With their Business of Design Week coming up in December, we thought we would reach out to the Hong Kong Design Centre and see what they’ve been up to recently. We found out more about the HKDC Library, their Design Incubation Programme and plans for the future.
Q: Please tell us a little about the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) and its role in the design community, both in Hong Kong and internationally.
Design for Society is the major undertaking of Hong Kong Design Centre. HKDC is a non-profit organisation and a strategic partner of the Hong Kong SAR Government in developing Hong Kong as an international design hub in Asia. Since 2002, HKDC has been on a public mission to firstly champion strategic and wider use of design for creating business value and community benefits; secondly to promote and celebrate design excellence; and finally to educate the professions and the community to be resourceful champions for sustained developments through design and innovation.
Q: More and more, design and design thinking is recognised as an important tool for shaping business practices. Can you tell us more about how/why HKDC created Business of Design Week (BODW)?
HKDC has been the organiser of Business of Design Week since 2002, which provides a world-class platform for the exchange of ideas. It is an annual international event aimed at promoting design and strengthening ties between the design and business communities. Each year, BODW attracts design and business elites from around the world to Hong Kong. The world’s attention is drawn to current design issues through various exhibitions, international forums and outreach activities tailored to provide designers, business leaders, educators, SMEs and the public with communication opportunities to build strong business and commercial development.
Q: What can we expect this year at BODW?
This year, we are delighted to welcome Barcelona to BODW 2015 as our first ever partner city. Partnering with a city rather than a country puts our focus squarely on this year’s programme embrace of community and culture. Design in Barcelona is both community-driven and forward-thinking, but never at the cost of the city’s rich traditions.
Hong Kong and Barcelona both value the power of design in creating business and societal values. It is a timely juncture to explore how good design contributes to cities of the future. We are excited to explore new possibilities and expand our horizon. We also look forward to working closely with our community collaborators PMQ, partners, and our line-up of world-class speakers sharing their insights and project experience from Hong Kong, Barcelona and from around the world.
Q: HKDC founded a special library of design in 2008 dedicated to promoting design knowledge and enhancing the public’s interest in design. Can you tell us a little more about the library and its collection?
HKDC Library is dedicated to promoting design knowledge and enhancing the public’s interest in design – in line with the major undertaking of the organisation, Design for Society. HKDC Library boasts 1,900 design books and 120 titles of international design magazines with regular new acquisitions.
The “Hong Kong Design Section” features monographs and publications by local designers. The “Asian Design Magazine Section” has a vast collection of magazines, sourced from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. New books on specific design topics, design DVDs and computer facilities are also available for users.
HKDC Library will continue to enhance the understanding of design among members of the public and provide a dynamic platform for the sharing and discussion of design knowledge.
Q: What is HKDC’s Design Incubation Programme?
As a major incubation programme fully supported and funded by the Hong Kong SAR Government and managed by HKDC, the Design Incubation Programme (DIP) aims to nurture design start-ups at the early stage of their business development, with hardware and software support.
Under the programme, each incubation company is expected to graduate within a period of up to two years. Throughout the incubation period, incubatees will enjoy a variety of support services including ready-to-use office, financial subsidies, business development and networking sessions to better prepare design-preneurs to meet the competitive challenges during the early and critical stages of development. Industrial organisations, academic institutes, investment angels, professional bodies and business partners are valued supporters of this programme.
Q: What HKDC events will we be hearing about in 2016? What does the future hold for HKDC?
Apart from the annual programmes like Business of Design Week (BODW), Knowledge of Design Week (KODW), DFA Awards and other initiatives with collaborating partners, we will put more emphasis on fashion initiatives in future – promoting local fashion designers and brands and nurturing fashion design start-ups in the next few years. We look forward to help establish Hong Kong as a regional fashion hub in Asia.
About Hong Kong Design Centre
The Hong Kong Design Centre is a non-profit organisation founded by the Hong Kong Federation of Design Associations, with support from the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Our founding members include Hong Kong Designers Association (HKDA), Interior Design Association Hong Kong (HKIDA), Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association (HKFDA), and the Chartered Society of Designers, Hong Kong (CSDHK).
www.hkdesigncentre.org
