Guy Schockaert was born in Courtrai, Belgium in 1949. After studying graphic arts and visual communication at the Institut Saint-Luc, Bruxelles he became an assistant to Michel Olyff before becoming self-employed as a graphic designer in 1971. His graphic studio "Ad hoc Design" specializes in corporate identity, books and brochures for a range of clients including Alfac, 3M, Plantin, Sic and RTBF. Schockaert advocates "rigour and emotion" in the message. He has given numerous talks, has been active in teaching since the beginning of his career and is a tireless proponent of professional organizations such as Icograda (International Council of Graphic Design Associations) where he was President from 1997 to 1999. He is one of the initiators of "Design for the World", an organisation that is dedicated to finding "design" solutions to humanitarian problems. Since 2003 he has been President of Ydesign Foundation.