The Art Of Placemaking

Clint Nagata speaks to us about creating definitive hotels - and it has all to do with storytelling

- Suffian Hakim

THERE ARE A FEW THINGS that jump out at you when you first meet Clint Nagata, the 52-year-old Creative Partner and Founder of the Blink Design Group. The most immediate one is his Hawaiian upbringing. He's laid-back, an easy smile upon his East Asian features, his American accent present but not too pronounced.

I met him in the Blink Design Group office, a luxe-industrial space with concrete fixtures adorned with wooden accents. When he entered the room, he gave me an informal Hey, man! and we bumped fists - more a pandemic bump than a street greeting.

In his easy demeanour, you sometimes forget that he is the artisan behind some of the most iconic hotels in the world. Nagata doesn't come off as a business leader - he is a creative, a traveller, and an explorer. But business leaders the world over will come to know of his work, as he is the interior design architect behind some of the world's most exquisite hospitality experiences, from the Roku Tokyo to the Regent Pho Quoc and the W Dubai.

Before we start proper, I'm curious. What are you like as a traveller?