Kenjiro Kirton on How Design Doesn’t (Only) Happen at a Desk

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Kenjiro Kirton. Ken is the co-founder and creative director of HATO, the London- and Hong Kong-based publishing house, design studio and concept store known for its playful, research-driven approach to culture, branding and digital experiences.

His work moves fluidly between publishing, interaction, retail, and storytelling, often blurring the line between design practice and everyday life. In this conversation, we talk about what happens when design escapes the boundaries of the studio—when research becomes fiction, when process becomes play and when creative practice becomes something lived rather than simply produced.

We also get into the value of iteration and experimentation, the similarities between cooking and design, building participatory creative communities, and why some of the most meaningful creative work happens along the soft edges between disciplines.

This episode is for designers who are interested in expanding everything design—and the design studio—can be.

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