Leadership Forum on Design Education 2022 invited discussions on design and entrepreneurship

Leadership Forum on Design Education 2022 was successfully held last Friday (25 November). The forum was held in physical mode and live-streamed online simultaneously. With both local and non-local audiences from 3 online platforms (Zoom, Bilibili and Vshibo), there were a total of over 7000 cumulative audiences joining the forum. We were glad to have 6 international design and business leaders—Prof. Francesco Zurlo, Mr André Nogueira, Prof. Peter Childs, Mr Hiroshi Tamura, Dr Jun Su and Mr James O — from both academic and industry to share their ideas on the significance of having the mindset, process and methods of design entrepreneurship under the vast development of business and technology in the modern age, and how education can keep up with the footsteps to nurture challenge-prepared talents. To prepare students to face today’s multi-faceted challenges, soft skills and crossdisciplinary knowledge should be incorporated into the education of design. Notions like entrepreneurship, leadership, technology, diversity, and communication are addressed in the forum as elements going along with design thinking. Such a trend in the change of design education has been adopted in PolyU Design’s new BA curriculum, to train students to have the mindset of entrepreneurship and the ability to create a start-up business. When it comes to entrepreneurship, risks, uncertainties, and failures are inevitable. At the forum, our speakers encouraged the embracement of risks, uncertainties, and failures and the building of a fearless mentality in business and innovations. Aside from accepting the existence of possible obstacles, these leaders also suggested solutions to manage and minimise their impacts, by researching and prototyping. The interactive dynamics between design and entrepreneurship was further illustrated in the panel discussions, divided in three aspects: (1) Design in Entrepreneurship, (2) Design for Entrepreneurship and (3) Design with Entrepreneurship. Conversation covering designers’ participation in an entrepreneurial organisation, effective design methods and tools in entrepreneurship and success in product and market performance allow further discussions and researches to shape the future of design, education and entrepreneurship. To revise the speeches and discussions, stay tuned for videos at designedasia.com.

Class of 2022 at the 28th Congregation of School of Design

'The best of luck, and may you be forever successful. Go out there and make us proud!' - Professor Kun-pyo Lee, Dean of School of Design.

The 2023/24 Undergraduate Programme Booklet is published!

The Undergraduate Programme Booklet 2023/2024 covers the followings that allow you get the first-hand information about the school and our undergraduate programmes. Student works are included to visualise what you can expect from studying at PolyU Design. Undergraduate programmes Admission Information About PolyU Design Integrated Capstone Student Works Booklets can be collected at Jockey Club Innovation Tower. For e-booklet, please view here

