On August 27 Professor Kyung-Won Chung of the Department of Industrial Design made an appearance on the online interview “9 Questions to 5 Design Thinkers” (“9 to 5”), one of the highlight sessions of Australia’s annual State of Design Festival.

The State of Design Festival is Australia’s largest and most innovative annual design event. It is held in Melbourne and has been hosted by the Victorian government since 2004. This year’s festival theme was “Design That Moves.” There were various exhibitions, seminars and debates on a diverse range of issues and ideas such as the social impact of design and fashion design that literally “moves.”

Starting from August 25, the “9 to 5” interview sessions were held over five days of the festival and broadcasted live worldwide via Skype. Each of the five invited individuals attended the interview on one of the days and answered nine questions from panelists who consisted of Melbourne’s leading designers.

The five people chosen for the interviews were some of the world’s most important design thinkers. Their areas of specialization include fashion, graphic design, education, interior design, industrial design and architecture: Milton Glaser, who designed “I ♥(LOVE) New York”; Ilse Crawford, vice-president of Donna Karan Home; Troika, a total design group that brings shock and impact via experimental designs and Gareth Pugh, the fashion designer who works on Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s costumes.

Professor Chung, the former Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Chief Design Officer and Deputy Mayor, is notable for his contributions in the area of industrial design. He is accountable for a lasting legacy of Seoul’s design initiatives and consistently supports this through financial commitment. Subsequently, he is one of the core individuals responsible for Seoul’s current status as the World Design Capital.

In his interview, Professor Chung discussed various plans for Korea’s design future and Seoul’s plan to invest in small- and medium-sized businesses to improve their design capabilities. Furthermore, he shared his thoughts on some of the design events that have been held in past years.