Abstract
This talk explores how design, strategy, and art intersect in shaping creative leadership today. Drawing from two decades across advertising and innovation—spanning Nike, LEGO, HSBC, and Omnicom’s sparks & honey—Eric Lau shares how structure, foresight, and storytelling shaped his creative foundation. Eric has helped global brands build everything from large-scale Times Square activationsto multi-year, multi-national campaigns and major global rebrands for Jameson, Wendy’s, and Smirnoff. As an entrepreneur, he has co-founded ventures on both ends of the creative spectrum: MEC Watches, a mechanical brand grounded in centuries-old horological tradition (featured in GQ and on the Formula1 Singapore circuit), and emerging AI startups exploring the frontier of design intelligence. The session examines how imagination, rigor, and risk connect analog craftsmanship with technological invention.
Date: 24 October 2025 (Friday)
Time: 10:00-11:15 am
Venue: Arts Tech Lab (Room 4.35), 4/F, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus
About the Speaker
Eric Lau is a multidisciplinary creative director, strategist, and artist working at the frontier of design,AI, and cultural transformation. Formerly at TBWA\NY, Saatchi & Saatchi, and sparks & honey (Omnicom), he helped pioneer AI-powered cultural strategy for brands including Nike, LEGO, HSBC, and Pepsi—earning recognition from Ad Age, the Clio Awards, and Cannes Lions. His team also built the world’s largest LEGO structure and set a Guinness World Record for Cotton’s“24-Hour Runway Show.” As co-founder of MEC Watches,he designed the first U.S. jump-hour mechanical watch with an in-house movement. As an artist, Eric has sold photography through Sotheby’s and been featured by The New York Times, Apple, and exhibitions at the Oculus (World Trade Center) and the New York Stock Exchange.
This event is jointly hosted by the HKU Arts Tech Lab and GCIN.
For enquiries, please contact gcin@hku.hk