The 28th Congregation Dean's Welcoming Address and Valedictory Speeches

Welcoming Address by Prof. Kun-Pyo Lee, Dean of School of Design and Swire Chair Professor of Design, Alex Wong Siu Wah Gigi Wong Fook Chi Professor in Product Design Engineering (click herefor text version)  Valedictory Speech by Miss VONG Ka Hei - PM Session (click herefor text version) Valedictory Speech by Miss CHOW Hiu Yim Ceci - AM Session (click herefor text version)  Congregation Speaker, Mr Henry Steiner, School of Design Honorary Professor and Founder of Steiner&Co. (click here for text version)   Welcoming Address by Prof. Kun-Pyo Lee, Dean of School of Design and Swire Chair Professor of Design, Alex Wong Siu Wah Gigi Wong Fook Chi Professor in Product Design Engineering   Dear students, my warmest welcome to this year’s congregation. I would like to express my sincere congratulations to students graduating in the face of social unrest and an ongoing pandemic. You have earned the deserved respect of myself, professors, the School and Hong Kong. Bravo! Your courage is indeed our pride. Behind you, strongly stand family and friends who have helped you along the way. We salute them too! Thank you for always being there. As designers, we see the world changing around us every day, and at great speed too. Digital transformation is accelerating, and along with that, AI is rapidly replacing designer’s unique skill sets. Your creativity is key. These transformations need to be human-centred, and that is where designers can add value. I would like to emphasize the importance of data. You must become tech ‘athletes’ – target scientists, coders and engineers to help you tackle highly complex design problems. Indeed, students may have graduated in one area, but design is multi-disciplinary. You’ll not only be working within the bounds of your programme, but be working with other disciplines in an ever complex level of design. Using an inter-disciplinary mindset, your designer’s creativity can be applied to non-design disciplines. It’s the reason we are transforming both our education and research around these trends. Changes made to the Foundation Year and Master of Design curricula keep us at the forefront of design globally. For Art and Design, we currently rank 16th out of 2500 institutions globally in the QS World University Rankings. Our belief is that excellent schools are built by communities. We look forward to a new era of Hong Kong dynamism fuelled by a community of ambitious, risk-taking talent from our School. Remember – We are not individuals, but rather, a collective. And that, my friends, is where you all come in. When you succeed, we also succeed, and vice-versa. Your studies may be ending, but the working life is just beginning. It’s just as well, the world needs innovators and adventurers with an international mindset, more than ever. As Poly U grads, you are among the best. Show your abilities, creativity, teamwork, professionalism and strong ethics. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to extend your knowledge and experience to global issues. Design problems are both complicated and critical. Whether it is  sustainability, ESG, inequality or ageing, we need to think less about ‘how’, but more about ‘why’. Inequality is also a critical issue impacting the future of the planet; make one of your passions helping the underprivileged. The world can be very different to what you now know, so keep an open mind and be curious, inclusive and critical. Keep that in mind as you progress, and remember to update us on your work, adventures and news, whether they are ‘successes’ or ‘failures’ – all your work is a platform for debate, development and progression. You are explorers – the road will not always be smooth. Embrace  uncertainty and believe in your abilities. Whatever happens, we never stand alone. You are invaluable to us – this will always be a place you can call home. Your alma mater will always be a vital source to meet people, increase your network, and learn about new industries. You might even want to come back and join a lecture, or even give one to our students! The best of luck, and may you be forever successful. Go out there and make us proud.  (back to top)   Valedictory Speech by Miss VONG Ka Hei - PM Session Good afternoon and welcome honourable guests, School of Design, Dean Lee and the graduates of 2022. To the graduates of 2022, congratulations and great job, we have graduated in the face of a two year pandemic. I would like to say “Thank you” to PolyU for giving me a degree and the privilege to deliver this speech for the congregation of 2022. I am grateful for the opportunity to reflect on my university days and I can’t help but recall a lot of fond memories. Having said that, Year One was intense and confusing. With projects like “Body Extension” and “Narrative Framing”, I do remember our group model broke just one week before submission, and the sleepless nights spent installing our models at four am in Temple Street. Daniel and Henry were very honest about projects, perhaps too honest, that sometimes they neglected our feelings. Some of us cried, but I did really enjoy their way of teaching. In the end, they always gave us a list of questions for us to reflect and improve. Furthermore, when they gave compliments, it felt like winning an Oscar. Thank you, Daniel, and Henry, for your amazing teaching. I recall days where our models and drawings piled up the studio. We would work late at night with strong coffee and hyper music. I remember the day we were tired of the critiques and started playing “Thomas 小火車” in our models and Kuo stared at us with an disbelieving expression. We used to gather in circles after tutorials, discussing our projects and feedback. We exchange ideas, and beliefs, and sometimes debates, we explored everything together, and I cherish all these moments. The greatest lesson I learnt in university is the true meaning of passion and productivity. When I chose to study design, I believed I should work very hard for it. For every studio project, I was working days and nights, seven days per week. I was so attached to the project that I detached from living. I