Brno Biennial, Design for Asia Award, Most Successful Award, SABS Design Excellence Award, World Design Leadership Award, World Package Organization Competition and the Good Design Award.
Founded in 1963, Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) is the world body for communication design, with over 200 member organizations (design promotion centers, professional design organizations, academic institutions and corporate members) in 129 cities and 67 countries. Icograda maintains consultative status with UNESCO, UNIDO and WIPO. Icograda is a member of IFRRO and is in liaison with technical committees of ISO.
Leimei becomes Icograda's first female President Elect. She will preside over the Council's 50 anniversary celebrations in 2013 when she assumes her presidency for the 2011-2013 term.
3 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr John Denton Founding Director Denton Corker Marshall Pty Ltd (Australia)
Mr John Denton completed his architectural and post-graduate planning studies at the University of Melbourne. In 1972, he founded Denton Corker Marshall with Mr Bill Corker and Mr Barrie Marshall in Melbourne. This firm has become one of the most significant and successful Australian-owned international design practices, with offices in Melbourne, Jakarta and London. Denton Corker Marshall is widely acclaimed both in Australia and internationally for the high calibre of its architecture and urban design, which is the subject of several prestigious contemporary publications and attracts many prominent design awards.
Mr Denton's principal interests in both architecture and urban design have shaped a range of projects over many years; he was Director in Charge of the new Australian Embassies in Beijing and Tokyo (where he was also a member of the Australian Government Task Force charged with negotiations for redevelopment of the existing embassy site), and more recently has been Director in Charge of a series of projects for Monash University, Caulfield Campus. He was Director in Charge of the Museum of Victoria project, a commission won by the practice in an open design competition. He was also Director in Charge of Anzac Hall, and the East Building and Gallery redevelopment, the most recent of a series of projects for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. He was Director in Charge of the new Civil Justice Centre Project in Manchester (UK). He is currently Director in Charge of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Project, and the new Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Mr Denton has, for a number of years, been President of the Australian Print Workshop and a Board Member of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, non profit organizations supported by Arts Victoria and the Australia Council. He also chairs the Interim Advisory Board establishing the Creative Industries Innovation Centre for the Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research.
Mr Denton lectures on Denton Corker Marshall's work to schools of architecture, professional institutes in Australia and abroad, and as a keynote speaker. He has lectured at the Architecture League in New York and was a Visiting Professor at the Royal Danish Academy of the Arts. He is an adjunct Professor of Architecture in the Faculty of Art and Design at Monash University.
In 1996, Mr Denton, Mr Corker and Mr Marshall were made the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medallists for that year, the most prestigious award the RAIA bestows. From 2006 to 2008, Mr Denton accepted a part-time role as the Victorian Government Architect to advise the Premier and Cabinet on achieving better architecture and urban design outcomes for Government.
4 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Brandon Gien Managing Director, Good Design Australia Chair, Australian International Design Awards (Australia) (Australia)
Brandon is the Managing Director of Good Design Australia and the Chair of the Australian International Design Awards. He represents Australia as an Executive Board Member and Treasurer of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design [ICSID], a Member of the International Design Alliance, a strategic venture between the peak international organisations representing design.
Prior to founding Good Design Australia, Brandon was the General Manager of Design Strategy and Head of Corporate Services at Standards Australia, recognised by the Government as Australia‟s peak Standards body. Brandon was a Member of the Senior Executive Team at Standards Australia and had executive responsibility for a number of key divisions including Technology, Human Resources, Customer and Information Services, Corporate and Strategic Projects, Corporate Design and Branding and the Media and Communications departments.
With a background in management and Industrial Design, Brandon has transformed the Australian International Design Awards program over the past decade into Australia‟s peak design assessment and promotion body. He plays a key role in collaborating with design and creative experts from around the world and has affiliations with leading universities and design organisations across Australia and the globe. Through his work on the ICSID Executive Board, he has been instrumental in creating the World Design Impact Prize, a new prize to honour Industrial Design driven projects that make a positive impact on our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life.
Brandon studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle where he later graduated with a Bachelor‟s degree in Industrial Design. He is currently completing a Doctorate in Environmental Design at the University of Canberra‟s School of Design and Architecture with a focus on the development and promotion of Industrial Design in Australia. He is a professional member of the Design Institute of Australia and the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) and sits on the Advisory Board of the Design Research Institute of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) where he chairs the Design Challenge program.
5 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Garrick Hamm Creative Partner Williams Murray Hamm (United Kingdom)
Garrick Hamm is Creative Partner at London based brand design consultancy Williams Murray Hamm.
