Design Across Cultures: A Conversation with Yudi of Keiji Ashizawa Design

Can you tell us about your role at Keiji Ashizawa Design?

At Keiji Ashizawa Design, I’m part of the international team, mainly working on overseas residential and retail projects. As a foreign designer in a Japanese studio, I see my role not only as a designer, but also as someone who helps interpret and translate Keiji Ashizawa Design’s design philosophy—rooted in minimalism, material honesty, and spatial clarity—into different cultural and geographical contexts.

How did your background shape your connection to BLINK’s design approach?

That way of thinking and working feels very natural to me, because of my own background. I was born in Beijing, moved to Hong Kong at 14, studied in New York and Italy, and worked in Shenzhen and Hong Kong before coming to Tokyo. I’ve been shaped by many different cultures throughout my life, and I think that’s helped me stay open, adaptive, and respectful in how I approach design and collaboration.

This is also why my time at BLINK felt so aligned. BLINK’s founder isn’t Thai, and most of their projects are international—so their team naturally works across different cultural contexts. During my exchange, I joined a immediately connected to their way of working—open, diverse, and culturally sensitive. It felt like a continuation of the kind of design thinking I try to practise at Keiji Ashizawa Design, just from a different angle.

What was it like stepping into the BLINK studio?

What really stayed with me was the atmosphere in the office—it felt alive. With over 80 people in the Bangkok studio, there was always something happening: small design huddles, material discussions, people casually sharing ideas. It wasn’t just about productivity—it was about energy and being part of a community.

Being able to spend time with the team that designed Six Senses Kyoto—a project I’ve long admired—was very special. Even just listening to how they talk about space and experience gave me a new perspective. And outside the studio, exploring hotels like the Ritz-Carlton Bangkok, the Sukhothai Bangkok and Capella Bangkok exposed me to so many different ideas and inspirations. Each hospitality space offered something unique, and it made me even more curious about how design shapes the way we feel in a place.

What did you learn from BLINK’s collaborative process?

One of the biggest takeaways from my time at BLINK was seeing how powerful regular communication and group feedback can be. The team was very structured but also very collaborative; people constantly talked to each other, reviewed design work together, and gave feedback openly, no matter what level they were at.

At Keiji Ashizawa Design, we tend to work more independently. Often, one designer takes full ownership of a project from start to finish, which gives us a lot of freedom and responsibility. But sometimes, it can feel a bit isolating too. Seeing how BLINK runs group reviews at different stages of a project made me realise how helpful those touchpoints are—not just to align the team, but to push the design further.

Since coming back, I’ve started initiating more informal design conversations with colleagues—even when we’re not working on the same project. I think it’s a small but meaningful way to stay connected and learn from each other.

Were there any specific moments that stood out during your time in Bangkok?

I especially remember a team meeting where everyone gave open feedback on a concept presentation. What stood out wasn’t just the quality of the ideas, but how safe and open the environment felt. There was a real sense of trust and shared ownership. Coming from a smaller studio like Keiji Ashizawa Design, where things can be quieter and more focused, it was refreshing to experience that kind of collective spirit.

How did your perspective on hospitality design evolve through this experience?

At BLINK, I got to see how different the mindset is when designing luxury hospitality spaces. The scale is bigger, the team is larger, and the process is much more collaborative. Every element—interior design, FFE, branding—is carefully coordinated to tell a story and create a complete guest experience. It’s not just about function or aesthetics, but about evoking emotion, memory, and atmosphere.

In contrast, Keiji Ashizawa Design’s residential and retail projects are smaller in scale and more personal. We focus a lot on material textures, proportions, and how people live or interact with a space in a quiet, intimate way. The process tends to be more minimal and independent.

Experiencing both ways of working helped me see how each type of project trains a different kind of thinking. Hospitality asks you to zoom out and consider the full journey of a guest; residential and retail bring you closer to the human scale and the small details of daily life. I think having both perspectives makes me a more well-rounded designer.

Looking Ahead

We’re incredibly grateful to Keiji Ashizawa Design for their openness and collaboration, and to Yudi for her dedication, insight, and the thoughtful energy she brought to our Bangkok studio. As we look forward to the return leg of the exchange, with Marc heading over to Tokyo, we’re excited to continue building meaningful creative connections across cultures.