George Galanakis

About

I am a creative director who codes, a technologist who designs, and a strategist who builds.

For 25 years I have worked at the intersection of art, technology and human experience — inventing Looking Glass, the world's most advanced AR jewelry try-on system, at Cartier's Brooklyn Innovation Lab; founding Asia's largest crypto art festival; building the world's first generative art platform on Bitcoin; and leading innovation at Cartier, Dentsu, and TBWA across New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Berlin and Tokyo.

I work across machine learning, computer vision, real-time graphics, generative systems, interactive installation, and blockchain. The common thread is not a technology stack. It is the ability to see what a brand or experience needs, identify why existing tools cannot deliver it, and invent the approach that can.

South Africa's most decorated digital creative. One of two Loerie Grand Prix winners in the digital category. Webby Award winner.

Selected credentials

Cartier Brooklyn Innovation LabSenior Creative Technologist, New York 2018–2020
Crypto Art Week AsiaFounder, Singapore 2019–2022
The Function GalleryFounder, Singapore 2023–2025
Dentsu DM2Director of Innovation, Singapore 2015–2017
TBWACreative Director Innovation, Hong Kong 2014–2015
Quirk AgencyDirector of Innovation, Johannesburg 2013–2014
Radarboy Media LabExecutive Creative Director, Cape Town 1998–2004

For 25 years I have been physically present in the rooms where creative technology was being made -- from the Flash Forward Conference in New York in 1999, to ITP Summer Camp, Ars Electronica, Refik Anadol's Architectural Intelligence Lab, the TouchDesigner Summit, maker communities across Singapore, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Berlin and Tokyo. Workshop leader and educator at ITP/NYU, United World Colleges Singapore, and Xin Che Jian, China's oldest hackspace.

Full timeline

Quotes

Not afraid to invent what doesn't already exist, even when others say it's not possible.
Andrew Haarsager, Head of Retail Innovation Lab, Cartier
He has ideals that make perfect sense in a world that will only arrive in a few years' time, but George relentlessly closes that gap. He is the thinking man's artist we all need on our teams.
Clint Bryce, Chief Creative Officer, TBWA
A very rare hybrid: equal parts tech wizard and artist. A highly conceptual thinker who combines art and code to create original experiences.
Fran Luckin, Executive Creative Director, Grey
Download CV (PDF)