Eight Inc appoints Chris Dobson to drive growth across China’s Greater Bay Area

Experience design firm Eight Inc. has hired Chris Dobson as Principal to drive its growth across China’s Greater Bay Area. Dobson will work closely with Eight Inc. founder, Tim Kobe, to develop new business relationships and partnerships, while growing the team in the firm’s Hong Kong studio.

An experienced practitioner, Dobson (pictured) will also lead the multi-disciplinary teams delivering Eight Inc.’s projects in the region – from vision through to implementation.

The appointment is a key step in the ongoing growth of Eight Inc.’s presence in Asia Pacific. The firm expects its long-term investment will enable it to continue to evolve its practice and remain the leader in a rapidly developing cross-sector niche.

Dobson brings deep knowledge from 20 years of experience strategy and design work. His diverse background covers brand and communication strategy, spatial design, advertising, technology design, content creation, and brand engagement.

On his appointment, Dobson says: “As a longtime fan of Eight Inc.’s innovative work, I’m delighted to join what I believe is the world’s leading experience design business. The uniquely open and international environment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area offers huge potential for organizations to re-imagine how they interact with their customers, and to enhance their competitiveness. Being in the most open and international city in the Greater Bay Area, we can be directly involved in the region’s design-led change, as it grows into an innovation and technology hub.”

“Chris will help us bring value to China’s Greater Bay Area, in a time of rapid growth for the region. His expertise will be instrumental as we work with clients to create customer experiences that are more engaging, more rewarding—and more memorable.” – Tim Kobe, CEO & Founder, Eight Inc.

Dobson was previously Managing Director of Imagination Asia and Australia, working with clients including Huawei, General Electric and Jaguar Land Rover. His regional projects include the GE Ecomagination Center in Masdar City, and the GE Innovation Centers in Dharan, KSA, and Istanbul, Turkey. He is the current Vice President of the Retail Design Institute’s Hong Kong Chapter, which develops educational, career-building and networking opportunities for retail professionals. He also judges several of Asia’s leading strategy, experience and creative effectiveness awards.

Dobson will share his insights, strategy and design expertise at the Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) from 17 – 21 June, hosted by the Hong Kong Design Centre. KODW 2019 will take a human-centered design approach, with the theme “Designing Digital Futures”, and will be one of Dobson’s first speaking appearances as the Principal of Eight Inc., Hong Kong. He will join a line-up of high-profile international speakers at the event’s Future Retail and Lifestyles Forum, which looks at how brands are reinventing business to create personalized, intuitive and connected experiences for digitally-empowered customers.

Eight Inc. is a global creative collective that specializes in designing innovative, integrated human experiences. Its 200+ business creatives and strategic designers collaborate across 11 studios, 7 time zones, and 3 continents. It has 5 Asia Pacific studios: Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. The firm celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.