Alan Chan is one of the few Hong Kong-trained graphic designers who has achieved international recognition. The only academic training in graphic design that Chan has received was merely a ten-month evening course in Hong Kong back in 1970, and yet during his 30 years in advertising and design, he has won more than 500 local and international awards, including awards from the Communication Arts, the New York Art Directors Club, D & AD, the Tokyo Typedirectors Club, Japan Typography Association, the Hong Kong Designers Association, the HK4A's and many others. In 1989. Alan was named Designer of the Year by the Hong Kong Artist Guild. His company was selected by the Graphis Press in New York as one of the Graphic Ten Best design firms in the world for 1996. In 1997, his posters and watch designs were included in the San francisco Museum of Modern Art as Permanent Collection of Architecture and Design.

Alan Chan set up his oen company with his wife, Sandra, in 1980. Under their supervision, the company has built up a portfolio of a wide variety of work, ranging from corporate and brand identity design to packaging, product and interior design.

The fusion of Oriental and Western cultures in contemporary graphic design is a dominant theme in Chan's creative work, He successfully captures the spirit of these cultures and reinterprets them in his own unique style, a style which distinguishes itself in its wonderful juxtaposition of the nostalgic with the contemporary, as well as the modern with the classic, offering a rediscovery of traditional Chinese art and culture via a different perspective.

In Japan, Chan's creative talents are widely recognised. In fact, he was the first Hong Kong designer to hold his personal exhibition in Tokyo in 1991. Since then, he has been commissioned to apply his expertise in an array of creative design projects ranging from corporate and brand identity, packaging and interior, jewellery to tableware design. So actively was Chan involved in the creative scene in Japan that he was invited to appear on TV programs, to give lectures, to write articles for numerous magazines and to be among the panel of judges in various international design competitions in Japan such as the International Ceramics Competition in Mino in 1998 & 2002 and the Morisawa Typeface Design Award in 1996, 1999 & 2002.

In 1990, Alan Chan launched into product design under his label, Alan Chan Creations, with T-shirts, paper and tin products, watches and Chinese tea. This extensive line of products are available at his flagship shops at the Peak galleria and the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and are being marketed in Asia, Europe and the United states. His brand has extablished as an original Hong Kong label with an international appeal.

In 1999, Alan Chan was commissioned by the Mitsubishi Estate Ltd in Tokyo to create the Marunouchi Cafe which comprises IT space, exhibition venue, promotional area and a unique vending machine room. The Cafe has become very popular and attracted numerous media coverage. Besides, Kirin Beverage Ltd launched its new Chinese tea with Alan Chan's name and image in October 99, "MR CHAN TEA" was distributed nationwide in Japan. Alan Chan was also invited to appear as the "Tea Master" in its TV commercial that was being filmed in Hue, an ancient capital of Vietnam. His latest projects include the corporate identity for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the complete concept of a contemporary Chinese tea room at the Hankyu Department Store in Osaka Japan.

Chan has been invited to lecture in Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Australia and the United States on the subject of cultural identity in graphic design. He was invited by the American Film Institute and the Society of Environmental Graphic Design to be a guest speaker in their seminars which were in Hawaii in 1994 and San Francisco in 1997 respectively. His work has been widely published in intenational publications.