NAWON KOO
Originally from South Korea and spent youth in Singapore, a multi-disciplinary craft designer based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
The practice critically engages with the social, economic, and cultural systems that shape everyday life, drawing on societal norms, the social economy, and systemic structures to examine manufacturing and production, and their labour, both past and present, and to imagine the future.
Mainly working with material craftsmanship, she translates the investigations into object-based installations that reflect on contemporary stories in society. The work combines hands-on making with research-driven inquiry, questioning values of efficiency and perfection embedded in everyday systems. Works invite audiences to think critically, broaden perspectives, and confront the environmental and socio-economic consequences of production, highlighting issues that unfold not only locally but across geo- economic networks. By using materiality as a lens, her practice explores and exposes the hidden structures that shape our contemporary world, bridging craft, critical reflection, and systemic inquiry in tangible, thought-provoking works.
Contact
nawon.9.work@gmail.com
+31(0)6 28 12 21 86
@nawonxxx
LinkedIn
Education
Design Academy Eindhoven (The Netherlands)
MA Social Design
2023
Samsung Art and Design Institute (South Korea)
Product Design
2018
School Of The Arts, Singapore (Singapore)
IB Visual Art
2015
Work Experience
NAUTI
Freelance Designer
Creative Design Department
Sept 2024 - Mar 2025
Nike EMEA
Full-time Intern
Brand Creative Retail Design Team
Mar 2024 - Jul 2024
hanahzo
Freelance Designer
Design Department
Jun 2022 - Sept 2022
Have&Be(Dr.Jart+)
Full-time Intern
Visual Merchandise and Space Design Team
Jun 2019 - Dec 2019
Exhibitions
Temporarily Out of Place,
Treehouse NDSM,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2025
Dutch Design Week 25,
Piet Hein Eek Platform,
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2025
Nxt Gen Design Travelling Exhibition,
Nxt Gen Design,
Belgrade,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Vienna, Austria
Barcelona, Spain
Skopje
2025
Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Showcase,
Design Academy Eindhoven,
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2023
Craft Academy,
Crafts Council Nederland,
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2023
Symposium “The Library”,
MA Social Design DAE,
Eindhoven, The Netherlands,
2022
Building Dialogue,
Collective Future Thinking,
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
2022
Residencies/Workshops