Garrick joined Michael Peters & Partners after graduating from Somerset College of Art in 1989. After four years he joined Tutssels/Lambie-Nairn where he worked across a variety of different design disciplines and fell in love with moving image. He joined Williams and Murray in 1999 and amongst other projects, he has been the Creative Director on the re-launch of Fortnum & Mason‟s packaging and identity. More recently, he helped launch Jamie Oliver‟s new Recipease store in Clapham which won a Gold Lion at Cannes (2009) and a Gold win for Brand Identity at the New York Festivals (2010). He has won other numerous major awards, including a D&AD Yellow Pencil and two DBA Design Effectiveness Grand Prix Awards and a shelf full of Clios.
As former President of D&AD and a Fellow of the RSA, Garrick has a keen interest in design education. He has been profiled in the Financial Times and The Observer. In his spare time he is an avid filmmaker; his first short film “Lucky Numbers” was nominated at the Chlotrudis Awards, USA. His most recent film „The Man Who Married Himself‟ starring Richard E Grant and Emilia Fox won Best Comedy Award at the LA Shorts Festival (2010).
6 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Prof Heng Chye Kiang Dean School of Design and Environment National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Prof Heng Chye Kiang is the Dean of the School of Design and Environment, at the National University of Singapore and a co-leader of the Asian Cities Cluster at the Asian Research Institute. He studied architecture at the Ecole Speciale d'Architecture, and urban design at the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de L''Etat. He did his PhD at the University of California.
Prof Heng has been a visiting scholar at the Tsinghua University and the Kyoto University, and Huaying Visiting Professor at the Southeast University in Nanjing. He has served as a jury member in a number of international design competitions and on several editorial boards of international journals. He is a Board member of the Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority. Prof Heng's research covers areas of urban design, heritage and history of Chinese cities. He publishes widely in these areas and was awarded the NUS Outstanding Researcher Award in 1997. His book Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats (University of Hawaii, 1999) is being used as the textbook in the leading universities in the US and UK. China's Architecture and Building Press has recently published his digital reconstruction of the Tang period Chang'an, as a book and as an interactive software package.
7 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Fernando Menis Founder Menis Arquitectos (Spain)
Architect, Associate Professor of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and President of the Laboratory for Innovation in Architecture, Design and Advanced Tourism of Tenerife, he also participates as a jury member, director of workshops and lecturer at Harvard, Columbia Univ, ESA Paris, TU Berlin, Akbild Vienna or at Architecture Festivals in Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Croatia, Italy etc.
After studying architecture in Barcelona, between 1981 - 2004, he teams with 2 other partners under the name Artengo-Menis-Pastrana. In 2004, he founds the practice Menis Arquitectos with offices in Tenerife and Valencia. Independently or in co-authorship, Menis signs projects that are built: Insular Athletics Stadium (2007), Magma Art & Congress (2005), Swimming Pool in the River Spree in Berlin (2004), Presidency of the Canary Islands (1999) as well as new projects, still in process: Concerts Hall Jordánek in Poland, Congress Center in Fuerteventura, Aurum House in Taiwan, Garden Tower, Santísimo Redentor Church in La Laguna.
Awarded with the National Prize for Architecture and Design (PAD 2000), winner of the Award for Future Cultural Project at World Architecture Festival (WAF 2010), of the Prize for Accessibility (SINPROMI 2007), Menis has also won several times already the Regional Prize of Architecture in the Canary Islands. and has been selected as national and international finalist at FAD Awards, the Spanish Architecture Biennial and nominated for the Mies van de Rohe Award.
Menis‟s works are presented consistenly in publications around the world and made the subject of exhibitions (Venice Biennial, MOMANY, GA Tokyo, Glyptothek Athens, Moscow Artists‟House etc.) or personal (Circulo de Bellas Artes Tenerife, Gabinete Literario Las Palmas, Madrid Architects Association, Valencia Architects Association, Universidad de Navarra, Aedes Berlin, TU Stuttgar etc.)
His biography and works are featured in depth in the volume “Fernando Menis reason + emotion” published by Actar-Spain in 2007. In 2011 fall-winter, the Korean editorial Archilife will publish a new updated monograph about Menis.
8 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Mok Wei Wei Architect and Principal W Architects Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Mr Mok Wei Wei graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) in 1982 from the National University of Singapore. He is presently Managing Director of W Architects Pte Ltd, a practice known for its innovative and contemporary architecture. Mr Mok‟s numerous architectural projects have received critical acclaim both locally and internationally. His works are featured in numerous regional and international publications. Lauded in the world's list of Top 100 architects, W Architects was featured in the "10 x 10_2" publication by renowned international visual arts publisher, Phaidon Press, which showcased 100 of the most exceptional architects in the world.
