Peter Chancellor: The British Designer Who Branded Hong Kong in the '70s and '80s

*All quotes and images in this article were provided directly to Hong Kong Hike by Mr. Peter Chancellor.

Peter Chancellor was born in Birmingham, England, into a working-class family. After his parents divorced during his teenage years, he pursued his passion for art, studying at the Ryland Memorial School of Art in the Midlands, followed by the Birmingham College of Art, and later in London.

In 1970, Chancellor embarked on an extraordinary overland journey from England to Hong Kong that would shape both his life and career. Traveling by bus through Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia, he crossed challenging and often dangerous terrain, including Pakistan's Khyber Pass. Reflecting on this epic trip, Chancellor recalled, "We were attacked by bandits and I was arrested for smuggling in Turkey," underscoring the perilous nature of his passage. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1971, noting that there were "Too many stories to tell about that journey. Hundreds of photos. The journey prepared me well for future life."

Once in Hong Kong, Chancellor quickly established himself as a key creative force with the Peninsula Group. His first studio was "on the top floor" of the prestigious Peninsula Hotel, where he began designing some of the city’s most enduring logos. He recounted designing the Star Ferry logo "one morning on the way to the studio," a symbol of Hong Kong, and a logo that remains iconic today. With a team of layout artists and an in-house photo darkroom, Chancellor expanded his work to comprehensive branding projects.

Over 12 years, Chancellor tirelessly crafted corporate identities for major hotels across Asia, including the Bangkok Peninsula, Manila Peninsula, Marco Polo Singapore, and several landmark Hong Kong properties such as The Prince and Marco Polo Hong Kong. He described the scope of his work as extensive, covering "hundreds of items including uniforms, sign systems, menus, promotional material, direct mail, advertising," with each project often taking about three years to complete.

Chancellor’s arrival in Hong Kong was defined by humble beginnings and resourcefulness. He and his wife arrived with “only a suitcase and a sleeping bag each,” relying on the kindness of an army family in Kowloon who offered them a place to stay. Enchanted by the city, they decided to remain, with his wife securing work as a secretary while Peter taught English at a business school in Pok Fu Lam. After several months, they moved into a rented unfurnished room on MacDonald Road, where “we slept in our sleeping bags on the floor and had no furniture. We were young.”

Determined to break into design, Chancellor answered an advertisement for a designer position at the Peninsula Hotel, but faced a daunting challenge: “I had no portfolio to show” and was asked to produce two layout designs—a restaurant menu and an ice-cream menu—without any supplies. By chance, a graphic designer renting in the same building helped him complete the work, leading to his employment, though Chancellor humorously admits, “The question is did he lend me his equipment or did he make the finished layouts. We’ll never know.”

Given a “suite on the top floor of the hotel,” which he called “the penthouse,” Chancellor quickly set up a studio and assembled a small team. His role was to liaise with hotel management and produce requested artwork, expanding from hotel projects to those for the Wharf Company, which owned several properties managed by the Peninsula Group. Early on, he designed the Peninsula Group logo “on a scrap of paper at home,” capturing the spirit of his spontaneous creativity.

Chancellor's team, named Design Development, began winning awards for magazine layouts, direct mail, and packaging, building a strong reputation. Despite his success, he remained locally employed on salary without housing allowance or home leave. As his work attracted attention from visiting CEOs and businessmen, he persuaded management to allow charging for design services, which opened the door to high-profile clients such as The North Face, Nestlé, General Electric, and Esso Petroleum.

After 12 years of shaping Hong Kong’s visual identity while still paying his own rent, Chancellor decided it was time to move on. He explained, “At that point my portfolio was so full of prestige clients, I had no problem in getting even more. Perhaps I could make the money that the Peninsula Group was making from me.”

He clarified, “Don’t misunderstand me. I wasn’t bitter—in fact, without them [Peninsula Group] I wouldn’t be in such a strong position. It was just time to move on.” Leaving behind Design Development—a company with “8 or 9 designers, a photographer, copywriter, accountant and office manager” and “one of the best reputations in the field” with dozens of awards from Hong Kong, the USA, and Japan—Chancellor stepped into a new chapter by founding Chancellor Thompson with Thompson Publishing

After leaving the Peninsula Group, Chancellor joined Thompson Press to launch a new design company, Chancellor Thompson, specializing in publications and magazines. His work included prestigious in-flight magazines for Pakistan Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and Air India, as well as projects for the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, HSBC, and other notable clients. While these were esteemed titles, Chancellor found the work increasingly repetitive: “Only magazine page layouts day after day. I wanted to do more variety such as packaging, and big corporate design projects.”

Despite the limitations, Chancellor Thompson secured some interesting projects, including Dragonair branding, which came through his partner’s contacts. However, Chancellor reflected that joining a publishing company may have been a misstep: “The scope of available work was limited... all the inside pages were specifically designed too which took a great deal of time. Time I would rather use to be more creative.”

