Ed Ko

NEXT GEN JUROR

Ed Ko is an award-winning industrial designer and Associate Lecturer at UNSW with over 20 years of industry experience. His multifaceted career spans independent practice, education, and community building, all unified by his ‘Semantics and Mechanics of Industrial Design’ pedagogy. This methodology formalises design as a dynamic, ever-expanding dialogue between meaning and execution. Rather than focusing solely on form and function, Ed explores the fluid relationship between a product’s deeper significance and the rigorous mechanics of how it is brought to life.

As the founder of DIALEKT, a design practice that translates this process into real-world applications, exploring how products shape behaviour and experience through shifting spheres of intent. He is also the co-founder of IDX (Industrial Design eXchange), a community group fostering connection, collaboration, and education within the profession, and contributes as a returning mentor and advisor to the Powerhouse / Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator. Through his integration of practice and pedagogy, Ed is committed to cultivating a design culture that values technical rigor as much as conceptual depth, ensuring the next generation of designers are as capable as they are thoughtful.