Lingnan UniversityMCS Programme

Designing Culture:History and Culture inDesigning Hong Kong

by P.H. Fu Email: pinghongfu2@ln.edu,hk

Thursday, 15 March 20121

History and Culture in Designing Hong Kong

- This essay looks at the design elements in one aspect of Hong Kong’s cultural heritage. It traces the role of Hong Kong in the national history of China, with Dr Sun Yat-sen’s part as the main focus.

- We’ll take a glimpse at the life of Dr Sun and his associates in HK

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1) Web-based Design - Museum

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum was established in Hong Kong in 2006 to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founding father of republican China who led the revolution against the corrupt Qing dynasty. The Qing emperor ruled over China for more than 300 years since 1644. The last emperor abdicated in 1912, when revolution spread throughout the country. The website is designed by LCSD.

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Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum

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Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum

- Dr Sun Yat-sen was a world-renowned revolutionary

- He devoted his entire life to overthrowing the Qing dynasty

- Founded the first democratic, republican government of China to replace dynastic rule

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Dr Sun Yat-sen

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Dr Sun Yat-sen in Hong Kong

- Dr Sun Yat-sen had a close relationship with Hong Kong

- He received his secondary and university education in Hong Kong

- Trained and qualified as a medical doctor but devoted to revolutionary cause and became first President

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The Case of Virtual Museum

- Museum curators were at first very wary about building a websites for their museums. Museum websites began to appear in the 1950s.

- People who visit the websites of museums will still need to experience the physical museums

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2) Design on the Street - Signage

As signposts along the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Trail, the road signage marks the location of the site where revolutionary Mr. Yeung Ku-wan was assassinated by a sniper sent by the Qing Government. He was shot dead right in front of his students on the first floor of No.52, Gage Street in Sheung Wan District on Hong Kong Island.

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Dr. Sun’s Historical Trail

- Dr. Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail was established in 1996 to mark the important historical sites of Dr Sun’s life and work

- Signage were set up at various locations with a unity of design and other elements

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Dr. Sun’s Historical Trail Map

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Site of Yeung’s Assassination

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3) Object Design - Grave

Yeung Ku-wan (1861-1901) was Dr. Sun’s revolutionary partner in Hong Kong. He was a devoted to the cause of overthrowing the Qing dynasty. Yeung formed a literary society which advocated revolution. He later joined Dr Sun and formed a political party that later became the nationalist Kuomintang (“KMT”, or Guomindang in pinyin). It gained military support and founded a republic.

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Yeung’s No-Name Grave

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Object Design - Grave

- Yeung was assassinated in Jan 1901 and buried in the cemetery in Happy Valley, but the tombstone was left uninscribed for fear of desecration by the Qing authorities

- The grave was designed to show Yeung’s character of integrity

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Information Plaque Added

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Plaque Added to Grave

- LCSD installed in September 2011 an information plaque at the unnamed grave of Yeung Ku-wan in the cemetery in Happy Valley as part of centenary of 1911 Revolution

- Made of granite to blend in with the graveyard environment

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4) Official Design - Postage Stamps

The example here is an official set of stamps issued by Hongkong Post to commemorate the Xinhai Revolution in 1911. Xinhai is the traditional way of recording in the Chinese calendar. The stamps were issued to mark the centenary of the Chinese revolution in October 1911 that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. This set of stamps were designed by Hong Kong designer Clement Yick.

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Official Design - Stamps

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Official Design - Stamps

- Stamps issued on October 10, 2011 to mark the centenary of the Chinese Revolution in 1911

- Using a newspaper layout design with headlines in red, the stamps highlight key figures and events of the Chinese revolution

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5) Interaction Design - National Flag

The national flag embodies an interaction design because seeing the flag of one’s own country often arouses spirit of nationalism and patriotism. It is generally the case that a national flag will fly only at official sites. The flags flying in the picture above are those at Rennie’s Mill, a refugee resettlement area in Tseung Kwan O (demolished before 1997) at the “Double Tenth Festival”.

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Design – National Flag

- Original design by revolutionary Kuomintang member Lu Hao-tung (陸皓東 , Lu Haodong in pinyin system)

- The “blue sky, white sun and solid red field” is esthetically stimulating and encouraging

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Initial Design of KMT Flag

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National Flag of KMT Taiwan

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Common Media Response (1)

The Diplomat is a Tokyo-based current affairs magazine covering politics, society and culture in the Asia-Pacific. It was first published in April 2002, originally a bi-monthly print magazine. In August 2009 it moved completely online to avoid continued losses in the printed edition. The magazine included a mix of guest writers and regular correspondents and analysts.

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Common Media Response

- “The Diplomat” report - China’s new J-20 fighter plane - China tried to copy AL-31F

engine imported from Russia - Production of Chinese fighters

mostly low-grade copies of Russian designs

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Common Media Response

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Common Media Response (2)

Yahoo! News is an Internet-based news aggregator provided by Yahoo!. It categorizes news into different categories. In 2001, it launched the most emailed page on the web, created by its software engineer Tony Tam. Since 2011, Yahoo! has expanded its focus to include original content, as part of its plan to become a major media organization.

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Common Media Response

- “Yahoo! News” report - Chinese designer (Masha Ma)

finds fashion home in Paris - Born in Shanghai and received

fashion design education and worked for 10 years in London before coming to Paris

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Common Media Response

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End of Presentation

Thank you!

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