Derek Lee is a London-based interior designer and a MA Interior Design candidate at the Royal College of Art. While specialising in large mixed use public spaces, Derek is open-minded and adaptable, always challenging himself as an experiential designer to adopt new ideas, materials, and techniques in his practice.
He is highly observant of the people who inhabit a space - their lifestyle, behaviour, movement, and senses - and constantly draws inspiration from the arts: from the proportions, forms and colour palettes of contemporary artwork to the rhythm and notes of classical music.
Humans spend 89% of our lives within a built interior. ‘The space’ directly affects the way its inhabitants feel and behave; such that spatial design is beyond mere visuality, it is a thought process, a tool to enhance humanity through its ability to frame lives. Derek is a firm believer in the importance of the process and the story behind, coming from sketches, model studies, and research, which form the basis to a strong spatial identity.
ARExA,WeWork, New York, NY, US, Interior Designer & Assistant
W Interior, Busan, Korea, Intern Position
- Site visits for measure and take photos
- Managing concepts from hand sketches and space planning
- Research for similar existing spaces
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, Seoul, Korea, 202 Line Special Presidential Security Group
- The Crew of Presidential Situation
- Position of Command Center
- 2 years of Army Service (Mandatory Service)
School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York, NY, US, Bachelors, Fine Arts in Interior Design
School of VISUAL ARTS Interior Design, Award
- Best Senior Thesis Award 2013
School of VISUAL ARTS IIDA Competition, 1st Place
- Network Winner 2012 "SVAID Exhibition: Moe's Cafe"
- An exhibition featuring work completed by students in response to challenge to re-envision popular campus eatery Moe's Cafe as a multi functional community space
The Angelo Donghia Foundation, INC, 1st Place
- 2012 Senior Student Scholarship Award Winner
- One of 13 Scholarships