forgot to ask how my parents and friends were doing, forgot to hang out with them, make time for them… Moreover, perfectionism stepped in, where I became more anxious that things were not going in the direction I expected. I was in a toxic cycle of labour. However, after all those experiences, I believe being passionate and productive does not mean to solely focus on one goal, but rather enhance the balance of life, and help us live to the fullest. As Cara Delevingne once said “When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfilment and gratitude, and that’s when you can do your best for yourself and others”. Long walks at the beach, city or village should be encouraged, especially as a time to bond with family and as a moment to observe the surroundings. My final year and during job interviews, people asked me: “What do you want to do in the future?”, “What kind of projects do you want to work on?”, or “What is your career plan?” … To whoever asked those questions, I do not know the answer. I don’t have an organised and calculated career plan. When it comes to decision making, I often hesitated and felt intimidated because I was afraid of making the “wrong choices”. Nevertheless, there are no right choices. In every decision, there are consequences and benefits, and remember that nothing lasts forever. Being in an ever changing environment with both external and inner pressure meant that we would feel defeated and lost at times. Therefore, I would like to encourage all of us to always remember why we started, stay true to your passion, and just keep trying. Let me take this opportunity to appreciate the hard work and education provided by faculty members and university authorities. Thank you professors, for not only presenting us with knowledge, but also understanding. Thank you to all the cleaning staff, for keeping our studios organised and our models secure. Thank you parents, for your unconditional love, patience, and support during our studies. Thank you, friends, for being the greatest source of encouragement and helping hands in times of need. I would like to acknowledge my university besties, Emily and Ellie, you guys are my greatest source of inspiration. Once again, congratulations to the class of 2022.  (back to top)   Valedictory Speech by Miss CHOW Hiu Yim Ceci - AM Session Dear guests, teachers, fellow schoolmates and parents, welcome to the School of Design Congregation. My name is Ceci and it is my honour to be the representative of the graduating class this year. There have been plenty of memorable and remarkable moments in our time here. Having walked the same journey as my classmates. I would like to give the following notes of thanks on behalf of the graduating class: I would like to thank SD The School of Design, which has provided me with abundant opportunities to fulfil my potential. I have learned our role as designer and creator is not just problem-solving and providing elegant solutions. The impact of good design reach far into our culture and society. Paul Rand said:“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that's why it is so complicated.” SD has made the impossible possible. We learned to create everything from zero. Designers are dreamers. We aspire to create our own projects, launch our own campaigns and make the world a better place. The School of Design is full of visionaries who expand our horizons. As Digital Media Design (DM) students, we are passionate about watching animations, movies and reading stories. But today, I am grateful to share my own story with all of you. Many people ask me what a SD student being is all about. I would say studying at SD has trained me to be multi-skilled, we have learned to become storytellers as well as animators or film makers. We use different media to create our stories. There is more than one way to create, and all skills are transferable. In this fast-changing world, being familiar with different media gives us a competitive edge to be flexible. I always find it interesting that even if we have different ambitions, we can still study together and learn from each other, no matter which path we ultimately take. This is a crucial skill that will help us throughout our careers. I have loved drawing since I was small, but I never thought that my works could be shown in theatres. I can now confidently write a story, create animation and make a film, and show it to the world. This passion to create and share has built a strong bond among ourselves, but can also influence people. Staying in the studio and working through the night was often a great and unforgettable experience for us to strengthen our friendships. We worked, ate, played, and slept in our studio. Most importantly, we grew up together. Challenged by different projects, we faced pressure and tight schedules. We became friends and comrades in arms. Without you guys, I could not have finished this degree. We now also have a strong bond with people who graduate in SD, and practice in this industry, to take out into the world. SD is a big family. I would like to express my greatest appreciation to my tutors and friends for their support. Our tutors were parents on campus who guided, supported and took care of us. We were able to share every happy moment and problems with them. They give us the freedom to explore. Special thanks must go to Jae and Step, for giving us criticism when we fell in love with our ideas too much! They always put us back on track and encouraged us to step out of our comfort zone, they also helped broaden our horizons by showing us interesting things to help us to be better. I would not be where I am today without you guys by my side. It is my pleasure to be valedictorian this year. I know what we learned from SD will last because design thinking skills matter. They will keep guiding us to make better decisions and influence society for the better. But before that… take a rest and think back to how we conquered these two years at the School of Design. Congratulations to all of you! I wish you all continue to tackle design challenges and emerge triumphant in your work and your life. Good luck and keep in touch!  (back to top)

