Johnny Lau

Johnny Lau
Johnny Lau (刘夏宗)
Nationality Singaporean
Notable works
 "Mr. Kiasu" and 跳班 (Jump Class) comic series

Johnny Lau (刘夏宗) is a Singaporean artist famous for his iconic comic series Mr Kiasu. Since the 1990s, Lau has been appointed creative director or co-producer of a number of projects with various art and design forms [publishing, TV, interior design, mentor for youth talents].

Career

In 1987, Lau graduated from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor's degree in architecture. Rather than pursuing his career as an architect, Lau followed his passion for publishing & design and founded his first creation studio in 1990. Johnny Lau was subsequently appointed creative director or co-producer of a number of artistic projects, working with McDonalds, Seven Eleven and Singapore government agencies such as the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) (renamed MCI since 2012). Lau has also been co-planning regional events for organisations such as the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and is currently working with Ashoka Foundation, Washington D.C. To date, Lau founded a dozen startups in the area of publishing, retail, distribution and licensing. Recent endeavours include a musical production company based in Shanghai.

Main characters

Mr Kiasu character originated in the eponymous Singaporean concept of kiasu. Although Mr Kiasu personified Singaporeans during the 1990s, Lau sees Kiasuism as "a cross-section of certain demographics" rather than a concept "deeply rooted in Chinese culture such as Old Master Q". After a decade-long hiatus, Mr Kiasu is back – with a new message for readers.

Mr Kiasu, Think Sure

In 2012, Lau created "Jump Class" (跳班) comics and the protagonist Wang Xiaofeng (王小丰), capable of jumping from the Quick-Quick rational world (快快) to the Happy creative world (乐乐) and experience two different systems and cultures.

跳班 Cover

Books

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.