Kan Tai-keung(right) has a look at the Chinese Business Leaders website.

Kan Tai-keung, a designer and founder of the Kan and Lau Design Consultants Co, had some suggestions in a recent interview on two ways to innovate -- develop something new based on existing creation or experience, or come up with something original, which is what Kan himself thinks is best and what he pursues.

Kan shared his experiences in the field of design, at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, in Beijing, on Dec 5, where he said he would like to design the cover of the book Chinese Business Leaders, which goes on sale next year, as a contribution to the Chinese business people and the economy.

He said that the book will improve Chinese businessmen’s international reach and promote the group’s successful experience.

Kan Tai-keung.

Kan was born in 1942, in Guangdong province, and fell in love with painting at a young age under his grandfather’s influence. In 1957, he moved to Hong Kong, where he spent 10 years working as an apprentice, then a full tailor. In 1964, he began studying sketching and watercolor painting from his uncle, the painter Kan May-tin. Later he studied ink drawing and design at Chinese University of Hong Kong’s extramural studies department. In 1967, he began his career as a designer and over the years received a number of awards, which brought him prominence. Then, in 1976, he found his own design company.

Magazines from around the globe -- such as Japan’s Idea, Creation, Ryuko Tsushin, and Morisawa Quarterly, Switzerland’s Graphis, Germany’s NOVUM, and the US’ Communication Arts -- have carried special features on him. In 1993, he was selected by Idea Magazine as one of the “100 Top Graphic Designers” and was the first Chinese to be included in Switzerland’s “Who's Who in Graphic Design”, in 1995. His design work has been collected by many museums in Germany, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and elsewhere.

In explaining his views on design in the Beijing interview, Kan said he believes that true innovation is not copying, which is an infringement of copyright.