Senior Lecturer, Interior Design

Kelley Cheng

Kelley Cheng
  • BA Hons (Architecture) National University of Singapore
  • BA Arts (Architectural Studies), National University of Singapore

Kelley Cheng is a modern day polymath who has immersed herself in the roles of editor, writer, curator, spatial designer, graphic designer, video director, interactive designer, and educator. Trained as an architect, she is the founder and creative director of design studio The Press Room, a publishing and design consultancy that designs everything from books, brands, products, exhibitions and spaces, to stage and film set design. From F&B businesses to an art gallery, her creations are diverse and unpredictable. 

An active educator, she has served as an adjunct lecturer at Nanyang Technological University, Glasgow School of Art Singapore and National University of Singapore, and is a visiting professor at the HangZhou Academy of Art. 

Kelley is also a regular name in international design judging panels including Red Dot Awards, Nagoya-Do!, Design for Asia Award, Creative Circle Award, James Dyson Award and more. She was celebrated as one of 2009 Great Women of Our Time and one of the 50 Most Inspirational Women 2010 in Singapore. In 2019, the National Design Centre presented her 20-year retrospective exhibition Proportion & Emotion: 20 years in Design with Kelley Cheng as part of a series celebrating the acclaimed veterans of the Singapore design industry, and in 2021 she was conferred the SkillsFuture Fellowship and the prestigious President’s Design Award, Designer of the Year 2020, both presented by the President of Singapore.

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(select)

  • Book design for 20 Years of Wild Rice won the Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title at Singapore Book Awards (2024)
  • President’s Design Award, Designer of the Year (2020)
  • SkillsFuture Fellowship, Singapore (2020)
  • Book design for Tomas Saraceno Arachnid Orchestra Jam Sessions won the Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title at Singapore Book Awards (2018)

Professional practice (select)

  • Commissioned by National Heritage Board to document Heritage Businesses in Kampong Gelam (2022–2023)
  • Appointed cryptocurrency company Defocoin.io as Head of Creatives (2022–2023)
  • Commissioned to design Caregivers’ Alliance Limited’s nationwide mental health campaign Hidden Heroes
  • Commissioned to design the commemorative book for Singapore General Hospital’s bicentennial celebration Sanctuary & Stronghold: SGH at 200
  • Founded independent documentation and archival platform Studio SML
  • Commissioned to design the website and exhibition of cultural medallion centurion artist Lim Tze Peng, Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100 at The Arts House (2020)
  • Retrospective exhibition at National Design Centre – Proportion & Emotion: 20 Years in Design with Kelley Cheng (2019)
  • Commissioned to design the new Speak Mandarin Campaign 40th anniversary logo and campaign (2019)
  • Designed and curated President Design Award 2016 exhibitions at the Istana, National Design Centre, URA Gallery, NTU, NUS, SMU, Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic (2016)
  • Creative director for Singapore Writers’ Festival identity design and marketing campaign, National Arts Council (2016)
  • Designed and curated the art and design segment for Tedx Singapore SG50 conference, The Undiscovered Country at Nanyang Auditorium, Singapore (2015)
  • Designed and curated exhibition 50 Years of Innovative Partnership for REDAS (Real Estate Developers Association Singapore) at URA Gallery, Singapore (2015)
  • Curated Martell Air Gallery, the first augmented reality art gallery at Marina Bay, Singapore (2015)
  • Designed and curated Group Show Project 6581 – Parallel Perception Counter Connection at Japan Creative Centre (2014)
  • Designed and co-curated exhibition Rotations – The Art of Tim Yip at Esplanade Jendela (2014)
  • Designed and curated President Design Award 2013 exhibition at the Istana (2013), National Design Centre (2013) and URA (2014)

Professional service (select)

