Nathan Yong

What fuelled your desire to pursue a career in design?

I’ve aspired to be in the creative field since the age of 14. I vividly recall visiting Ikea with my mother in the 1970s and appreciating the Swedish vibe of Ikea’s designs. Those visits sparked my interest in home furnishing and spurred my vision to create brands that exhibit a cleaner, western aesthetics. After graduating in industrial design from Temasek Polytechnic in 1991, I decided to pursue furniture design. Looking back, my propensity for art and design led me to enter the creative industry.

You have amassed many awards that testify to a stellar career in design. Can you share with us your career high points and low points, and what lessons have you learned from them?

The pinnacle of my career was when I transitioned from obscurity to designing for heritage brand and collaborating with outstanding global businesses. I recall travelling to Paris to meet the owner of Ligne Roset, a renowned French furniture company, who selected three of my designs for their upcoming catalogue. This career milestone gave me an international presence.

Innately, I believe that passion and grit will drive one to go the extra mile, make sacrifices, and in doing so, help one to better succeed. Even though you face the risk of losing some things along the way, it forces you to concentrate on reaching your goal. For instance, I did not have an interesting social life as a young adult as I was constantly working. Even when I read, I chose business and design topics.

On the flipside, the lowest point in my professional life was when I left Air Division, a furniture brand which I co-founded in my early career, owing to conflicts in business approaches with my business partners. Having established Air Division in my late 20s, where I spent about a decade as the general manager and creative director, leaving the company was akin to losing my baby – something I found regrettable.

However, this episode taught me the importance of effectively communicating and negotiating with people I work with. If one is not proficient at managing a firm, he or she is better off bringing in a business partner who is.

After all these years, I’ve learnt not to place all of my eggs in one basket. I continue to design for international brands like Ligne Roset, Sancel and Herman Miller through Nathan Yong Design, which offers creative and design services that include interior design and branding. At the same time, I focus on expanding Grafunkt, a retail lifestyle brand, together with Jefery Kurniadidjaja as a business partner. In addition, I license my designs to a factory that enables me to export my products overseas.

What is your design philosophy and what materials do you prefer working with?

I favour materials that offer value in the long run – a lovely patina and age better with time. Solid wood, stones, stainless steel, leather and other natural materials are recurring materials I work with. Personally, I veer away from polymers or plastics, as I feel that they do not age well, and hence do not possess strong integrity. Compared to natural materials, the emotional component of plastic is far more transactional in my opinion.

I seek a strong emotional bond between the user and the product. Designs should possess a certain quality that allows people to appreciate the value, structure, colour and form, and hence a connection with the world. A relationship with an object can be likened to a relationship with God, because a relationship with materials implies respect for earth and God.

My design process is non-linear. Many of my designs can be read differently by different people. In essence, they tend to demonstrate contemporary and modern character, with good structural detailing. I like to introduce an element of surprise into my designs. For instance, I will engineer my furniture to look seemingly unstable, even though it is really stable – almost as if I were conjuring magic through my designs. A particular motion and force— or  tension—is at work for these compositions, with each piece impressing on the senses and striking a balance between art and science.

How much has the local design scene changed since you started out? What are your hopes and wishes for local design?

DesignSingapore Council, Singapore’s national agency for design, was first established when I started out. The agency helped leapfrog the design industry in Singapore through project fundings that brought local designers like myself to events like Millan and London Design Week.

But owing to advancements in technology, we no longer have to set off to Europe to see a distinguished designer’s works. Back then, we had to communicate and network widely as we travelled to meet new design personalities. However today, where social media is prevalent, designers have to do less to connect with other like-minded creatives. With the development of technology and social media, the younger generation of designers might be more inward-looking than outward-looking, and perhaps lacking empathy. Younger designers can also be more risk averse. However, this is counter-intuitive as design is a field that pushes boundaries. Designers need to innovate, test new grounds and not be afraid of failure during this process. It is important for us to nurture next-generation designers who possess fervour and are unafraid to enter unchartered grounds.

Apart from being an established designer, you are also the programme director at the LASALLE College of the Arts. Can you share with us your role and experience in academia?

My role in academia is crucial to filling a generational gap in design. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have experienced what most product designer hope for in their professional lives – to achieve professional success and recognition by global brands.

Having learnt and experienced so much in my career journey, I feel compelled to share my experiences with others in the hopes that it would impact at least one other budding designer.

The curriculum is planned with the students in mind – with consideration given to the skills needed in the industry and how these students can thrive in an evolving design environment. I believe it is critical to produce graduates that are in demand and fit the creative market. As not all students necessarily want to become product designers – some may want to pursue research or marketing – the syllabus focuses on critical thinking rather than product design. Topics that we delve into include how ageism and adversity relate to city development. The objective is exploring macro issues and discussing them in-depth.

In order to achieve optimal results, we outline a design programme for students from myriad backgrounds, including students from product design, marketing, and even those lacking a design experience but pursuing a second degree.

I feel that technology presents a significant challenge to academia today. For instance, with the use of AI, students need to possess different skillsets. With technology rapidly evolving, the future is really now. It is important for us to carve out forward-looking curriculum to place next-generation designers on the right track.

Can you elaborate on the theme or source of inspiration for your most recent work?

One of my most recent works is Faces, produced by Sancal. It is a set of side coffee tables made of wood, designed to depict two faces, a young and old man. This pair of sculptural coffee tables was launched last year at the Milan show. This year, they are launching the female version of it, which I am currently working on. The design was conceptualised during the pandemic, when everyone was wearing masks and we could see neither people’s faces nor their facial expressions. The faces on the coffee table are meant to introduce “presence” in a space, to fill in a void as many around the world worked and studied remotely, and faced with an unprecedented disconnectedness from others.

This design is not just a static table, but stirs reflection in one. Art and purpose are meaningful intertwined, and a departure from my works before. In the past, I used to be very pragmatic. My items must be contemporary and useful – not decorative. This is my first design that is both graphical and with a hint of humour. I believe this design represents a mellower, more contemplative me.