LOS ANGELES, US - Media OutReach - 23 September 2019 - The fourth Design Exchange Tour (DXTour) organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) was successfully held from 14to 22 September in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Twelve emerging Hong Kongdesigners were selected to join a nine-day inspiration trip enriched withexchange opportunities as well as study visits that emphasise how design isresponding to technology shifts in an ever more connected society.

Twelve Hong Kong designers of DX Tour posed for a photo with the 4 speakers of TATHK's thematic session "Design x Technology: Now and Beyond". 

An audience is trying the VR experience by the emerging Hong Kong designer Roy Lo (Creote Studio; left) at "Design x Technology: Now and Beyond" session at TATHK.

Some delegates also participated at the "Co-creating Hong Kong, a Design+ Exhibition" in San Francisco.

Organised by HKDC and sponsoredby Create Hong Kong, the DX Tour aims to reinforce HKDC's mission of establishingHong Kong as a creative hub of design excellence in Asia, through expanding theglobal vision of emerging local designers and cultivating their aspirations forproducing designs with international impact. The DX Tour 2019 is an opportunity for Hong Kong to connect with the BayArea in the US to explore future co-creations in design and beyond. Three DXTours featuring different Hong Kong designers have been successfully held inBangkok, Melbourne and Tokyo since 2018.

"Hong Kong is a dynamic,multi-cultural city known for its can-do, entrepreneurial spirit, understandingof global and local values as well as agility in responding to new phenomena,"said Prof. Eric Yim, JP, Chairman of HKDC. "The twelve designers at DX TourCalifornia represent an emerging force which is well-poised to tap into thedesign culture in California and create new creative connections between theBay areas in California and China."

Two flagship events werestaged during the tour, namely the "Co-creating Hong Kong" exhibition in theheart of the theatre district in San Francisco, and a thematic session at the "ThinkAsia, Think Hong Kong" (TATHK) conference in Los Angeles. Both events discussedthe expanding role of design in tackling a broad range of imminent and globalchallenges from technology, to sustainability and community. Co-creatingthrough design is becoming ever more relevant for tackling complex urban andsocial issues, and the co-creative spirit shall reinforce Hong Kong's dynamic exchangewith the rest of the world.

Co-hosted by the Hong KongEconomic and Trade Office in San Francisco and Hong Kong Design Centre, withthe support of AIGA San Francisco, the "Co-creating Hong Kong" exhibition featured14 unique projects by Hong Kong's leading and emerging creative talent, some ofthem being delegates of the DX Tour. The exhibition posed an opportunity forthe two multicultural and strategically positioned cities to explore futureco-creations in design and beyond.

The thematic session at TATHKconference, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong KongDesign Centre, examined the topic "Design x Technology: Now and Beyond".Moderated by Dr Edmund Lee (Executive Director of HKDC), it addressed how designthinking is being progressively adopted to address critical issues and bringforth meaningful human values, experience and impact. The panel featured leadingHong Kong designers Mui Kinoshita (CEO, ASA Innovation & Technology),Chelsea Lau (Design Director of Ford Smart Mobility, Ford Motor), Victor Wong(Multimedia artist, vfxNova), and Karr Yip (Founder, SOSOC). The conferencesession also gave the 12 emerging Hong Kong designers and panel speakers theopportunity to showcase their work to the American audiences.

In addition to the flagshipevents, the DX Tour also consists of study trips to studios and companies inSan Francisco with a strong portfolio in product innovation, enterpreneurialculture and in applying design thinking in both business and social domains. Thedelegates visited industry leaders at Autodesk Gallery, IDEO, Oculus, and Whipsaw.The study trips in Los Angeles offered inspiration on the cross-over betweendesign, fashion, spatial experience, entertainment and digital media, such asvirtual and augmented reality. Studios visited include Fashion Institute ofDesign and Merchandising, Portals XR, Southern California Institute ofArchitecture, and Virtue (the creative agency by VICE). 

The DX 2019 delegationcomprises emerging designers from various design disciplines from fashion todigital media, architecture and product design. Among them are also pastwinners of the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA), andincubatees of the Design Incubation Programme (DIP) and Fashion IncubationProgramme (FIP) organised by HKDC. Upon returning to Hong Kong, these designerswill base on the "Co-creating Hong Kong" exhibition to present theirinspiration from the tour as a finale at a similar exhibition which will be curatedfor Hong Kong audiences at DesignInspire, to be held in the Hong KongConvention and Exhibition Centre from 5 to 7 December, 2019.

The twelve Hong Kongdesigners who participated in DX Tour include Alan Cheung (onebitedesign), HenryChu (pill & pillow), ), Ian Hau (XLMS), Bodin Hon (Yellowdot Design), FionaLau (FFIXXED STUDIOS), Mazing Lee (Lify), Michael Leung (Studio AA), Roy Lo(Creote Studio), Kat Luk (eMotionLab), Emily Tang (Studio Doozy), Clement Tien(Arical), and Nicholas Tsao. 

Please download the pressphotos at:

https://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/DX2019-photos.zip

About Hong Kong Design Centre

HongKong Design Centre (HKDC) is a non-governmental organisation, and was foundedin 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing HongKong as an international centre of design excellence in Asia. Our publicmission is to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking tocreate business value and improve societal well-being, with the aim ofadvancing Hong Kong as an international design centre in Greater Bay Area andin Asia.

HKDC'sflagship programmes include Business of Design Week, DFA Awards, Knowledge ofDesign Week, Design Incubation Programme, Fashion Incubation Programme, andFASHION ASIA HONG KONG. Learn more about us at www.hkdesigncentre.org