WANG WANG

Ten Questions for Joyce Wang

Where do you call home today?
Hong Kong and London – to be honest wherever my children and husband are.

Where have you lived in the past?
I’m a nomad. I was born in Hawaii, went to school in the UK, then college in Boston, then spent a year in the Netherlands at Delft, then to London to work for Foster and study at the Royal College of Art, then LA, then in Hong Kong where I started the studio in 2011.

Where did you learn about design?
Apart from my studies, travelling with my parents when young. My mum and I would travel with my dad while he worked. I saw the world and it opened my eyes to the power and possibility of design across culture and time.

How do you describe what you do to people outside the industry?
I design spaces that make people feel great. I want people to feel confident, to lose themselves and to have fun.

What spaces have moved you?
The Gund Hall at Harvard Graduate School of Design humbled me. Noguchi’s playground made me realise design could be joyful. Adolf Loos’ Knize shop in Vienna showed me design could take people on a journey.

What values do you promote in your studio culture?
Open, honesty, inclusivity, work hard, play hard. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Teamwork is everything.

What are your passions?
Sci-Fi film and novels. Family comfort food. Southern Cuisine. I love fish underwater, and scuba diving. But also at the other end of the world I love snowboarding.

What are your strengths?
I am persistent. I believe if there’s a will there’s a way. If you work hard enough you can make anything come true. I don’t get stressed. Every experience is a learning experience, is my motto.

What motivates you?
People who say no. People who are passionate about what they do. People who have the courage to change. People.

I will die happy if I….
…can make my children realise that people are everything.

© Joyce Wang Studio 2024