With award-winning projects such as The Loft Condominium at Nassim Hill, the Morley Road House, 33 Robin, and Paterson Edge, it is no wonder that author and former Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, Robert Powell, had referred to Mr Mok as 'one of Singapore's foremost exponents of Contemporary Modernism'.
9 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Neil Porter Director Gustafson Porter Ltd (United Kingdom)
Neil Porter was born in Surrey in 1958. He was awarded a first class degree at Newcastle University School of Architecture and then awarded a diploma with honors from the Architectural Association in London in 1983. Neil worked with Bernard Tschumi on the Parc de la Villette in Paris where he first met Kathryn Gustafson. He has also been a designer for leading London practices such as Terry Farrell Architects, Ian Ritchie Architects, Alsop, Lyall and Stormer and John Lyall Architects. In 1997 Neil established Gustafson Porter with Kathryn Gustafson and is responsible for design and management of the London office.
Completed Gustafson Porter projects include the restoration of the Dinosaur Park at Crystal Palace Park, the National Botanic Garden of Wales internal landscape and the Treasury Courtyards with Foster + Partners, the Westergasfabriek Culture Park in Amsterdam, the Swiss Cottage Open Space and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park. Other projects include the Garden of Forgiveness and the Shoreline Walk in Beirut, the Bay East Gardens in Singapore and the restoration of a Desert Park.
Over the last ten years, Neil has extended his interest in design and architecture to the field of landscape architecture and masterplanning. His design for the recently completed Old Market Square in Nottingham has been awarded the Lord Mayor‟s Award for Urban Design. Neil was leader of the design team in the development of the structural landscape for the Barking Riverside residential development within the Thames flood plain. He is currently working on the design of a landscape masterplan for the restoration of a Desert Park which includes a visitor centre.
Neil has taught at the Architectural Association where he was a Unit Master from 1984–1987. He was a Member of the CABE Design Review Panel.
10 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Matthias Sauerbruch Founder and Director Sauerbruch Hutton Architects (Germany
Matthias Sauerbruch is a director of Sauerbruch Hutton, which he founded in 1989 together with Louisa Hutton in London. Based in Berlin since 1993, the practice currently employs about 100 staff and is engaged in a number of projects throughout Europe. Their work has become well known for its serious engagement with issues of sustainability, as well as the creation of sensual spaces and signature facades. Sauerbruch Hutton are best known for the GSW Headquarters building in Berlin (1999) and the Federal Environmental Agency in Dessau (2005).
Sauerbruch Hutton's projects have been awarded a number of prizes, and were subject of numerous exhibitions and publications worldwide. Louisa Hutton and Matthias Sauerbruch received the Erich Schelling Prize for Architecture in 1998, and the Fritz Schumacher Prize for Architecture in 2003. Matthias has been teaching Architecture as a unit master at the Architectural Association London. From 1995 to 2007 he has been holding chairs at the Technical University of Berlin and at the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart. Matthias has served on international juries, and lectures at many institutions and universities worldwide.
11 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Richard Seymour Co-Founder Seymourpowell (United Kingdom)
Richard Seymour is co-founder of the internationally renowned design and innovation company, Seymourpowell.
As one of Europe‟s best-known and most accomplished designers, he has a career spanning over 30 years and a huge range of creative disciplines. Over this period he has become a global champion for design, picking up a host of design awards for products, vehicles, book design, advertising, packaging and even record sleeves. His top accolades include the D&AD President‟s Award for Outstanding Contribution for Design, The Lifetime Achievement Award for Design from FX Magazine and the BBC Design Award.
Initially trained as a graphic designer and illustrator, Richard moved through graphics, advertising and film production design before setting up Seymourpowell with his business partner, Dick Powell, in 1984.
During the 1990‟s he became a familiar face on television, with Dick Powell, in a number of series on design, including „Design on Your....‟ and „Better by Design‟. The programmes followed Richard & Dick through the genesis of a whole range of new products, from kitchen bins and razors to a better bra and an innovative toilet. Richard is now known as much for his public speaking as he is for his design work. His understanding of future technologies and „emergent behaviour‟ has drawn him into a number of retained roles within large multinational companies, helping them navigate their products and services into the future.
He is Consultant Design Director of the Dove brand for Unilever, a Trustee of the Design Museum in London, holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Centre for Creative Studies in Michigan, an Honorary Masters Degree from the Surrey Institute and is Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art.
