Ronan Leung's career trajectory, from Nike global apparel graphic design to leading the PUMA × Mihara collaboration series, is a contemporary history of pop culture. He not only accumulated profound aesthetics within the brand world but also founded Artdicted to curate art exhibitions and launched the character "Leggie Bird," which possesses a strong sense of fashion, bringing the sophistication of apparel design into the world of toys. This time, Toy People conducted a special interview with Ronan, listening to him share how he transitioned from a top sports brand to toy development, and his inspiring stories between extreme creativity and vintage collecting.
**Toy People:** What was your major in school, and what kind of work did you do previously?
**Ronan Leung:** I graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, majoring in Multimedia Technology and Visual Communication. Frankly, in my early career, I never touched product or toy design. During university, my friends and I co-founded a local fashion brand, **Eclosion**. At that time, I was mainly responsible for graphic and trucker hat designs; the brand later successfully entered the Taiwanese market, and I believe some older friends might still remember it. Back then, I poured all my energy into designing apparel collections. Looking back, my focus on academics was even less than on entrepreneurship (laughs).
After leaving the brand, I joined a company I greatly admired at the time – **AllRightsReserved (ARR)**. This experience profoundly influenced me. ARR's expertise in pop culture and brand collaborations allowed me to deeply learn about brand building and IP operation. More importantly, it was there that I honed a unique aesthetic perspective.
Subsequently, at the invitation of a former senior, I began providing apparel graphic designs for **Nike**. At that time, most of Nike's graphics were handled by the US headquarters, so being able to participate in globally released projects as an Asian designer and seeing my work appear in stores worldwide was an immense honor.
▼ Ronan's apparel graphic designs for Nike.
Afterwards, I moved to **PUMA**, responsible for apparel graphics and collaboration series design in Asia. The most unforgettable experience during this period was joining the **PUMA × Mihara** design team. Working for Mr. Yasuhiro Mihara was a dream come true, and the friendliness and inclusiveness of the Japanese team also allowed us to build deep friendships. After this experience, I officially joined the **Nike Asia Design Team**, primarily focusing on design projects for Japanese football and the Chinese Super League. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Nike; the work environment, which highly respected creativity and embraced different viewpoints, still leaves a deep impression on me.
▼ PUMA × Mihara.
Currently, my partner and I have founded the art design brand **Artdicted**. We are dedicated to collaborating with artists we admire, curating art exhibitions, and launching limited edition artworks and toys. Recently, we just organized the first Hong Kong solo exhibition for the artist **Ushiki Masanori**, whom we greatly admire.
In summary, my design career has been a journey of exploration spanning apparel, art, and graphic design.
**Toy People:** What was the opportunity that led you to start your own design/art career?
**Ronan Leung:** Throughout my design career, brand graphic design and art curation have always been two core pillars. I remember my first official appearance as an 'artist' was collaborating with 10 other global artists on **Giordano**'s Art Tee project. Starting from there, I began working with various brands such as **PUMA, le coq sportif, and Lane Crawford**, with collaborations extending from apparel to sneaker design.
▼ Giordano Art Tee project.
▼ le coq sportif.
▼ Lane Crawford.
Besides collaborating with brands, I prefer to break spatial limitations and curate various unrestricted exhibitions with my artist friends. We once boldly held an exhibition in a hair salon; and my personal first exhibition, **《FOODWEAR》**, was held in a Michelin-starred restaurant. At that time, I transformed my love for food and sneakers into paintings, which filled the entire restaurant. Looking back, holding a themed exhibition in such a venue was indeed a very imaginative and bold attempt.
▼ Ronan Leung's first solo exhibition "FOODWEAR."
Later, my artistic practice extended overseas when I was invited to participate in a joint exhibition with Korean artists at **Everyday Mooonday** in Seoul. That experience was very valuable, and the connections I built there indirectly led to the creation of my first toy piece.
**Toy People:** How did you start launching your own toys?
**Ronan Leung:** My first foray into toy design stemmed from a joint exhibition with a Korean artist friend. At that time, my friend **BJJ (JAEJUNG BECK)** suggested that since we were all Sofubi enthusiasts, we should launch a toy sculpture as the exhibition's centerpiece.
