For several decades, the graphic design industry in Hong Kong has brought to the world countless artistic works and designs distinctive to the east-meets-west culture of their birthplace. Most of these works have already been incorporated into the daily life of Hong Kong citizens—such as the distinctive wavy design of Watson’s water bottle, as well as the proud and colorful logo that soars on the Brand Hong Kong website.
To maintain Hong Kong’s place in the world of design, our graphic designers have undertaken many efforts to promote Hong Kong’s designs as well as develop future talents.
The Graphic Design Industry’s Development
Since the 1960s, Hong Kong’s graphic design industry has been steadily developing and maturing. For many years, brand design has been one of the most popular fields within the industry. Next time you walk down the street, remember to look around you. You’ll discover that a large number of major brands had their iconic logos designed by famous local graphic designers.
In 2019, ‘multimedia, visual and graphic design’ belonged to one of the largest sub-sectors of the design sector, taking up 36% of total design establishments in Hong Kong. As the industry continues to grow and Hong Kong designs receive more social recognition, graphic designers nowadays are involved in a wide range of projects and have extensive experience in more fields such as UI/UX design and publication design, in addition to brand design.
Gradually, like other design sub-sectors, the graphic design industry no longer serves the Hong Kong community alone. Instead, it provides services for both local and external demand.
Photo Credit: Tranmautritam@pexels
The Appeals of Hong Kong Design and Market Outlook
Among export markets, mainland China has the greatest demand for Hong Kong’s design goods and services, because more and more mainland companies are looking to expand to overseas markets. Through brand re-design, they wish to appeal to an international audience, while staying competitive in the domestic market.
Yet, it is often difficult for mainland companies to balance both eastern and western elements in their designs. This is where Hong Kong designers come in. With their rich knowledge of both Chinese culture and international market practices, Hong Kong graphic designers are able to deliver tailor-made brand re-designs and other high-quality creative services.
Supporting Industry Development and Nurturing of Talents
Every year, around 3000 design graduates enter the industry. To support the continuous growth and development of Hong Kong’s graphic design industry, the government and other local designer associations have organized different programs and events.
Since 2009, the government’s Create Hong Kong Office (CreateHK) has offered funding to graphic designers in the form of the CreateSmart Initiative (CSI). In the wake of the COVID pandemic, the industry has benefitted greatly from funding support to continue its creative activities and promote local designs overseas.
Local professional designer associations like the Hong Kong Designers Association (HKDA), the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) and the Hong Kong Federation of Design Associations (FHKDA) organize multiple events annually that show off the fruits of labor of Hong Kong’s talented graphic designers to the international design community.
More importantly, several of these events like the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award aim to cultivate fresh, young talents to sustain the continuous development of Hong Kong’s graphic design community.
Of course, in addition to these public groups, the support from local design companies, freelancers, educational groups and so on cannot be ignored. We at Krystal Institute also value the development of Hong Kong's graphic design industry and have offered a number of courses teaching design software to promote the industry's longevity.
Photo Credit: Sasin Tipchai@Pixabay
Let’s see where our designs can take us
Hong Kong’s graphic designs have won international acclaim and recognition thanks to decades of hard work by our graphic designers. With continuous new opportunities coming from the mainland and other markets, and as younger generations of graphic designers enter the scene, we can look forward with excitement to where our designs can take us.
