[News from Institutions]“Hong Kong Design Institute Emerging Design Talents 2023: Embrace”
combining tradition and innovation to promote sustainable design

Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is hosting an annual Emerging Design Talents exhibition with the theme “Embrace” from today until 8 September 2023 to showcase various innovative design projects by its graduates. The exhibition not only demonstrates graduates’ professional design capabilities but also how they incorporate traditional culture with innovative technology in this multicultural era, emphasising the elements of “inclusion” and “acceptance” to improve human life and promote social sustainability. 

The exhibition gathers over 500 pieces of designs from graduates across areas such as Architecture, Interior and Product Design, Communication Design, Digital Media, Fashion and Image Design, and Jewellery Arts and Design, among others. As part of its efforts to cultivate outstanding young design talent and leaders, the Advanced Design Studio (ADS) programme by HKDI is launching the metaverse themed project “MetaDI” and the “Play Culture” game design project promoting multiculture this year. On 24 June 2023, the public is cordially invited to participate in the “Game Day for Play Culture”, where they can try out the giant Kowloon City-themed Monopoly and Hong Kong athletes-themed card game “Sports Battle GOGOGO”, and experience the charm of “Embrace” of multiculturalism first-hand. Participants will also have the opportunity to receive exclusive souvenirs and continue the artistic atmosphere in their homes.

Highlights of “Hong Kong Design Institute Emerging Design Talents 2023: Embrace”

Among the impressive shows, “The Revolutionary Image of The New Generation” is a runway show featuring a series of wearable artworks and revolutionary hair and makeup styling, fashion styling and stage costumes with stunning effects under the theme of “Alice in Wonderland”.  Another runway show, “New Fashion Force” featuring 40 best fashion collections from graduates of the Higher Diploma in Fashion Design, demonstrating their unique creativity and presenting the latest trends in fashion design. Louise WONG, actress of the film Anita will be joining forces to present the award.

Another highlight of the event is the “Starlight Show", an innovative digital media show featuring films, animations and digital music projects created by graduates from the Department of Digital Media will bring the audience into an intertwined world of sound and visuals.

“Embrace” multicultural era
While designing, a designer’s personal experiences and cultural background often bring multiple perspectives to the public. MASE John Marcus Banday, a graduate of the Higher Diploma in Fashion Design from the Philippines, drew inspiration from the iconic Filipino women’s national costume “Filipiniana” to create the “Maharlika” series of women’s clothing. This series pays tribute to the strong women in his life, as well as the feminist artist Georgia O’Keeffe. It is also a love letter from Banday, blending Filipino culture and feminist ideas to imbue women’s wear with the concepts of nobility and power.

Another graduate of the Higher Diploma in Fashion Image Design, Ian TSUI, believes that “confidence” is elusive and has no substantive way or method of attainment. Through his work “Queen”, he explores the changes, perspectives, and even fears that come with the process of gaining confidence, hoping to remind people that everyone is worthy of love and needs to love themselves.

Hong Kong films were popular worldwide in the 1980s and 1990s and became the memories of many people’s childhoods. Kimbo WONG, a graduate of the Higher Diploma in Film, Television and Photography, pays tribute to this bygone era in his film “A Moment”. His work delivers a message that life has its ups and downs, just like films have twists and turns. What’s important is to enjoy the journey of life. The work has employed  Dolby Atmos, using three-dimensional surround sound effects to make the sound more realistic and allow the audience to feel as if they are in a real environment.

Meanwhile, a group of 11 graduates from the Higher Diploma in Film, Television and Photography program have collaborated with the project sponsor Centre of National History Education (Hong Kong) to produce a short film in a fictional story format. The film portrays Li Shizhen as an herbalist KOL who had a time travel from ancient to modern world and faced the chaos of a world without the “Compendium of Materia Medica” during the current pandemic. This inspired him to return to ancient times to write the compendium which lays the foundation for modern taxonomy and Chinese herbal medicine.

Games are a symbol of an era because they reflect the culture and preferences of contemporary people. Under the guidance of industry experts and mentors, 18 graduates from the Department of Communication Design have created the “Play Culture” game design project, infusing contemporary thinking and design into classic games to create new games. “Bumper Pig” is a scientific ball game which showcases graduates’ creativity in revitalising the traditional marble games with new play ideas. The game allows players to learn the principle of Collision theory, which aligns with the idea of “Play and learn science”.
 