  • Advisory board, Preservation of Sites and Monuments, National Heritage Board (2023–ongoing)
  • Advisory board, Singapore Press Holdings Chinese Media Group, Lianhe Zaobao (2017–ongoing)
  • Design Communication Industry Advisory Group, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore (2015–2019)
  • Advisory board/brain trust, Tedx Singapore (2015–2018)
  • Member of the Steering Committee, Singapore Writers’ Festival (2015–2017)
  • Advisory board, School of Design, Singapore Polytechnic (2014–2019)
  • Independent experts panel, Spring Singapore (2013–2014)
  • Regional experts panel, Hong Kong Design Centre (2012–2016)
  • Advisory board of Singapore Contemporary Young Artists (2012–2014)
  • Judging panel for President’s Design Award; Singapore (2025)
  • Judging panel for DNAD “Newspaper & Magazine Design” category; London, UK (2025)
  • Judging panel for Red Dot Awards, Visual Communications category; Germany (2025)
  • Judging panel for Taiwan International Graphic Design Award (2025)
  • Judging panel for India’s Best Design Awards (2025)
  • Judging panel for Red Dot Awards, Visual Communications category; Germany (2024)
  • Judging panel for Red Dot Concept Awards 2024; Singapore (2024)
  • Judging panel for Taiwan International Student Design Competition; Taiwan (2024)
  • Judging panel for “World Interior of the Year” at World Architecture Festival (2024)
  • Judging panel for Joseph Binder Award; Austria (2024)
  • Visiting critic, School of Architecture, National University of Singapore (2022–2023)
  • Workshop lecturer, Creative Thinking, at Singapore Management University (2022–2023)
  • External reviewer, M.Arch (year 1 and year 2) at School of Architecture, National University of Singapore (2022)
  • Adjunct lecturer, Rosso Arts and Design Education, Shanghai (2021–ongoing)
  • External reviewer, M.Arch (Year 1 and Year 2), at School of Architecture, National University of Singapore (2020)
  • Adjunct lecturer, Industrial Design at School of Design & Environment, National University of Singapore (2020)
  • External examiner, NAFA final year project for Visual Communications graduates (2020)
  • External examiner, Glasgow School of Art Singapore, final year project for Visual Communications graduates (2020)

Conferences and presentations (select)

  • Speaker at Taiwan International Student Design Competition Conference; Taipei (2024)
  • Speaker at World Architecture Festival Main Stage—’Monographs: Catalyst for Fame’; Singapore (2023)
  • Speaker, Women of the World soiree for International Women’s Day; Singapore (2023)
  • Guest speaker, e-Open House, College of Design & Engineering, National University of Singapore (online) (2022)
  • Keynote speaker, at Singapore Interior Design Singapore Annual Conference; Singapore (2021)
  • Designers from South-East Asia, #01 – Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding Design (online) (2021)
  • Speaker, SEGD Singapore Chapter Crafting Experiences: Stories by Experiential
  • Speaker, Pune Design Festival (online); India (2021)
  • Guest lecturer on branding, Ritsumeikan University (online); Kyoto, Japan (2021)
  • Speaker, Master Talk at Hong Kong Interior Design Association (online); Hong Kong (2020)
  • Guest lecturer on branding, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou China (2018–2019)
  • Speaker, Love of My Life, A+ International Creative Forum, part of A+ Creative Festival; Taichung, Taiwan (2017)
  • Speaker, The Accidental Entrepreneur, NUS-TsingHua Talk Series The New Economy, National University of Singapore; Singapore (2017)
  • Moderator, Business of Design Week 2016 featuring Design for Asia Award winners (2016)
  • Speaker, Leadership in the Arts, Teaching Workshop 2016, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts; Singapore (2016)
  • Speaker, Print is not Dead, National Design Centre; Singapore (2015)
  • Speaker, Craft Trend in ASEAN; Bangkok, Thailand (2015)
  • Speaker, Asian Design Conference, National Design Centre; Singapore (2014)
  • Keynote speaker, The Music & Structure of Books, Republic Polytechnic freshmen inauguration (2014)
  • Speaker, The Power of Ideas, Maison & Objet Paris Conference; Paris, France (2014)
  • Keynote speaker, Visualising the Semantic Structure in a Book, Maison & Objet Asia Conference; Singapore (2014)
  • Speaker, Future of the Local conference by TED.com and Intercontinental Hotel (2013)
  • Speaker, Orita Sinclair’s Knowledge Assembly, Singapore (2013)
  • Speaker, Singaplural conference by Singapore Furniture Industry Council, Scape Park; Singapore (2013)
  • Speaker, Pecha Kucha, Home Club; Singapore (2013)

  • History of Singapore creatives and the evolution of their studios in terms of creativity and business development, through long form interviews with designers of different disciplines.
  • Research is documented under the project name Studio SML www.studiosml.net