Due to budget limitations at the time, we couldn't mass-produce for every artist, so we decided to create one handmade sculpture for each person. We commissioned **Inae**, a good friend from **Sticky Monster Lab (SML)**, to custom-create a unique physical figure for each of our designs, and the prototype of **Leggie Bird** was officially born at that exhibition.
A few years later, I visited **Leo**, the head of **Unbox Industries**, with this initial idea and proposed a plan to mass-produce Leggie Bird. I observed that the market at the time lacked Sofubi characters with a strong sense of fashion, and Leo was very interested in this. The Unbox team not only provided full support but also offered many insightful suggestions for detail modifications; we had a high consensus on refining the character. Ultimately, the first Leggie Bird was successfully launched, and the actual product presented a unique trendy fashion sense, which was exactly the work I had dreamed of creating myself.
**Toy People:** Could you please share your experience collaborating with 'Unbox Industries'? For example, the process of launching a product?
**Ronan Leung:** The collaboration process with Unbox Industries has been very pure and enjoyable. Perhaps because my works follow a refined, limited-edition route, unlike typical commercial products with tight deadlines, we can maintain a pace of launching one product every one to two years, ensuring that each figure reaches its optimal state.
In terms of the development process, we invested the most effort in the **3D modeling stage**. Because I have an almost demanding insistence on proportions, there is often a discrepancy between flat sketches and the ideal three-dimensional effect in my mind. Additionally, the feather texture on the character's head was a major challenge – the density and depth of the feathers directly affected the feasibility and yield of production. If you look closely at the finished product, you'll notice that the nose, glasses, and head are separate parts, which is extremely difficult in mold design. Unbox provided very professional structural advice here.
Moving to the production stage, the creation of **steel molds and spray masks** is even more challenging. Taking the recent collaboration version with **Sanders & Hoax** as an example, the biggest technical difficulty was the arrow pattern on the pant leg. It is extremely difficult to accurately render a pattern on an irregular three-dimensional curved surface. Surprisingly, the bright orange and yellow of the socks are rich and vibrant, and even the stripes on the tie are clearly visible; this level of craftsmanship is truly beyond imagination.
Finally, regarding the evolution of the **surface finishing**. Initially, I preferred a full **matte** finish, but later I found that a glossy finish could better showcase the tension of trendy toys. However, since the existing mold's surface texture was designed for matte, to achieve the desired high-gloss effect, we had to achieve it through a multi-layer reflective paint spraying process. Although this kind of detail adjustment is tedious, it is crucial for shaping the product's soul.
**Toy People:** How was the character 'Leggie Bird' born?
**Ronan Leung:** There's a Cantonese saying in Hong Kong, "冇腳的雀仔" (a bird without legs), used to describe restless boys who can't settle down, constantly drifting because they have no legs and can only fly forever.
My character, Leggie Bird, literally translates to **"a bird with legs"** (laughs). This actually symbolizes a state of settling down, like a boy who's tired of playing and wants to find a place to settle! In terms of its design, he is an out-and-out fashionista, with the details of his clothing designed according to my personal private wardrobe taste. I hope that each Leggie Bird is not just a figure, but a character with personality and a sense of style, and through each collaboration, I add a little surprising detail to let everyone feel the joy of playing with toys.
**Toy People:** How do you usually get inspiration for your creations? Do you have any special rituals?
**Ronan Leung:** For creative inspiration, I have a special fondness for the monsters in Showa-era tokusatsu films. Compared to heroic superheroes, I find the design of monsters to have a more primal tension and interest, which is why many of my works feature monsters as their core theme. Additionally, I often reference **Vintage and Military Inspired** fashion styles, specifically studying the **trims** and accessory details on clothing, and transforming these textured small elements into my designs.
As for my creative habits, I consider myself an 'extreme challenger.' Typically, for 90% of the time leading up to a **deadline**, I engage in repeated intellectual debate and conceptualization in my mind, only truly bringing the inspiration to fruition in the last 10% of the time. While this isn't a work model to emulate (laughs), that sudden burst after a long period of contemplation often sparks the most unexpected details in my work.
**Toy People:** Among your creations, which one is your favorite? Which one left the deepest impression during the creative process?
**Ronan Leung:** Currently, my most satisfying work is the version created in collaboration with **《Toy People》**. Especially the camouflage pants, the production process was truly arduous. Precisely spraying the camouflage pattern on cylindrical legs required extremely high technical skill in mold positioning and shrinkage rate control. I also hid a little personal surprise in that collaboration – launching a mini 'candy toy Leggie Bird.' I thought, since it's a collaboration with a toy media, it would be fun to have the character playing with toys!
