MAKE Studios Hong Kong

We had a lovely end-of-year gathering “Wine & Design” with friends of MAKE, at La Cabane last week! 🎉 It was a full house—such a pleasure to reunite with many talented designers and leaders in our industry and enjoy some nice wine. Thanks for making this happen Sunhera Cariappa and Already Tomorrow Anders P Hellberg & Katarina Ivarsson for inviting us to co-host with you alongside Camden! We toasted to the best moments of 2024. We’re grateful for all the inspiring events and conversations we share with our supportive design and creative community. We can’t wait to see what adventures await in 2025! For those friends who could not join last week, you can still join our Design Thinking Hong Kong Happy Hour this Wed, Dec 18th! 👉 Check out the event link in the comment.

Let’s celebrate the end of the year together! Join us for an evening of good company as we reflect on the past year. ✨ Enjoy drinks, snacks, fun social activities, and plenty of smiles! 🗓️ 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 Wednesday, Dec 18 · 6:30 - 8 pm HKT 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦 : 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 6:30𝘱𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 7𝘱𝘮! 📍𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 MAKE Studios 🎟️ 𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 $100, cash at the door 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 👉  https://shorturl.at/EnK5i 🙌 Design Thinking Hong Kong

🌟 MAKER Alex Shu was honoured to have attended Fortune Brainstorm Design Macau 2024. Thank you, Mahum Shaikh and wow, what an inspiration! Experts across multiple disciplines came together to discuss some of the biggest challenges Designers are facing today, with their knowledge, creativity and drive to do better. Here are some of the themes explored that stayed with us, even after the conference: 🤖 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐈: Designers are shaping the future of AI by addressing embedded biases and promoting inclusivity. Renée Cummings call-to-action emphasised the need for fairness, transparency, and designing an equitable AI for all. 🌱 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: From biomimicry to biomorphism, Dr. Jamie Miller  and Peter J. Kindel AIA ASLA RIBA reminded us that Nature has been designing for 3.8 Billion years, and to focus on learning from nature to create regenerative designs to harmonise with ecosystems, not just minimise harm. 📖 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠: Storytelling in design is about creating more meaningful connection. Whether through reimagining brands or crafting immersive experiences, storytelling evokes empathy, sparks imagination, and bridges the gap between emotion and design objectives. More than selling a product, it’s about embedding deeper value into the human experience. 👩💻 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: Social rewilding and human-centric solutions highlighted the role of design in improving lives—creating livable cities, inclusive tech, and rebalancing our relationship with technology and each other. Big questions, bold answers. Which of these themes speaks to you the most? 💭 #DesignEthics #Biomimicry #Storytelling #DesignFutures

Last Friday, MAKE Studios Hong Kong partnered with TEDxTinHau Women to share creative thinking and problem-solving activities with the community to help unleash their creativity. We’re grateful to be part of this important and memorable event. This year’s theme, '𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨', shaped our activities as we explored what happens when creativity meets purpose. Here are some of the highlights: ⛑️ 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡  Participants emphasised the need for transparency, openness, and building deeper connections. They envisioned communities where being open-minded fosters trust, and candid conversations create pathways for deeper understanding and support. 💡𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲  The discussions highlighted the power of a growth mindset and a workplace culture that embraces mistakes as opportunities to learn. Participants imagined safe spaces to share experiences of failure, leaders who encourage talking about the tough stuff, group activities that strengthen collaboration and creative workspaces that inspire connection. 🌱 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲  Inclusion starts with transparency. Ideas included an open-door policy, multilingual greetings to bridge cultural gaps, and normalising conversations that destigmatise mental health. Above all, participants emphasised the importance of recognising and accepting diversity to foster belonging. By guiding participants through these creative exercises, we didn’t just share knowledge- we sparked the belief that creativity thrives in safe workspaces, relationships and cultures. This is crucial for any organisation seeking to improve their customer and employee experiences. Shout out to TEDxTinHauWomen, speakers Jessica Chan Camille Cheng Sophia Hotung Vanessa Wong Katya Virshilas Paul WONG Angeline Yu Anita Lam Debra Au Mitche Choi 🙌 Aasavri Talwar from the TEDx team for partnering with MAKE for this inspiring event, Katrina Yuen Joanne Loney Elena Collins for the teamwork and to all the participants who shared their collective ideas! MAKE Facilitators : Manny Li Alex Shu

We’re thrilled to team up with the TEDxTinHau Women conference this year at the XiQqu Centre! We can't wait to bring the ideation experience to life through fun and interactive activities and share our favourite creative thinking methods. Let’s turn your ideas into action!

