Design Korea and Seoul Design Festival's Joint International Conference: Survival and Evolution

- Nov 13(Thu) 2025, COEX Room 401(Grand Conference Room), Seoul

For the first time this year, the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP)’s Design Korea and the Seoul Design Festival have jointly organized an international conference under the theme “Survival and Evolution.” A total of seven speakers will take the stage in line with this theme.

The conference will take place on November 13, from 10:00 to 17:00, at COEX, 4F, Room 401 (Grand Conference Room).

It will be divided into two main sessions — Part 1: “Evolution: From Emergence to Evolution, The Direction of Design-Led Innovation” and Part 2: “Survival: Survival Strategies and the Role of Design in a New Order.”
Each session will feature presentations and discussions exploring these subthemes in depth.

Global leaders in AI and emerging platforms will speak the language of 'evolution', while visionary designers and architects will share the wisdom of 'survival'. This conference stands as a powerful testament to how design is preparing for tomorrow —and shaping a creative future that both endures and transforms.

[Meet the Speakers]

Evolution: From Emergence to Evolution, The Direction of Design-Led Innovation

Sho Kuwamoto is Vice President of Product at Figma. He joined as one of the earliest employees to help build out the technical team and ultimately launch the first public version of Figma Design in 2016. Previously, Sho held product leadership positions at Medium, Adobe, and Macromedia. He’s known for having deep customer focus and a love for helping people create.

Courtney Kim is a creative strategist and designer bridging culture, technology, and brand storytelling. As Creative Lead at Canva, she drives creative strategy for the Korean market, shaping campaigns and content used by millions. She also runs Courtney Kim Studio, a Melbourne-based boutique studio specializing in premium brand and packaging design for lifestyle, beauty, wellness, and F&B brands. Her work has appeared on Shark Tank Australia, earned design awards, and reached audiences worldwide.’

Julia Raith is a passionate interaction designer with over 15 years of experience in Ul/UX, constantly seeking new challenges and emerging technologies to elevate her work. Her career spans various creative agencies, both as a freelancer and a full-time employee, demonstrating her versatility and dedication to the craft. Julia joined the Designworks Munich Studio in 2020 and has led its interaction design team since 2023. In this role, she drives the development of forward-thinking design solutions that push the boundaries of innovation. She has played a key role in shaping groundbreaking digital products and visionary concepts, seamlessly blending the physical and digital worlds to craft truly transformative experiences. Her mission is to create uplifting emotions that send shivers of excitement down the spines of her clients within the BMW Group and beyond.

Survival: Survival Strategies and the Role of Design in a New Order

Antoine Besseyre des Horts is a design executive with 20 years of experience in new product development across industries and regions. He leads an international team at LIXIL, providing creative direction to translate Grohe, American Standard and INAX brands’ strategies into culturally relevant consumer experiences through products, branded environments and communication. Before joining LIXIL, Antoine worked as Transportation Designer at Alstom Design and Styling, Brand Experience Designer at Landor and Industrial Designer at Electrolux. He was recognized as an A&D 40 Under 40 honoree in 2021 and has earned numerous awards, including Red Dot, iF, Good Design, and Design for Asia. In 2011, as part of the Grohe Design team, he won the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year Award.

Chris van Duijn became partner in 2014 and is leading OMA’s work in Asia. Joining the practice in 1996, he was involved in many of OMA’s most renowned projects including Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles (2001), Casa da Musica in Porto (2005), and the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012). In addition to large-scale and complex projects, he has worked on interiors and small-scale structures, including private houses, product design, and temporary structures such as the Prada Transformer in Seoul (2009). Recently completed projects include the JOMOO Headquarters in Xiamen (2025), Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux (2024), the Axel Springer Campus in Berlin (2020), Hanwha Galleria Department Store in Seoul (2020), MEETT Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre (2020), the Bibliothèque Alexis de Tocqueville in Caen, France (2017), Fondazione Prada in Milan (2015), and the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2015). Current projects in Asia include the Hangzhou Prism and the CMG Qianhai Global Trade Center in Shenzhen. Chris holds a Master of Architecture from the Technical University of Delft.

Yunsan Yang is the CEO of Rareraw. Influenced by her grandfather who ran a hardware store and her father who founded the steel furniture company 'Simpline', she studied spatial design in the United States before returning to Korea and establishing Rareraw in 2014. This brand, which combines Simpline's manufacturing technology with design, contributed to popularising steel furniture – previously unfamiliar in Korea – by achieving success with products such as “System 000”. Following the expansion into office furniture with “Rareow Work” in 2023, the company is now accelerating its push into the global market.

Dr. Roman Ehrhardt was born in Mexico City in 1973. After graduating with a MBA degree, Roman wrote his PhD thesis at the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen. From 2004 onwards he worked at Simon, Kucher & Partners, a renowned, worldwide business, and marketing consulting. As of 2009 he worked in various Senior Leadership Positions at LafargeHolcim Ltd., the global leader in innovative & sustainable building materials.

In 2016 he joined the Vitra Group as "Deputy Chief Sales Officer" reporting to the CSO of Vitra. In June 2017 he became responsible for Vitra UK & Ireland serving as the Managing Director. Since January 2021 Roman has become the Managing Director of Vitra Germany, besides his engagement for Vitra UK. On January Ist 2023, he was appointed as Chief Sales Officer (CSO) of the Vitra Group being globally responsible for the Sales function and representing all market organizations at Vitra's HQ.

Ticket Inquiry - designkorea@kidp.or.kr