As for the most memorable, it was the cross-industry collaboration with **HOAX** and the venerable British leather shoe brand **Sanders**. I am a huge fan of Sanders, and being able to personally design products for a brand I love is incredibly meaningful to me. We incorporated Sanders' iconic arrow element into Leggie Bird's Loafers, and even insisted on using Sanders' blue shoe box for the packaging. Recalling how the entire photography team completed all visuals from scratch in just two days to launch before the Lunar New Year, that efficient teamwork still moves me. Most gratefully, everyone's efforts paid off, and the product sold out within minutes of going live, which was a huge encouragement to me.
**Toy People:** What kind of environment do you like to create in? Please share a glimpse of your studio with everyone!
**Ronan Leung:** For every artist, having a space they can fully control and purely create in is the ultimate dream. Recently, I finally completed the creation of my personal studio. From the initial space planning to on-site construction supervision, I personally oversaw every aspect. This process took nearly a year and a half, and while it was extremely exhausting, the sense of accomplishment when seeing the studio transform from concept to reality was indescribable. This is not just a workplace; it is an extension of my design philosophy.
**Toy People:** Besides your own works, do you collect other toys or items? Are you particularly fascinated by any new toys recently?
**Ronan Leung:** My toy collection is extensive, but the core has always been **Sofubi art**. My passion for designer toys originated with **James Jarvis**; I still have a complete set of his "In-Crowd" series. Additionally, my collection list includes **Will Sweeney**'s Hot Dog Man, **Rockin’ Jelly Bean**'s wrestling mask man, Undercover's Underman series (including Sofubi and 12-inch figures), and **Yusuke Hanai** and **Ushiki Masanori**'s Puppy Chan, among others.
▼ Ronan's favorite collection - "Puppy Chan" designed by Ushiki Masanori.
Recently, I've also started pursuing those missing childhood memories, searching for some vintage classics that I longed for back then. For example, **A Bathing Ape**'s 12-inch figures, and **Medicom Toy x Nike**'s legendary collaboration series "The Original 6" basketball player figures.
Beyond physical toys, original artworks are also a key focus of my collection. My list of beloved artists includes **Hizgi, Face Oka, Johnny Akihito Noda**, and **Andy Rementer**, among others. Among them, my connection with **Ushiki Masanori** is the deepest; according to him, I am the global collector with the most of his paintings, currently owning over 60 pieces.
**Toy People:** Besides creating, what other interests do you have? Please let your fans get to know you better!
**Ronan Leung:** Besides immersing myself in design and creation, I've recently become fascinated with classic cars. I just acquired a 1983 **Mercedes-Benz W123**. For me, driving a classic car is a feast for the senses. I am extremely enamored with its pure original factory design and the unique scent of genuine leather seats that has settled in the cabin over the years.
Although classic cars lack the cutting-edge technology and convenience of modern cars, it is precisely this rustic, mechanical 'old-world charm' that captivates me most. This is not only the realization of a childhood dream but also a way to converse with time amidst the fast-paced design life.
**Toy People:** Please write down your answer (or draw a picture) to "What are toys to you?"
**Ronan Leung:** I think toys are like documentaries of life. As you grow through different stages, you encounter different toys, and everyone's definition of a toy is different – it could be a game console, or LEGO. What I want to say is, if you see a toy you genuinely love, don't miss it! Because toys are about fate; sometimes, if you miss that moment of excitement, you might never find it again.
The long-awaited major collaboration is here! **《Toy People》** is extremely honored to partner with trend artist **Ronan Leung** to launch the limited edition **「Ronan Leung × Toy People 'Leggie Bird TOY PEOPLE Ver.' Lottery Registration」** inspired by "Toy People"! Fans who wish to acquire it, please note that we will officially announce the lottery details on **January 19, 2026**. Please stay tuned to our latest updates! Don't miss out on this dream item!
**Follow Ronan Leung's latest creations!**
**→ Ronan Leung Instagram**
**→ Artdicted official Instagram**
**→ ARTDICTED.**
**Follow Unbox Industries' latest product information!**
**→ Unbox Industries Instagram**
**→ Unbox Industries**
Photo by TED.