As part of an ongoing series highlighting young talent in the industry, Branding in Asia brings you “One Under 30: Young Creative Spotlight”, a regular feature that focuses on up-and-coming talent in the ad world.
This week we feature Louisa Luk, a designer at Superunion in Hong Kong, who told us she traces her love for branding and design back to her childhood.
“It is funny to think back how I used to love writing short stories as a kid based on my favorite characters from books and movies,” said Luk. “Little did I know I’d become a storyteller of sorts when I grew up.”
The Basics
Name: Louisa Luk
Age: 25
Agency: Superunion
Position: Designer
Birthplace: Hong Kong
Current Location: Hong Kong
Education: Central Saint Martins, BA (Hons) Graphic Design, 2016
Seven Questions
How did you get your first break in the industry?
I first joined as an intern at Brand Union, where leading designers took me under their wing and helped me discover diverse skills as well as forming great relationships with the team. I’m still working and playing hard with our amazing team here in Hong Kong and across the network!
What is your personal mantra?
“Say yes and figure the rest out along the way”.
Of course, this isn’t always applicable! But I find that most of the time, this little saying helps me get over my fear of handling daunting creative work out of my comfort zone. With the right mindset and a sound plan, it is exhilarating to do something completely new.
From what person, place, or thing have you drawn your greatest creative inspiration?
My parents collect a lot of things. I mean, A LOT. No matter where they travel around the world, there is always a theme they follow or objects they find and bring home. A lot of these things are full of rich histories and stories, and it is from this “Cabinet of Curiosities” I often find a lot of inspiration.
What do you love about the job?
I love that no two jobs that I do at Superunion are the same. There is always something new to get involved in which is largely to do with our agency embracing the idea of constant evolution, which not only influences our style of working but naturally attracts a new plethora of people and industries to work with.
What about your job are you not so crazy about?
Even if this is not entirely avoidable, it’s frustrating when we come across a project that wants to “play it safe”. This just means we can’t experiment and it’s difficult to differentiate ourselves from the rest.
What is some work you’ve done that you’re most proud of?
Following on my point about loving the storytelling aspect of branding, one of my favorite projects has been our studio’s Chinese New Year “giveaway” for the past year’s Year of the Pig.
We always aim to make something out-of-the-box, and in that spirit, created an entirely fictional online bank brand called Piggybank – complete with made-up services, a pun-tastic company website, merchandise and the lot. In fact, we went down the rabbit hole with it so much the (fictional!) work was shortlisted for “Best brand in the financial sector” at Transform Awards APAC!
Another one of my favorite projects has been for a well-loved and rapidly growing independent coffee brand called NOC (“Not Only Coffee”).
I could easily describe the whole process as a creative playground of sorts – where we got to immerse ourselves in refreshing, and re-imagined, brand touchpoints: Brand activations, art direction for product and social media, visual guardianship etc.
If you had to choose another career what would it be?
I love traveling and telling stories. Maybe I’ll be a Youtuber that makes insane adventure videos.
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