Kan Tai Keung was born in 1942 in China. Starting from his childhood, he was influenced by his grandfather, Yao Sheung, and has a passion for painting. Kan first studied art and design in 1964, and started creating Ink painting works in 1970. He had been a member of One Art Group and obtained Award of Urban Council Fine Art. Starting his career as a designer from 1967, Kan was the first designer elected as one of the "Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons" in 1979; the only designer to receive the Urban Council Design Grand Award in 1984; received Artist of the Year Award - Designer of the Year 1991, and was the first Chinese to be included in “Who's Who in Graphic Design” of Switzerland in 1995. He was conferred Honour of Bronze Bauhinia Star in 1999. Kan’s works were extensively published by influential magazines and collected by local and overseas museums.

Kan’s art and design works have earned him international publicity through exposures in overseas exhibitions. He held a number of solo exhibitions in U. S. A., Germany, Finland, Japan, Beijing, Hangzhou, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong, etc., which included “From Life to Mind: Kan Tai Keung’s Design & Art” at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in 2002, over 200,000 visitors had been to the exhibition; “Feelings of the Brush: Paintings by Kan Tai Keung” at the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong and “Ink Painting and Beyond: Kan Tai Keung’s One-man Exhibition” in 2008.

Kan also actively involves in educating and promoting art and design profession. He is now the Dean of the Cheung Kong School of Art and Design, Shantou University, Guest Professor of Central Institute of Fine Arts in Beijing and Guest Professor of Tsing Hua University of Fine Arts in Beijing. He is also a Fellow Member of Hong Kong Designers Association; Member of Alliance Graphique Internationale; Advisor of the Leisure & Cultural Services Department and Honorary Advisor of Hong Kong Museum of Art. In 2005, Kan was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Design in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.