Shanghai, 7 October 2026 – The One Club for Creativity’s ONE Asia Creative Awards brings its Student MasterClass and portfolio review to Kuala Lumpur for the first time on 20 October, immediately following three days of 2026 ONE Asia judging in the city.
The “Resist The Robot” MasterClass, which is free to attend, will gather six award-winning creative leaders to speak on a tension every creative person now faces: how to harness AI without surrendering the human judgment, instinct and original thinking that separate good work from AI slop.
Top creatives confirmed to speak at the MasterClass include:
- Pathida Akkarajindanon, Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Bangkok
- Simon Au, Executive Creative Director, The Kitchen North America, Toronto
- Rizza Garcia, Founder & Chief Designer, Lennon Group Manila
- Gigi Lee, Founder & Principal Designer, Klinik Gigi, Kuala Lumpur
- Asheen Naidu, Group Executive Creative Director, LEO Singapore
- Nick Noh, Creative Director, Rethink Toronto
The event is organised by ONE Asia/The One Club for Creativity and Level Up Professional Training, and supported by 4As Malaysia, Cotra Enterprises, Directors Think Tank, Wow Broadcast, and Rtist Creative Platform.
Along with the MasterClass, the day will include valuable one-on-one portfolio reviews with creative leaders from the region. Students will get direct feedback on their work from some of Malaysia’s most respected voices in the industry, including:
- Mo Nazmi Ahmad, Senior Creative Director, Leo Malaysia
- Shireen Ang, Creative Director, Havas Malaysia
- Chee Wee Choo, Creative Partner, MUMA Malaysia
- Christyna Fong, Creative Director, Chariot
- Jaz Lee, Executive Creative Director, Leo Malaysia
- Kekfeng Lee, Founder & Designer, Studio Kekfeng
- Claudia Low, Creative Director, Ampersand Advisory
- Loo Swee Mei, Senior Creative Director, NagaDDB
- Justin Phang, Former Global Group Creative Director, Riot Games
- Surya Salleh, Executive Creative Director, VML Kuala Lumpur
The portfolio reviews are a rare opportunity for student creatives to show their work to the people who hire and shape the industry. Entry is free for all lecturers and students, but portfolio review spots are limited and require registration.
The “Resist the Robot” Student MasterClass and Portfolio Review take place on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 9:30 am–3:30 pm, at Limapulo, Tong Shin Terrace, 27 Jalan Tong Shin, Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur, located 10 minutes from Bukit Bintang MRT, Gate A.
“Resist the Robot” handcrafted visual identity
The theme of the MasterClass is reflected in the visual identity created by Borderless and Klinik Gigi, both based in Kuala Lumpur.
” ‘Resist the Robot’ is about using AI responsibly”, said Edward Ong, Founder and Creative Director at Borderless. “It’s a great tool and helper, but if we’re not careful, our work will start to look and sound the same, and we will slowly lose our ability to ideate and develop original thought.”
Gigi Lee, Founder and Principal Designer at Klinik Gigi added: “AI can enhance creative ideas, but it shouldn’t replace our thinking, and certainly not the ideas we show clients. For young people, it can be very tempting to use AI for everything. Not using AI can be hard work. It’s lonely, difficult and time-consuming. But developing that ability to think for yourself will benefit you in the long run.”
Rather than relying on AI-generated imagery, the team commissioned a hand-drawn illustration by Klinik Gigi designer Shin Shin that’s filled with deliberate AI-related symbolism that rewards close attention: The robot has six fingers and wears different rings for every execution, its head is a box as a rejection of inside-the-box thinking, and the signal above its head reaches all four corners of the globe, acknowledging that AI is inevitable and inescapable.
The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition and scholarships, ADC Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, global AI Creative Challenge, Next Creative Leaders, WAATBP Essentials career fair, Portfolio Night, Creative Week, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programs that support industry access, creative education, professional development, and enhancement of creative careers around the world.
