D.B. Kim

An international design influencer behind hotel concepts and hospitality retreats around the world, D.B. Kim ’86 is not always fluent in his clients’ native languages. “My friends are astonished that I’m able to communicate, but I tell them it’s because I speak attitude,” he says. “There’s a lot you can communicate with your expression and tonality. I always tell my team, if you have to speak about your design for a long time, over and over again, you’ve probably failed. If you have to explain anything more than once, it’s a sign you need to go back and think about it again.” 

Over the last 25 years, Kim has allowed his luxurious approach to interior design speak for itself both as an in-house creative for such interior design and architecture companies as Gensler, Daroff Design Inc. and Pierre-Yves Rochon, and as a design leader behind Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Over the last decade, as a hospitality designer for the Dalian Wanda and Galaxy Entertainment groups and other international clients, he’s been the visionary behind more than 30 luxury hotels across Asia. “But I don’t keep track of the number because everything I do is a collaborative effort,” he says. “My main job is about influencing and inspiring people to do a better job–and it just happens that I’ve been focused on hotels.” 

A native of South Korea, Kim moved to the United States with his parents, who encouraged his early love of art by sending him to an oil painting atelier. For college, he wanted a school that was small enough to connect with classmates and professors, but with a diverse curriculum. “I selected MCAD because I’m an artist at heart,” he says. “I’ve always been intuitive about what I want to do in an artistic and creative sense, which made MCAD a good place for me.” MCAD’s hands-on studio approach allowed him to try multiple disciplines, including Painting, Graphic Design and Environmental Design, introducing him to mentors who encouraged him to continue his studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. “My interest in design came about because I wanted to make things that are functional, not just ethereal,” he says. 

Kim has also earned a reputation for giving his projects a strong sense of place, finding materials and craftspeople to reflect and celebrate regional culture. For instance, at the Wanda Reign Hotel in Chengdu, China, Kim and his team created a grand entryway surrounded on three sides by a three-story jade bas relief, quarried and carved by local artisans. While the installation is an accurate visual representation of the region’s landmarks, Kim says it’s also a meditation on the lost art of jade carving, the legacy of the Silk Road, and the unique feel of China’s southwest. Working with a five-star budget and eager artisans and engineers, he adds, “was like a dream for the creative mind.” 

Now based in Shanghai, Kim is leading the Experience Concept Design team within NIO’s Space Experience Division, helping the Chinese electric vehicle company NIO create NIO House, a premium lifestyle concept where NIO’s electric-car owners are invited to  recharge, both literally and spiritually. “When I was first contacted, I thought, I don’t like to drive–I like to take public transit,” he laughs. But he soon accepted the challenge of creating hospitable retreats across China and growing markets in Europe to encourage the switch to renewable fuel. “I always seek projects that allow me to learn something completely new,” he says. 

While luxury has become his professional calling card, Kim says in his private life, he values comfort. “People always want to know what my home looks like, and I would say it’s no particular style. It’s more eclectic,” he says. “At home, I want a comfortable chair with good pillows. When I’m at home, I just want to chill out.”