The Inside Story Of Prestige Global Designs

The inside story of how Prestige Global Designs became an international award-winning interior design studio.

- Ben Chin

The courtyard at Prestige Global Designs' showroom includes a courtyard with a vertical garden and art deco-inspired fans.

Singapore-based Prestige Global Designs is an international award-winning design studio known for its sophisticated aesthetic and client-driven approach. Founded in 2008 by Michael Ong and Jeremy Tay, the firm has given its signature touch to hotels, offices and luxury residences in Singapore and Jakarta.

Ong was working on a flight to London when a friend of his colleague introduced him to an interior design course, which inspired the change in his career trajectory from cabin crew to interior designer. Tay was similarly in a different industry. After graduating with a degree in biotechnology from Australia's Griffith University, he returned home to pursue work in the education field. “I was writing books for a publishing house, working in a tuition centre,” he explains. His introduction into the design world came when he started helping long-time friend Ong with simple administrative tasks. “Michael was quite busy, and he needed help, so I started (assisting him on all the paperwork, and slowly got into the gear of choosing materials, talking to clients, selecting features with them.”