DFA awards 2011: rising stars from hong kong

in the world of design, creativity is the key to differentiating an excellent practitioner from the field. it is also important for a designer to understand the value of integrating unique visions into practical application throughout their careers, in order to successfully navigate the world of design.

aiming to groom a new generation of world-class designers and sustain the design excellence established by design gurus from hong kong, the hong kong design centre (HKDC) has introduced the hong kong young design talent (HKYDT) award scheme, including the designsmart young design talent award, the HKDI young design talent educational award and the polyu school of design young design talent educational award, to identify and encourage budding designers and design graduates to undergo training and work placements abroad. four local rising stars, two of them practicing designers under 30 and two design graduates, have been honored to broaden their horizons and immerse themselves in the international melting pots of creativity.

the annual designsmart young design talent award recognizes two young practicing hong kong designers by granting HKD 0.5 million to each to work and study overseas, providing sufficient resources to encourage them in pursuing excellence in their own design terrains.

‘micro symphony’ by chris cheung

one of the winners, chris cheung hon him is an award-winning practicing new media and interaction designer and the founder of XEX GRP creative studio, who has achieved an impressive track record in audiovisual and interactive design. leveraging his background in music, he is devoted to putting new media into theatric performance, turning the stage into an exhibition area. in the future, chris plans to combine his knowledge from various fields to bring audiences more innovative audiovisual impacts as well as setting an inspiration for ‘the world full of possibility’ through new media design.

‘light up’ by topaz leung

after studying digital graphic communication in hong kong baptist university, topaz leung began her career by drifting from words, and graphic design to photography, as she believed multi-discipline creation to be the future of mainstream creative industry. as the founder of studio TM, her clients include renowned fashion brands, non-profit organizations and property owners.  she has been a guest speaker for communication degree courses at the chinese university of hong kong, and the fashion image design program at the hong kong institute of vocational education, sharing her experience with local designers-to-be. in the view of her contributions to design, the designsmart young design talent award recognizes not only her achievements, but also her impressive and eccentric works, which have great potential to inspire the local creative industry in the future.

‘pond & pine’ by tse yan-lamb

winner of HKDI young design talent educational award, tse yan-lamb , a graduate in product design from the hong kong design institute, has been commissioned to turn trash into treasure. her design concept is to link silent apathetic technology with the end user, so in her work, ‘pond &pine’, she has created a simple yet practical pond-like wash basin, and built in a red-inked fish-shaped projector, utilizing the disappearance of the fish’s image to remind the user about water wastage and conservation. this work also demonstrates her vision to influence the community through eco-friendly design and cultural preservation.

‘about rabbit’ by wong chor kiu

yoko wong, the winner of polyu school of design young design talent educational award, believes the ultimate goal of design is to establish resonances between designers and users. this led her to create about rabbit , a book targeting 5 to 7 years old children, o convey a didactic mannerism acting as a medium between the young generation and nature. aiming to infuse design to daily lives in a delighted atmosphere, yoko would love to share her learned thoughts on design and human behaviors on her return from the forthcoming overseas study trip, and experience arts performance in a new dimension.

the winners

these four rising stars excel in different design terrains, and we all wish them can fly with their talents and dreams, to expose themselves to as much world-class design as possible and contribute back to hong kong, a dynamic design hub of asia.