Among the highlights was work for Quality Hotel, which aligned more closely with his interests, and involved travel to India to meet clients needing publicity and marketing materials. Still, the focus remained on publications, and once printed, there was little ongoing corporate work. Chancellor described this period as “very interesting for a while,” but his desire for broader creative challenges led him to seek new opportunities, marking the beginning of his final chapter in design.

Chancellor took significant steps to establish his own independent presence in Hong Kong’s design scene. He bought a house in Fairview Park under the company name Strongarm Enterprises Ltd. and expanded by acquiring Nick Jesse Design Associates from a designer friend who was leaving Hong Kong, parking the company under the Strongarm umbrella. This acquisition brought a new client base, including outlets in Hong Kong and Macau. Reflecting on this growth, Chancellor said, “I then had a new client base including outlets in Hong Kong and Macau.”

Eventually, Chancellor parted ways with Thompson Press and, with a photographer friend, set up Strong Photography, again under Strongarm. By this time, he had purchased an office in Wan Chai, and began working under his own name with Peter Chancellor Design Associates, which he also “parked under Strongarm.” He now managed two design companies, a photography business, owned his own home, and had his own office and studio—marking the start of his final push.

Leveraging contacts from his Peninsula days, Chancellor was introduced to American clients manufacturing goods in Hong Kong and China. He explained, “When I needed photos for design projects I billed that separately through Strong Photography. No need any longer to spend on expensive photographers.” For smaller jobs, he used Nick Jesse Design Associates, “If I had a phone call from a prospective client and the job was too small, I would recommend another design studio (Nick Jesse). Of course, it was the same artists and the same location but nobody knew that.”

The 1980s boom in Hong Kong manufacturing—especially in toys, textiles, and electronics—provided fertile ground for Chancellor’s growth. He actively approached factories to discover their clients and offered design services, noting, “The cost of design in Hong Kong was cheaper than the US and of course closer to the manufacturing base so I was able to take a good slice of the market.” He particularly enjoyed working on toy packaging and collaborating with the Hong Kong Polytechnic’s design department, who were “making mockups of toys.” This comprehensive service helped overseas traders benefit from Hong Kong’s growing reputation for quality.

Chancellor never paid for advertising his companies. Instead, his reputation grew organically: “All the years I worked in Hong Kong I never paid for advertising my companies. I was invited to write many articles and others were interested in writing about my work.” This recognition underscored the success and influence of his independent design empire.

Chancellor’s approach to logo design in the 1970s was deeply rooted in thorough client engagement and cultural sensitivity. He explained, “Back in the 70s I sat down with every client and meticulously went over their requirements. What corporate colours did they have if any. What should I avoid in terms of shapes and colours and were there any cultural elements which I should avoid or include.” This exhaustive process of extracting a brief often required several sessions before he could fully grasp how to serve the company’s needs.

Over a 20-year period, Chancellor produced hundreds of logos, recalling that he “usually only had to rationalize 1 or 2,” reflecting the precision and alignment achieved with clients from the start. He contrasted this with today’s design environment, noting, “The process with design today in all honesty is AI. 20 designs can be instantly created with little or no empathy for the company or product.”

Chancellor also highlighted the pioneering role of his studio's in-house capabilities in Asia, mentioning that “Design Development was the very first one in Asia but others followed,” underscoring his contribution to establishing professional in-house design operations.

This meticulous, client-focused, and culturally aware approach defined Chancellor’s work and distinguished his legacy in Hong Kong’s design history.

Many of the sketches featured in Chancellor's book, Shades of Hong Kong, were originally created for the Peninsula Group magazine to illustrate articles. Chancellor explained that his particular style of illustration “meant that I could add layer upon layer of colour with relative speed and ease,” which became something of a trademark. Although he worked in many styles—from etching to woodcut—this layered approach stood out.

Chancellor reflected on the creative process, noting, “I really can’t remember now which of the Peninsula Magazine articles came before my illustrations and which came afterwards. Sometimes the writer would see my illustrations and write the article around them.” When asked about how he picked scenes and people for his sketches, Chancellor said, “When I was in Hong Kong, these [scenes] weren’t disappearing, they were simply everyday events.” Frequently traveling to the New Territories, he would sketch and take notes whenever he encountered something interesting.

He expressed hope that his illustrations might be able to “bring back a little nostalgia to people who lived in Hong Kong at that time,” preserving moments of daily life of Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s through his distinctive artistic lens.

Chancellor has stepped away from drawing and commercial art after decades in the design industry. Reflecting on his current life, he shared, “I haven’t done any drawing for decades. I was a commercial artist and designer but I now spend my time gardening.” He and his wife live in Portugal currently (2025).

Despite settling in Portugal, Chancellor maintains a strong connection to Hong Kong, which he calls “my second (maybe first) home.” He and his wife travel as much as possible but return each year to their apartment in Hong Kong, usually for two to three months, to reconnect with old colleagues and friends. Looking ahead, he said, “I will travel now until it’s no longer possible, visiting places I haven’t yet seen. I will take many photos but will not take paper and crayons.”