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Only 36 years old, Nathan Yong is heading up his second successful design business after going off to do an MA in between ventures. Twice a Red Dot Award winner and probably best known for his humanitarian mass-production coffin, for use in major disasters, he talks to Emily Martin about his passion for design

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I simply wanted to know, am I doing the right thing? When working in industry and figuring it out on my own, I just wanted to know, did I do it the right way or the wrong way?'Nathan Yong is talking through his decision in 2009 to study for an MA.

'It was a course to understand the practice of being a designer,' he continues to tell me as we sit together in the plush showroom of Ligne Roset during the 2013 Art Frieze. To put his words in context, the Singaporean was 'in-between jobs' when he was trying to decide to return to education, and that naturally must have helped justify his final decision to do it.

But this is, surely, an unusual concept for someone like Nathan Yong, possibly even unnecessary? After all, Yong was a multiple award-winning designer and design entrepreneur with internationally acclaimed success at the time. Nevertheless, most striking is hearing Yong ask himself 'Am I doing it right?' It is clear, however, when talking with Yong that his success lacks ego. Speaking with confidence, not arrogance, his gentle, polite and unpresuming persona appears to have served him well. A talented designer too (it really goes without saying) it's Yong's approach that makes his story unique. 'I would never say I'm a multidisciplinary designer,' he declares, when asked about his professional practices. 'Even though I produce my own graphic-design work, for example, I feel that by labelling yourself a multidisciplinary designer you are undermining those who really are graphic designers. I'm comfortable in just saying I am a furniture designer.'

Yong's Break Stool for Lignet Roset

Looking at Yong after he makes such a modest remark, it is clear to see just how passionate he is about furniture design. It comes as no surprise that it was the job he had wanted to do since graduating from university. 'I graduated with my first degree at 21, but in Singapore you have to go in to the army for two years so I started work when I was 23-24,' says Yong, who studied industrial design at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore.

'I started my career as a buyer for a home-furnishing shop in Singapore because there weren't many jobs available at the time for industrial designers,' he recalls. Yong knew he needed to gain practical experience before attempting to tackle the limited furniture-design job market. 'Even though I couldn't get a furniture-design job, I wanted to immerse myself in a furniture environment,' he explains. 'I'd be always flipping over a chair to check out what the construction was like! I actually learned a lot about furniture construction by doing that, and I learned about the business side by running a retail shop.'

The Boole Stool for Living Divani

While working as a buyer Yong travelled to South East Asia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to visit furniture factories - a perfect first-hand opportunity for him to see 'how it's done'. But Yong's ambition to be a furniture designer was continually being challenged, particularly as he lacked a portfolio. Far from being defeated, the ever-determined Yong tried an alternative approach. 'I kinda told myself "Look, you have to start doing your own designs." I realised there was no company that would employ me or be interested or confident in my designs, so I thought that I would just have to start up on my own.'

Yong did this, in 1999, starting his company Air Division, and admits things were not as easy as he had envisioned. 'I just felt I was ready to start my own company and that I had learned everything - well, I thought I had learned everything. I didn't actually know anything at all! But at the time you don't know that, so it was a struggle for the first three years.'

The Coal coat stand, by Air Division

Teething problems aside, Air Division rapidly grew and claimed commercial success in both Singapore and overseas markets, selling Yong's creations made by Asian craftsmen. In 2006 Yong arguably received his official mark as a recognised designer, in winning the Red Dot Concept Design Award with his conceptual designs of a mass-produced coffin. 'The mass-production coffin came about when we had the Asian tsunami and a lot of people passed away without a proper burial - especially in Indonesia,' he says. It was a personal and faith-inspired project, with Yong feeling he needed to do something to help support the families of victims who have perished during natural disasters. He explains: 'It's not quite right for a Muslim to be cremated - normally we would bury a body - and to have a short burial with a proper coffin is not possible when you have thousands of bodies.' Yong adds: 'Coffin production has traditionally been a manually intensive process, so I thought, in these instances we should have a massproduced coffin.'

Yong's concept explored moulding wood chips and wood bark to fabricate the coffin, which not only speeds up the production process but also enables coffins to be stacked, cutting down container space. 'To me it really was a no-brainer and something that needed addressing at the time, but we have catastrophes very so often all over the world, and the coffins will help people to bury their relatives.'

Nathan Yong's mass-production coffin, made out of compressed wood-chip and bark

The next year, in 2007, Yong won the Red Dot Concept Design Award for a second time, this time for designing a portable room heater. Then in 2008 he received the prestigious Singapore President's Design Award: Designer of the Year. 'The Present's award really recognised the work I was contributing towards the industry at the time,' Yong says. 'They had given me this award to recognise my efforts of pushing furniture design in Singapore. It's a rare situation that a local designer could work with companies like Ligne Roset and Living Divani.'

But at this high point in this career Yong decided to sell Air Division, and set off to study for his MA at the University of New South Wales, in Australia. 'The degree was more to understand the business part of design, for example how to market your work/business, and what role design plays within the business of design,' he says. Already a successful businessman and accomplished designer, the MA helped him to fill in the blanks from learning 'on the job', but he admits that a combination of the two works best for him. Yong clearly recalls that after getting his MA he wanted to set up again on his own, without the need of business partners. 'It was a straightforward decision for me because I would get stifled within a commercial business that has been started by someone else. I'm not comfortable with having that kind of working relationship,' he says.

Nathan Yong's mass-production coffin, made out of compressed wood-chip and bark

Clinching clients including Ligne Roset and Living Divani, as well as designing furniture as part of his Folk range, Yong also set up a retail company in Singapore called Grafunkt. With a large portion of his work based in Europe, Yong says that living in Singapore can have its drawbacks. 'It's tough not having physical presence in Europe, but I'm so pleased with all my achievements and, especially being a Singaporean, it's far more than anyone could imagine.'

Stack tables for Living Divani

So what does he reckon is the secret to his success? 'I don't know, but I think I can plot the direction of where I want to go quite easily! That's why at the age of 36 I have my own company as well as designing for companies outside of Singapore. I've always been focused - I would say I'm a loser in that I don't do other things other than focus on designing furniture!'

Stack tables for Living Divani

'Loser' isn't the word others would use to describe Yong. Clearly there is a combination of focus, talent and passion and a lack of arrogance. He agrees with me with modesty that some of these will make it certain that we are going to hear the name Nathan Yong for some time to come. 'For me furniture design is my lifetime passion and it's something I will always keep doing,' he says. 'I don't rush things, because rushing creates the wrong decisions. I always tell myself that I have a whole life to work on furniture design - so I don't have to hurry.'