MAKE recently had the privilege of co-creating and delivering a fun and engaging team building workshop with Standard Chartered Greater China and North Asia team, focused around #communication and #storytelling. Our certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® coach Manny Li co-facilitated the session along with Clara Aparisi Lindsay L. in both English and Cantonese. As for all our workshops, it was important to create a psychologically safe environment for people to confidently and creatively engage with the activities and get the most value from the experience. ✨ The level of spontaneous laughter and willing participation are always great indicators of a successful workshop. It was inspiring to see the team embrace the opportunity to experiment with playful ways to communicate through storytelling. The ability to engage people’s head, heart and hands through storytelling skills is a powerful skill to have in both professional and personal contexts. Thank you Jennifer Chong, Jasmine Sack and the team at Standard Chartered Bank for this impactful collaboration. We look forward to continuing the journey! 🙌 Get in touch to find out more about our innovative team workshops! #PsychologicalSafety #Storytelling #LEGO #Communication #TeamBuilding #Workshops #Learning

💡 We believe internal coaching is key to personal and professional growth at MAKE. Taking the time to reflect and assess can make all the difference in steering our careers and avoid falling into ‘autopilot’ mode. Last week, Clara Aparisi led a workshop focused on self-discovery and envisioning over a six month time span, called the Wheel of Life. Having a facilitated session with a professional coach helped the team to get the most value from the experience.✨ As we went through the Wheel of Life canvas, Clara asked questions to identify the personal skills each team member wanted to focus on and talked about any potential blockers. ⚡ This process helped to make our goals feel achievable and actionable. How does your company promote professional and career development? We’d love to hear from you!

💡 We believe internal coaching is key to personal and professional growth at MAKE. Taking the time to reflect and assess can make all the difference in steering our careers and avoid falling into ‘autopilot’ mode. Last week, Clara Aparisi led a workshop focused on self-discovery and envisioning over a six month time span, called the Wheel of Career. Having a facilitated session with a professional coach helped the team to get the most value from the experience. ✨ As we went through the Wheel of Career canvas, Clara asked questions to identify the personal skills each team member wanted to focus on and talked about any potential blockers. ⚡ This process helped to make our goals feel achievable and actionable. How does your company promote professional and career development?

A lot can happen in as little as 1 hour! ⏲️ At MAKE Studios Hong Kong, we regularly run fun and informative “bite-sized” learning sessions during lunchtime—both internally as a team and with our clients. A recent example was our introduction to Human Centred Design (HCD) lunch and learn session we ran with a team of 6 people. The relaxed and social setting helped people to explore the principles of HCD and how they could be applied within their organisation. 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 ‘𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧’ 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: - Is a fun and engaging team-building activity - Helps turn theory into specific ideas for your organisation - Builds knowledge and understanding together as a team - Stimulates curiosity and sparks creativity Get in touch with us to find out more about our amazing range of ‘lunch and learn’ sessions!

Organisations and teams that value a diverse range of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences can have a great impact on both 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 and 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 outcomes. Here are some things we’ve noticed that contribute to the success of diversity efforts : 1. While differences in leadership and decision-making styles, personality and values can sometimes lead to friction, they can also make teams stronger. 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 is an opportunity to explore options and ideas more deeply and reach more innovative and effective outcomes. 2. Cultural norms have an impact on how comfortable people feel expressing their real opinions. Co-designing effective 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 can play a critical role in making everyone feel valued and confident. 3. Diversity isn’t just about welcoming different perspectives, it’s about creating a culture of 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. Having an environment where assumptions and biases can be discussed and challenged helps promote personal growth and resilience. This is an evolving journey that requires a willingness to have real conversations, challenging long held assumptions and being open to adapting, changing and evolving.