He has also served as Visiting Professor of Design at both the Royal College of Art and Coventry University..
12 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Michael Sorkin Founder Michael Sorkin Studio; and Chair New York Institute for Urban Design (United States of America)
Michael Sorkin is the distinguished professor of architecture and director of the graduate program in urban design at the City College of New York.
From 1993 to 2000 he was Professor and Director of the Institute for Urbanism at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Sorkin's long academic career has also included professorships at Cooper Union, Harvard, Yale (holder of the Davenport and Bishop chairs), Cornell (Gensler Chari) Columbia, Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois. Michigan (Saarinen Chair), Nebraska (Hyde Chair). Sorkin lectures widely and is the author of several hundred articles on architectural and urban subjects.
For ten years he was the architectural critic of the Village Voice and is currently contributing editor for Architectural Record. His books include Variations on a Theme Park, Exquisite Corpse, Giving Ground (edited with Joan Copjec), Wiggle, Local Code, Some Assembly Required, The Next Jerusalem, After the World Trade Center (edited with Sharon Zukin), Starting from Zero, Against the Wall, and Indefensible Space. Forthcoming are Twenty Minutes in Manhattan, Eutopia, All Over the Map, and Project New Orleans.
Sorkin is also President of Terreform, a non-profit engaged in urban research and advocacy and President of The Institute for Urban Design.
13 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Tai Lee Siang Group Managing Director, Architecture Ong & Ong Pte Ltd (Singapore)
Mr Tai graduated with honours from NUS in 1987 and has practiced as architect and urban planner since 1990. His key projects won both local and international award and was featured in a URA exhibition “20 under 45” in March 2004.
He held the position as President of Singapore Institute of Architects from 2007 to 2009. He consolidated the institute‟s “Blue Print” to establish numerous firsts.
On the Design front, he led the inauguration of ARCHIFEST – a festival that promotes architecture excellence among the professionals and general public. He then pioneered the first Practice Convention 2009 – a strategic forum to address practice concerns of Singapore architects. In the same year, Mr Tai also initiated the establishment of Architecture Professional Course; preparing young graduates to sit for Professional Practice Examination. In 2010, Mr Tai chairs the formation of DesignS – an alliance comprising of 8 Design-centric Associations to promote Singapore Design Brands.
On sustainability front, Mr Tai was appointed as Chairman of REACH, Environmental Sustainability Committee in 2008 - a committee to provide feedback to the Inter-Ministry Committee on Sustainability Development. Mr Tai formed the SIA Green Committee leading to the first collaboration on Green product exhibition with BEX Asia 2009 and International Green Building Convention with BCA. Currently, he is elected as the President of Singapore Green Building Council.
He is currently the Group Managing Director of Ong & Ong Pte Ltd, a multi-disicpline consultancy firm that provides 360º solution encompassing Urban Planning, Architecture, Engineering, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design.
14 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Tan Yoong Owner and Designer Tan Yoong (Singapore)
Recognised by his peers and loyal clientele as Singapore's premier fashion designer for the last two decades, Mr Tan Yoong continues to surprise women with his couture-inspired fashion designs, turning his many clients from looking girl-next-door to feeling glamourous and fabulous.
Trained in fine arts, his first love was painting. His passion for fashion design was only realised and developed after winning a string of creative awards, both in Singapore and abroad in Tokyo, Japan, while working as an art director in an international advertising agency.
Mr Tan is at the top of his game by being uniquely inventive. As a fashion wizard, he conjures elements of fantasy and surrealism in all of his designs. His premium-priced limited edition ready-to-wear pieces, custom-made cocktail dresses, and exclusive eveningwear rival those of the world's top designer labels.
Credit: Photo by Ms Joyce Choo
15 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Ms Jureeporn Thaidumrong Chief Executive Officer and Creative Chairwoman nudeJEH (previously JEH United) (Thailand)
Jureeporn hails from Thailand, where she is known as Jeh Judee („big sister‟) due to her many years‟ industry experience.
After graduating from Chulalongkorn University, Judee kick-started her career as a Copywriter at DY&R, before becoming a Senior at Leo Burnett. In 1997, Judee was Creative Director at Results Advertising, then moved to Saatchi & Saatchi to be Executive Creative Director in 2001.
Judee started her own Creative Powerhouse, JEH United, in 2005. In its first year, JEH United was already the Gunn Report‟s 18th most awarded agency in the world.
