Interior designer, brand builder and tastemaker Ilse Crawford takes a surprising attitude for someone who has built a career on creating attractive looks. 'I like beauty as much as the next man, but it doesn't make sense if it's not about life,' she says.
She made her mark at just 23 by launching the British edition of Elle Decoration in the late 1980s, and found during a decade at the magazine that a preoccupation with aesthetics made for soulless environments.
'I became very conscious while working on the magazine that cold, beautiful, iconic pictures of homes were ... disturbing, ultimately,' she says. 'I became fascinated by designs that were able to combine aesthetics with humanity - that felt good as well as looked good.'
The Briton also brought that philosophy to Donna Karan when the American designer lured her to New York to run her home products division. And it remains at the core of Studioilse, the interior design firm and brand consultancy Crawford set up after leaving the United States.
Her company creates the big idea behind a brand through its emotional values, and then makes them visible and tangible through design, she says. 'We think in terms of human behaviour and how we can add to the life of a space or a neighbourhood.'
Hongkongers may soon be able to have a close look at Crawford's work: she is putting the final touches to her first interiors project in the city - and in Asia. Working with local developer Blake's, she brought her ideas for 'modern and emotional design' to TwoTwoSix, a five-storey building in Sheung Wan that is getting a complete makeover. Each of the five 1,500 sq ft apartments features semi-open planning through the bedroom, living and dining areas, and kitchen.