“HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards” Exhibition at PMQ

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

 

It would be fair to say Hong Kong’s design industry has come a long way in the last two decades. Once upon a time, Hong Kong design was regarded as ‘copycat’ with little originality and creativity. Before the handover, Hong Kong design was highly influenced by Japanese design; lacking its own identity, it was either too Japanese or too kitsch. Yet things started to change after the handover. Perhaps the struggle to find its own identity has made the designers in Hong Kong reflect and explore deeper – instead of looking outwards, they began to look inwards, and the results are revealed in their design works.

 

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

 

Established in 1972, the Hong Kong Designers Association (HKDA) is the first of its kind in Hong Kong for practising designers and design administrators, HKDA Global Design Awards (GDA) is a biennial design competition organised by HKDA since 1975. The competition included 4 main design categories including Digital, Graphics, Product and Spatial.

The exhibition at PMQ’s Qube showcased the high quality competition entries across the four categories. By embracing its unqiue ‘East meets West’ heritage, Hong Kong design has found a new and confident voice – one that is different from other East Asian countries. Yet this voice is also a global one, which transcends language and culture. The designs no longer scream out ‘Made or designed in Hong Kong’, because we live in a globalised world today, and good designs should be global, not local.

I look forward to seeing more interesting work in the future.

 

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

Product design

 

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

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Packaging

 

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

Typography

 

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Exhibition

 

 

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

img_4121-min  HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

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HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition  HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition  HKDA Global Design Awards 2018 Awards Exhibition

Posters

Braun Design Collection & Dieter Rams

Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection

 

Like London, New York and Paris, Berlin is a cultural city well-known for its world-class art museums. Aside from art, the city also have many inspiring photography and design museums and galleries. The Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design is an obvious choice for all design lovers. However, as a design geek and fan of German product designer Dieter Rams, I would highly recommend the lesser-known and almost tourist-free Braun-Sammlung Ettel Museum für Design.

Hidden away in a leafy and quiet residential neighbourhood Moabit, it is easy to miss the entrance to this collection. Not only that, the collection is only open on Mondays and Sundays from 11-5pm, so you certainly have to plan ahead before your visit.

 

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Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection

 

In the world of industrial and product design, Dieter Rams is like David Bowie in the music world. He worked as an in-house designer for Braun for four decades (1955 – 95), and oversaw the design and production of over 500 products. His design ethos have influenced many contemporary industrial designers, including Jasper Morrison, Naoto Fukasawa (designer of Muji) and Jonathan Ive, the head designer of Apple.

Influenced by the principles of Bauhaus and later Ulm College of DesignRams‘ “Less, but better” motto is evident in his designs. He came up with his well-known ten principles of “good design” after proposing the question to himself: “Is my design good design?”. And these principles continue to act like precepts for design students, designers and architects etc today.

 

Braun Design Collection

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This small private museum showcases a vast and fantastic Braun collection that belongs to one man, Werner Ettel. It is hard to imagine how one person could own such an extensive array of household products spanning over decades. As soon as I stepped in, I was like a kid in a candy store, and I didn’t even know where to start… I was also feeling nostalgic to be surrounded by all these vintage objects around me.

 

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Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

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Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

The radio collection

 

Although the forms and technology of the products have changed over the years, they all share the “Modern, functional and honest” principles. The products are minimalist in appearance, and they have a timeless aesthetic and appeal. I particularly love the door handles; I wish that contemporary door handles designers could learn more from the master. 

Then I spotted some familiar items: shavers owned by my father, and a travel alarm clock given to me by him when I was a teenager. Maybe it’s time to rummage my family home to look for some vintage Braun products hidden away in storage somewhere.

 

Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection

braun design collection

Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

 

Before I left, I bought a braun poster as a way of supporting the free-entry museum. Cool private museums like these are hard to come by these days, and I hope it will continue to inspire young and future designers from around the world. If you appreciate good designs, then this hidden gem is a must when you visit Berlin – just make sure you come on Mondays and Sundays only.

 

Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection

Braun Design Collection  Braun Design Collection

 

Address: Elberfelder Str. 37, Moabit, 10555 , Berlin.