Judee has become one of the most powerful women in Advertising Industry, bringing home Thailand‟s first Gold Cannes Lion and its first D&AD Yellow Pencil.
June 2011, Judee and JEH United have made another big step forward by merging with NUDE Communication – a boutique brand agency focusing on Strategic Branded Communications. Judee will lead the newly founded company “nudeJEH” as the CEO and Creative Chairwoman.
16 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Tham Khai Meng Worldwide Creative Director & Chairman Worldwide Creative Council Ogilvy & Mather, New York (United States of America)
Tham Khai Meng serves as Worldwide Creative Director of Ogilvy & Mather, the Chairman of its Worldwide Creative Council and a member of the company‟s Worldwide Board and Executive Committee. He is considered “One of the world‟s most influential people in the communications business,” according to Advertising Age, New York. Khai obtained a BA at Central Saint Martins, and an MA from The Royal College of Art, London. Khai made his first professional mark at Leo Burnett in London and Chicago, before heading to Singapore and progressing to Batey. While there, his work on Singapore Airlines catalyzed Batey‟s emergence as a regional leader.
In 2000, Khai served as Regional Creative Director and Co-Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather‟s Asia Pacific network. This culminated in a seven year run from 2001 to 2008 as Campaign Brief Asia‟s number one “Network of the Year.” Khai was awarded Creative Director of the Year for those seven straight years. Khai joined Ogilvy & Mather‟s Worldwide Board in 2005, when Media magazine named him “Regional Head of the Year” in Asia Pacific. In 2009, Khai assumed the duties of Worldwide Creative Director and Chairman of the Worldwide Creative Council at Ogilvy & Mather‟s New York City headquarters.
Khai‟s career building global brands has received honors from clients and every major award show around the world, including Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Clios, and London International Awards. He has also chaired the jury panels for these shows. Khai has served on numerous boards including his current appointment to Agencies in Action in New York, a nonprofit coalition working to alleviate hunger. He was asked by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to sit on his Economic Review Committee, a think tank tasked with finding a strategic direction for Singapore as it migrated from a manufacturing to knowledge-based economy. In December 2009, Khai proudly accepted the President‟s Award, one of the country‟s most distinguished honors, conferred by Singapore President S. R. Nathan.
In September 2010, Khai attended the World Economic Forum as a panelist for the “Strategists Meeting for Media, Entertainment and Information Industries.” He is the author of The Ugly Ducking: A Cautionary Tale of Creativity. Always one to be prepared, Khai lives in a 19th century firehouse with his family in Manhattan.
17 | 18 Annex B
Media Release EMBARGOED TILL 10 NOVEMBER 2011, 2030 HOURS SINGAPORE TIME
Mr Nathan Yong Furniture Designer Nathan Yong Design (Singapore)
Nathan Yong graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Industrial Design in 1991. He began his career not as a designer, but as a buyer as well as engaging in product development for various companies in Singapore. Through these jobs, he travelled to various countries including India, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia to source for quality manufacturers and craftsmen to develop and manufacture furniture and home accessories. Through this exposure, he learnt various production techniques and crafts.
In 1999, Nathan started his first retail store called Air Division,, selling his own creations made by Asian craftsman. Air Division rapidly grew and claimed commercial success in both Singapore as well as the overseas market. Nathan subsequently sold Air Division and pursued a Master degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia, which he subsequently graduated with distinction in Master of Design.
For two consecutive years (in 2006 & 2007), Nathan won the prestigious Red Dot Concept Design Award with his conceptual designs of a mass production coffin and a portable room heater.
Subsequently in 2008, Nathan received the prestigious Singapore President‟s Design Award; Designer of the Year, the highest honour accorded to designers from all creative disciplines in Singapore.
His work is inspired by simple visual memories from everyday life, but pared down with the lightness of restraints. Instead of superfluous details, he captures the poetry of products through rigorous research and engineering, creating fresh styles and functions that fit effortlessly into the user's life, as though they were nothing new.
Currently based in Singapore, Nathan runs a multidisciplinary design consultancy practise. His work spans across industrial design, graphics, interior design, architectural design, strategic planning in product development and manufacturing processes as well as branding.
Nathan's work has been exhibited globally in various cosmopolitans such as Singapore, Shizuoka, Milan, London, Koln and Taipei. His clients includes Design Within Reach (USA), Ligne Roset (France), Living Divani (Italy), Opinion Ciatti (Italy), Sphaus (Italy), Domicil (Germany), Ethnicraft (Belgium), Grafunkt (Singapore), FOLKS furniture (Singapore) and many others.
18 | 18