Herald Design Forum draws top talent

Designers to discuss the role of design today and inspire audience with the latest ideas


The Herald Design Forum invites the world’s leading designers to share their ideas in design under the theme “Design Changes the World.”

The Design Forum will see 12 designers from the architecture to advertisement fields talk about the role of design today and in the future, and present new ideas and new directions in design through panel discussions and lectures.

The forum will be an enlightening and stimulating event that will present fresh points of view in design and its growing role in diverse fields.

Below is a brief introduction of the speakers.

Ando Tadao

Ando Tadao is a self-taught architect whose works are well known for reflecting the fine balance among natural elements such as light, water, wind and sky.

Born in Osaka in 1941, Tadao traveled through Europe, the U.S. and Africa from 1962 to 1969 to establish his philosophy and afterward opened his own office.

He won the Architectural Institute of Japan’s annual prize for his “Row House, Sumiyoshi” project, remodeling traditional wooden Japanese housing with exposed mass concrete. Some of his representative works include Rokko Housing, in Kobe, and Church of the Light, in Ibaraki.

Hara Kenya

Hara Kenya has led simple, practical designs at Muji that reflect emptiness in the Japanese visual tradition. He graduated from Musashino Art University in 1993 and started his career as a designer at Nippon Design Center, where he now serves as a representative. He also lectures at Musashino Art University on communication design, design theory, graphic design, space design and branding.

He is the author of “Designing Design” and “White,” which have been translated into a number of languages across Asia.

He held the exhibition “Designing Design Kenya Hara” in Beijing in 2011 and in Shanghai in 2012.

Joon Oh!

Joon Oh! is director of the design department of Hyundai Card and former creative director of the design consulting company Inno Design.

He has led the innovative M-card series project since 2009 at Hyundai Card Design Lab.

He also oversees Hyundai Life and Hyundai Capital brand design.

Oh graduated from Hongik University and studied product design at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in France.

Zhang Xiaogang

Zhang Xiaogang is one of the most sensational and highly valued figures in contemporary Chinese art, having sold his paintings at record prices in major auctions.

Born in Kunming, China, in 1958, Xiaogang graduated from Sichuan Fine Arts Institute and currently resides in Beijing.

He rose to fame with his “Prairie” series, a graduation project in 1980, and became internationally known for his “Big Family” series in 1994.

His subsequent works “Description,” “Green Wall” and other pieces have cemented his reputation around the world.

Xiaogang has held individual exhibitions in Beijing, Hong Kong, Japan, Seoul, France and the U.S.

Yun Chea-gab

Yun Chea-gab’s edgy, unique view of artwork makes him one of the most influential independent curators in Korea.

Specializing in the field of modern Chinese art, Yun graduated from Hongik University and completed his post-graduate work at Tagore University for Liberal Arts. He also completed a course in Chinese art history at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

His career took off when he curated the “Chinese avant-garde” exhibition at Artside Gallery in 2001.

He was the commissioner for the Korean pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.

Chris Bangle

Chris Bangle is best known for his work during his term as chief of design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for upgrading the designs of BMW, Mini Cooper and Rolls Royce.

After graduating from the Art Center College of Design in California, Bangle began his career at Opel and then moved on to Fiat, where he designed the Fiat Coup. In 1992, he was named the first American chief of design at BMW.

After pushing the limits of car design for 28 years, Bangle announced his departure from the auto industry in 2009. Since then, he has been pursuing his own design-related endeavors from his studio in Italy, working with global clients such as Samsung, Hennessy and Adidas.

Peter Schreyer

Peter Schreyer is a chief of design at KIA Motors, and a driving force behind the successful K-series and rejuvenation of the brand. A former designer for Volkswagen Group, Schreyer became one of the most acclaimed designers in the automobile industry with his innovative Audi TT design.

Regarded as a pioneer of streamlined, dome-shaped vehicle design, Schreyer joined KIA in 2006, spearheading the creation of the K-series, including the newly released K3 sedan.

Born in Germany in 1953, Schreyer studied design at the London Royal College of Art.

Park Seo-won

Park Seo-won became a sensation in the advertisement industry with his groundbreaking anti-war campaign “What goes around, comes around.”

Park’s famous anti-war campaign using a cylindrical podium showing a soldier pointing a machine gun at someone, which eventually comes back to zero in on the back of his own head, instantly put him at the top of the industry. He has since expanded into brand renewal and consulting. In 2012, he led the renewal of Herald Corporation’s corporate identity.

Park graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York for graphic design. He was a creative consulting director at Oricom and Doosan Magazine, creative director for Love Tree Project and many other ventures.

Hong Ji-yoon

Hong Ji-yoon is known as a fusion oriental fine artist who mixes traditional ink-and-wash paintings and contemporary art media.

She debuted in the art scene in 1992, winning the Korean Fine Art Grand Prize. She also won the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” award at the Florence Biennale in 2001 and 2003 for drawing and mixed media, respectively. She published “Time on Korean Paper” in 2003.

Aside from painting, Hong works with other contemporary art media such as performance, graphics, light-box panels, photographs and images.

Hong graduated from Hongik University and currently lectures at the Hongik Art and Design Institute.

Steve Jung

Steve Jung is a concept designer behind the superhero films “The Avengers” and “Transformers” and other Hollywood blockbusters.

He turns the abstract ideas of movie directors and producers into realistic visuals.

After graduating from Pasadena Art Center College of Design in 2003, Jung began a career as a concept designer for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2007.

Jung says that the most important quality of a designer is to be realistic.

Jung participated in “Wolverine 2” and “Superman: Man of Steel,” which will be released next summer.

Bruce Duckworth

Bruce Duckworth is a co-founder of Turner Duckworth, a brand design agency based in London and San Francisco.

He led the design of the signature red Coca-Cola bottles and logos for Amazon and the rock band Metallica.

He has won over 200 design awards including D&AD Yellow Pencil, DBA Design Effectiveness, Design Week, Cannes Lions Grand Prix, Clio and a Grammy award among others.

He became a jury member of the 2012 Cannes Lions Grand Prix.

Duckworth graduated from Kingston Polytechnic with an honor’s degree in graphic design in 1985. He worked as a designer at Michael Peters, Minale Tattersfield and Lewis Moberly before setting up Turner Duckworth.

Jungwook Hong

Jungwook Hong is the chairman of Herald Corporation, a leading media, education and lifestyle group in Korea. Herald Corp. is the publisher of The Korea Herald and The Herald Business and runs fashion cable channel Donga TV and English villages and language institutes nationwide. Hong is also the founder of Olje Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting education in the classics.

From 2008-2012, Hong served as a member of the National Assembly. He was also the chairman of the then-ruling Grand National Party’s International Affairs Committee and the Honorary Ambassador of Grant Aid for the Korean government.

He received his B.A. from Harvard University and J.D. from Stanford University.