Alumnus Mr James O awarded Outstanding PolyU Young Alumni Award 2022

Congratulations to our alumnus James O on winning of Outstanding PolyU Young Alumni Award 2022. For the achievement made as the Co-Founder and Head of Marketing and Advertising of GoGoX Holdings Limited, Mr. O is awarded for the Entrepreneurial Achievement category. The Award aims to give recognition to distinguished graduates of PolyU for their significant achievements in their respective fields as well as their contributions to their alma mater and society. Earlier this year, Mr. O was conferred Young Design Alumnus of the Year by PolyU Design for his continued exploration in the realm of application of integrating design and new technologies in enterprises and his enthusiasm for nurturing younger generations through talks and sharing. Mr. O is one of the speakers at our upcoming Leadership Forum on Design Education 2022. 

Remarks for graduates by Henry Steiner at the PolyU Design 28th Congregation

The following are the original remarks by Henry Steiner, Honourary Professor and Founder of Steiner&Co., who was unable to attend the ceremony as Congregation Speaker due to sickness: In college I was initially undecided between majoring in Visual Art or Literature and decided that it was much easier for me to draw one picture than to write a thousand words. So I chose the Visual Art Stream. At Hunter College in those days some of the star artists of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism were our teachers. But except for one class in printmaking and for reasons not understood at the time, I felt uncomfortable with painting. In my senior year, the printmaking teacher was assigned to discuss post-graduation work with me. We agreed that I had absolutely no future as a painter so he asked me what I had really enjoyed doing at college. I told him it was the extra-mural activities, like art editing the college newspaper, the literary magazine and yearbook, creating posters, and stage designs for school plays, etc. My mentor said: “You know, I also teach printmaking at Yale in a new department of the Art School. Why don’t you come and study Graphic Design?” I replied:  “Sure. What is that?” You see, at the time the only term I recognized was “commercial art”.  What had been a craft, albeit one that traced its lineage back to Gutenberg and even further back to the inscriptions on Trajan’s column in the Roman Forum, was by the 1950s, morphing into a sort of profession. But, is graphic design a profession?  I’d like to explore this question with you. To me, a real profession is one where you need to have a license, or other formal recognition, because malpractice could have serious consequences. It is said that while a doctor’s mistakes are buried, those of a lawyer are left hanging from the gallows for all to see. Incompetent graphic design may keep the shredder busy, or get you lost in a strange city, or result in a migraine headache. Incidentally, there is some confusion about the distinction between design as art or craft which was defined by a colleague as follows: “A designer tries to solve his client’s problems. A painter tries to solve his own problems.” Yes, we’re designers, not artists. Like most of us, I prefer to receive assignments, not to create them. This explains my discomfort with painting, mentioned earlier. I have no message to inflict on the world, but I love to solve communication problems for my clients. I should point out that this idea of Art (with a capital A) as something elevated which is dreamed up by inspired individuals following their passion, has only been around for the last 200 years or so. Before that, artists worked to order. They were hired to do portraits, landscapes, murals. Like a taxi, they don’t start moving before the meter goes down. The big shift in design in the 50s was away from a consistent, painterly “style”. Designers formed in that period prided themselves on not being recognizable, in not repeating themselves. Their satisfaction came from analyzing a client’s specific communication problem and coming up with a solution not resembling anything they’d created before. Can you picture a doctor who prescribes two aspirins a day to every patient she sees no matter what the complaint is ?  Get the analogy with a designer who pushes some variant of the same style on every client. The joy of design, for me, is in new challenges, in the surprises. Ideally the design solution reflects the client’s personality not mine. The designer/client relationship is a symbiotic one, and there are two ways of visualizing it.  One is to compare it with the structure of our brain. I’m sure you know about the functions of the left and the right hemispheres.  The left in computer language is a serial processor while the right is a parallel one.  Or put more simply, the left is numbers while the right is music. Another image is that of the Tai Chi symbol, the central visual element in Taoism. It stands for light/dark, hot/cold, male/female, plus/minus. Contrast gives life to a design.  Once you grasp this fact you realize the supreme importance of communications between the two. Our clients tend not to be thrilled by shapes and colors. They’re concerned with the bottom line. We must express to a client the reasoning behind a design solution in the form of a story which gives the idea underlying the proposal. Sometimes - and this should be our little secret – we might make up the story after creating the design. Now, this is not actually dishonest. Most creatives find out their true purpose after the fact. I’m sure you’ve had hints of how your subconscious can be working away even when you’re not. As form must follow function. There is another little secret. Most of our best ideas…. come from the client. There should be no shame or guilt attached to this revelation. Like a management consultant - or a psychoanalyst -  we should probe deeply and listen attentively to our clients. Our recommendation then comes from an insightful approach to their individual problems. It is from delving sensitively into our client’s story that we can uncover the idiosyncratic, the quirky, the fresh ideas they themselves didn’t appreciate before. I’d like to think design is a profession. My father was a dentist, my mother a seamstress, a sample maker on Manhattan’s Seventh Avenue. You could say it’s in my DNA. And design’s been good to me. Still, as a profession, design is a modest one; useful but not terribly prestigious. Somewhere between an architect and a tailor. But, as designers, we are here to make ordinary objects extraordinary – pleasant, useful, witty, and sometimes inspiring. Using our powers of observation and working with economy and improvisation, we battle the enemies: mediocrity, cynicism, neglect. What matters is to send,  through our craft,  modest messages which others will receive saying: “Somebody cared about this.”  Congratulations and warmest wishes in your design profession. More speeches at the 28th Congregation: Welcoming Address by Prof. Kun-Pyo Lee, Dean of School of Design and Swire Chair Professor of Design, Alex Wong Siu Wah Gigi Wong Fook Chi Professor in Product Design Engineering Valedictory Speech by Miss VONG Ka Hei - PM Session Valedictory Speech by Miss CHOW Hiu Yim Ceci - AM Session  