In addition, the Centre of Design Services and Solutions (CDSS) of HKDI has teamed up with five unique cultural and creative local businesses in the Sham Shui Po area to hold a “Step In Style: Design for Community Competition”. Graduates from multiple programmes dived deep into the community to design diverse marketing and promotional design concepts and prototype products tailored to participating stores. This helps enhance the brand image of the stores and extend the idea of “Embrace” into the community. 

CHAN Wai-ting, CHUI Wing-sze and TSE Wing-ting, graduates of the Higher Diploma in Fashion Branding and Buying, received the Gold Award in Team Category. Their design aimed to showcase the brand’s value of preserving the old while promoting the new by striking a balance between tradition and modernity and establishing a connection with Sham Shui Po to evoke people’s old memories of the community. They hope that the newly designed wooden fragrance box could be as a legacy to the next generation.

“Embrace” creative technology
Innovation and technology have become a global development trend, and the metaverse has emerged as a new gaming platform with unique advantages. A group of graduates from the Department of Communication Design have created “MetaDI” that combine cutting-edge technology with creativity, providing players with immersive interactive experiences such as virtual campus tours and games. It also gives students a greater sense of belonging to real campus life and will be promoted in the community.  

Traditional windsurfing equipment often fails to meet the needs of people with disabilities, making it difficult for them to participate in. To address this problem, MA Kwan-lam, a graduate of the Higher Diploma in Product Design, designed “Xsail”, a new inflatable windsurfing equipment that comes with a board which can be easily connected to a coach and a floating system with increased buoyancy. It enables beginners and visually impaired individuals to enjoy windsurfing in a fun and safe way.

“Embrace” sustainable development
As the era continues to develop rapidly, all industries are increasingly focused on sustainable development, and the design industry is no exception. A graduate of the Higher Diploma in Architectural Design has noticed that wall cracking caused by weathering often occur in buildings, especially in the rooftops of old tenement buildings where plants can grow and damage the building structures. Therefore, he designed the architectural work “Root Top” to embody the mutual accommodation between nature and urban development. In order to avoid damaging plants and the building, the project incorporates trees and their root systems into the design as part of the tenement building architecture. A grid is built to reduce the impact of the root system on the building while adding a new dimension to the exterior walls. Additionally, an observatory is constructed on the rooftop for observing the growth of plants, combining sustainable development with architectural aesthetics.

A graduate of VTC’s Diploma of Foundation Studies – Design, also drew inspiration from crustaceans to create a biomimetic design gear backplate called “Strong”. Crustaceans like crabs and shrimp use their carapace to protect themselves and fend off external enemies, a feature that coincides with commonly used gears and armour designs in machinery. The designer used paper, a material which is often considered weak, to create a strong armour possible, hoping to raise public awareness of reconsidering the interrelationships among design, object and functionality.

The exhibition also showcases other outstanding works of HKDI students. The details are as below:

“Hong Kong Design Institute Emerging Design Talents 2023: Embrace” (Free Admission)

* “Game Day for Play Culture” will be held at Design Boulevard, HKDI on 24 June 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

About Hong Kong Design Institute 
Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is a member of VTC Group. HKDI was established in 2007 with the mission to be a leading provider of design education and lifelong learning, including architecture, interior and product design, communication design, digital media and fashion and image design. With a view to providing professional designers for the creative industries, it promotes the “think and do” approach and encourages interdisciplinary synergy in its broad range of design programmes that cultivate students’ cultural sensitivities and sense of sustainability. HKDI maintains a strong network with industry and provides its students with essential practical experience. Overseas exchanges are actively arranged for students to broaden their horizon and international perspective.

Website: www.hkdi.edu.hk

About Advanced Design Studio
The Advanced Design Studio is a synthetic and thorough outcome-based training scheme under HKDI aimed at cultivating a number of high-calibre and talented young design leaders for tomorrow, as well as facilitating students in reaching their higher potential for the challenging and fast-changing global and local societies. The programme promotes holistic development to better prepare graduates for their future career. Students will undergo a series of results-oriented training and internship to actively engage in various invaluable professional experiences with hands-on, trade-specific skills. The programme also makes available a mentorship network to strengthen students’ sense of belonging to the Institute in support of its continued development in the future.

About Centre of Design Services and Solutions
The Centre of Design Services and Solutions was established in 2019 as one of the Knowledge Centres at HKDI.  Its services comprise four areas, including Design Incubation, e-Commerce, Big Data Analysis, and Technology-driven In-store Experience.  The Centre is commissioned to serve as a knowledge exchange hub for academics and retailers locally, regionally and internationally, and to synergise latest developments, innovative ideas and best practices, with a vision to build business strategies and design solutions for future challenges.