I recently took a half-month trip to Hong Kong, and spent the better part of my free time scouring the suburbia and the… urbia. In any case, it’s no surprise that what came across was a thriving mish-mash of Western and Eastern design constructs.

In contrast to Macau — essentially a Portuguese city in style, population and culture since the mid-1500s — Hong Kong is far younger. Its first brick was set in 1841, and perhaps because it’s so young, it has a much more modern flair to its urban plan and its architecture. The Hong Kongers (their phrase, not mine) also seem to be of multiple mindsets: slightly socially conservative, yet eager to try the next radical idea. This can have a downside in that little regard is paid toward older, “historical” buildings… which more often than not tend to get torn down like bad wallpaper for the Next Big Thing. But it also hits home with a vibrant design community stuck between both Western and Chinese themes.

A Suggestion

If you’re of a younger bent, reverse my own trip a bit and make one of your first stops a small cafe in the eastern Hong Kong neighborhood of Causeway Bay. After School Cafe is populated by hip twenty-somethings playing Mahjong in the back, and aged wooden primary school desks scattered across the small cafe floor. It’s a great evening stop after touring the endless shops in the Causeway Bay area, and it’s open until 1:00am. My kind of place.

More importantly, it was a perfect location to pick up all sorts of local design ‘zines and event listings, which among other things led our noses to some great galleries and design shops along Hollywood Road and Gough Street.

The Arrangement

Media has always taken its own unique turns in Hong Kong, with broadcast media in particular blossoming after the 1950s. (Just ask anyone there who “Fei Fei” is, and they’ll talk your ear off about one of their most beloved screen stars of the era.) I took a particular interest in how the shapes and styles of type affected print design — obviously the slashes and complex strokes of Chinese characters lend a decidedly different aesthetic to a poster or a page than the rounded, airy shapes of Roman characters. Even the magazine covers across each language screamed a difference in how one goes about designing for each.

A Surprise

I was not, admittedly, expecting to find the French artist pair Antoine + Manuel with their own massive installation at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. The museum itself is a bit of a hike northeast of Kowloon, in Sha Tin; but definitely worth it to see what this vector-inspired duo can do when given a room to themselves.

In effect I was left with the distinct impression that there is a sizable appreciation and support level for good design amongst Hong Kongers, and a decidedly more Western-influenced style than in Taiwan or Japan. I’m looking forward to further inspiration-inducing trips abroad in the near future — and for now, you can browse a larger set of shots I took around the area on my Flickr page, here.