Japan had a taste of Hong Kong designers’ work last month through the 10-day DesignInspire exhibition Design Through Heritage, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)* as the Lead Sponsor, which concluded on 29 October. The exhibition showcased 24 works from 17 design groups, bringing Hong Kong’s creativity to Tokyo and further promoting the development of Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industry. The exhibition has returned to Hong Kong and goes on to display at Times Square in Hong Kong from 16 to 30 November.DesignInspire continues to showcase innovative ideas and creativity through online and offline channels this year. DesignInspire – Design Through Heritage is divided into three main themes: Cityscape of Hong Kong, (Re)Industrialisation and Traditional and Future Crafts. The 24 Design Through Heritage artworks were inspired by the urban experiences of Hong Kong. Hong Kong designers portray the past, present and future of Hong Kong through innovative expressions and historical craftsmanship.
Works showcased at Tokyo’s style hub Omotesando
Hong Kong-based curator Fan Lok Yi introduces the series Rediscovering the Sandpit. The series uses objects, images and text materials related to 20th-century playscapes to form an open research space. Through these research materials, viewers can add their own insights and stories by connecting Hong Kong’s play spaces to the broader context of international design history and expand public imagination about the city’s future.
A Photographic Essay Hong Kong Reminiscence: Document of Hong Kong’s Old Stores was designed by Chan Hei Shing from Hei Shing Book Design. The book is divided into four chapters: Clothing, Food, Accommodation and Transportation, showcasing the information of 25 old stores in Hong Kong from author Hiuman Lam’s in-person visits. The volume introduces Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage and displays traditional craftsmanship and culture. The book focuses on stirring the public’s memory and connecting it with the beauty of the city’s intangible cultural heritage.
Since 2017, founders of @streetsignhk, Kevin Mak and Ken Fung have explored ways to sustain Hong Kong’s signboard culture, promoting signboard-streetscape as urban cultural heritage by exploring in-depth signboard stories of Hong Kong and the city’s building regulations. In their series, graphic neon-light elements from the recycled signboards that once shone on Hong Kong’s streets are collaged into a new neon art. The display is dedicated to exploring and continuing the possibilities of neon sign craftsmanship, design and urban culture through design in practice.
A Study on Hong Kong Beiwei Calligraphy & Type Design, published by Adonian Chan, documented eight years of his research into Hong Kong Beiwei calligraphy and the Zansyu design type, which are both preservation of culture and a reflection on how heritage can inspire designs today.
Allan Fan and Poe Cheung from Studio Nous, a Hong Kong multidisciplinary design studio, introduce Radiant Eateries: Hong Kong Restaurant Neon Sign Drawings. This book incorporates four additional fluorescent inks to achieve distinctive day and night visual effects, guiding readers to appreciate and re-examine 1950s-to-1970s neon sign artworks from two perspectives – day and night.
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