Design file: Design Systems

Design Systems, a Hong Kong-based interior design practice, was set up by Lam Wai-ming in 1999. The company has won more than 80 international awards, the most recent of which include gold at the Taiwan Interior Design Awards, gold in Italy's 'A' Design Awards and the Hong Kong Best award in the Hong Kong Designers Association Global Design Awards.

Lam (right) graduated from Polytechnic University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in interior design and the prize for best interior design graduate. He was initially snapped up by Foster + Partners, but, after six years at the coalface of large-scale commercial projects, he decided to go it alone.

Not really. it is involved in all kinds of interior design, from commercial spaces to residential and even furniture. Although many of the company's designs appear initially to have a signature bold, minimalist style, closer inspection reveals subtle quirks. The cap-sule lamp, for instance, has a shade that features dozens of tiny capsules into which one can place little objects - toys and stationery, perhaps.