Design Launchpad: Launch Your Next Career Move
Part of World Design Business Forum (WDBF)
A 4-part station to help young professionals evaluate their starting market value and shape it further through portfolio review, intellectual property, personal branding, coaching and career advisory.
Who should join us?
Design students & fresh graduates preparing to enter the industry
Early-career designers looking to strengthen their portfolios
Mid-career designers seeking new opportunities or career progression
Designers transitioning into a new discipline or role
Anyone looking for an industry perspective on how to better present their work
Limited to 70 pax only.
1. Portfolio Critique
Put your best work forward. Get personalised 1-on-1 feedback from experienced design practitioners on your portfolio, project storytelling and how you communicate your design process. Whether you're preparing for your next role, seeking new opportunities or looking to strengthen your professional profile, gain practical insights to make your portfolio more relevant and compelling to the industry.
Design Mentors:
Chris Chua
Content Developer, Strategic Branding & Content Creation Nanyang Polytechnic
Chris Chua is a veteran multidisciplinary practitioner with 29 years of design and studio-founding experience. His diverse expertise bridges corporate and public branding with motion graphics, interactive UI/UX optimisation, and instructional frameworks. Seamlessly managing assets from concept to final production, Chris leverages his deep industry insights to mentor emerging talent.
Jonathan Yap
Founder, Design Pay Asia
Jonathan founded Design Pay Asia, championing pay transparency across Southeast Asia's design community. By day he leads content and design ops at a Singapore bank. He mentors designers on portfolios, interviews, and career transitions, and is training as an ontological coach. Bring a half-formed question; that is usually where the good conversations start.
Rudi Lim,
Head of Digital and Innovation, AGAPro
An experienced Product and Design Leader, who works on insurtech and making insurance accessible. I enjoy the zero-to-one journey of experimenting and innovation. I build, design and vibe-code products which deliver business, user values and optimises tech effort.
Zhiliang Chen,
Creative Technologist, GovTech
Zhiliang is a Creative Technologist, an experimental role within the GovTech Design Practice team. He previously led product design at a fintech company and ran his own venture, working with brands like Seedly, StraitsX, and FirstCircle. His current focus is AI-native design engineering, blending design and code.
Kenny Hong,
Design Director, 11H
Kenny Hong is the Founder of 11H, a design studio specialising in interior, product and furniture design. A graduate of Temasek Polytechnic, he holds two Master’s degrees in Design from Domus Academy, Milan, and the University of Wales, both with distinction.
With over 30 years of experience in design and product marketing, Kenny has held leadership roles including Design Director and Design Manager, mentoring teams of designers throughout his career. He has also contributed to design education as an adjunct lecturer at NTU and NAFA, and serves on NTU’s Information Engineering and Media Programme Advisory Committee.
2. Career Advisory in collaboration with E2I
- 20-minute sharing by e2i covering resume writing, interview preparation, identifying and addressing skills gaps, and positioning oneself for career transitions.
- 10-minute sharing by e2i on the curated design job opportunities for design professionals.
3. Mobile IP Clinic: IP Advisory for Design and Business Growth
Have questions about protecting your designs, growing your brand or making the most of your intellectual property (IP) in business collaborations?
Supported by IP Grow, an initiative by IPOS Group, the Mobile IP Clinic brings IP experts to you. Entrepreneurs, designers and innovators can come by, ask questions, and get practical advice on trade marks, design protection, branding, licensing and more.
Bring your IP questions. Let’s explore how IP can support your business growth.
4. Personal Branding & Executive Coaching
30-Minute Rotation Structure
- 5 mins: Coach introduction & topic overview.
Navigating Professional Transitions
Personal and Professional Branding
Executive Presence and Confidence
- 20 mins: Spot coaching & Q&A session.
- 5 mins: Wrap-up & transition.
Sim Wei Ping
ICF Master Certified Coach (ICF) • 15 years in coaching & training
Wei Ping left a top-performing banking career in 2011 to build a life around something more meaningful, a transition many designers in this room will recognize. She rose to become one of ECI's coach trainers within 2 years, and has since coached over 3,000 hours and trained 2,000+ hours of coaches. Her firm, precise coaching style has supported executives and C-suite leaders at international corporations, and she now facilitates Station 4, bringing that same structure to every round.
Julia Ng
ICF -PCC • Design & Brand
Before coaching, Julia spent 35 years as a Brand Strategist and Design Consultant at internationally renowned design firms in the US, Australia, and Singapore, once earning six promotions in four years managing creative teams. She now coaches leaders and entrepreneurs on branding, communications, and performance, bringing a rare, firsthand understanding of what it takes to grow in a creative industry.
Geraldine Kan
ICF -ACC • Communications
Geri leads Strategic Communications at Singtel's NCS, following three decades in Corporate Communications at HP, Lenovo, and IBM across Singapore and New York. She was named to Singapore's "100 Women in Tech" list in 2021. A UCLA Communications graduate and the first-ever recipient of the S Rajaratnam Scholarship, she now coaches executives on leadership communication and personal branding, helping them build a narrative that actually lands.
Toh Hung Yi
ICF -PCC • Career & Leadership
Hung Yi brings 18 years of global experience across e-commerce, strategy, and consulting, including leading organizational development at Shopee and strategy at CapitaLand.
She specializes in coaching professionals through exactly the kind of career transitions many designers are facing right now. She holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.
Cadence Cheng
ICF -PCC • Product & Career
Cadence spent nearly a decade in product roles at Sephora SEA, Grab, Shopee, and Daraz, working shoulder to shoulder with product and design leaders navigating ambiguity and delivery under real business pressure.
She brings that same systems thinking into her coaching, helping professionals build judgment they can trust across every stage of a shifting career.
If you like to join the World Design Business Forum, get your tickets here: https://luma.com/spij4lha