Master of Design offers local students an option for part-time mode of study for Sep 2023 Entry

The Master of Design (MDes) launched a revamped curriculum in 2022/23, offering four 1-year, full-time, studio-based professional degree programmes in design: Innovative Business Design, Intelligent Systems Design, Smart Service Design, and Transitional Environments Design. These programmes also offer part-time studies in 2023/24. The new part-time mode of study combines the best of both worlds – it offers design education in its typical hands-on studio setting yet is available for working professionals. In contrast to the conventional part-time, lecture-based studies where classes are held in the evening or at weekends, all MDes classes, offered in varying course types, are held during the day on weekdays. The MDes part-time mode of study may suit those with flexible work arrangements. The option to pursue the studies part-time means students may complete the 36 credits required for graduation in a longer time frame of 3 years with fewer credits each semester. The study pattern in practice is that part-time students take 6 credits, or occasionally 9 credits, in Semesters 1 and 2 in their Year 1 and Year 2. Over the 13-week semester, they attend 2 – 3 class sessions per week. A class session is timetabled for 3 hours and usually commences at 9:30 am or 2:30 pm. In the final stage of the study, students focus on their Capstone Project or Industry Research Project. The new mode of study responds to the new realities in the workplace. Many companies adopt hybrid work models, whereas the generation of younger professionals prefers a better work-life balance. Both full-time and part-time local students admitted to any Master of Design programme (Stream Codes: 73035-IBD/IBP/ISD/ISP/SSD/SSP/TED/TEP) can apply for the Targeted Taught Postgraduate Programmes Fellowships Scheme (the Fellowships Scheme) offered by the University Grants Committee (UGC). Read more about the Fellowships Scheme on eProspectus. Submit your online application via PolyU eAdmission.

EID student work won ‘Best of Best’ in The Architecture MasterPrize

We are proud to see our students’ works listed in The Architecture MasterPrize™ (AMP) and awarded the highest prize ‘Best of Best’ in multiple categories.  AMP is an international annual programme to celebrate higher education students and recent graduates who have proven their dedication to the fields of architecture, interior, landscape and urban design. Wing Sze Kung (Environment and Interior Design, 2022) is one of the three 2022 Student Winners, winning ‘Best of Best’ in four categories with her magnificent work ‘BAMBOO CRAFT FESTIVAL -A SPATIAL CELEBRATION OF HONG KONG’S CULTURAL HERITAGE’ (Tutor: Peter Hasdell). The work is nominated in five categories, including Cultural Architecture and ‘Best of Best’ in Green Architecture, Recreational Architecture, Installation and Structure, and Urban Design.     To preserve and revitalize Hong Kong’s disappearing cultural heritage under rapid urban development, the project uses bamboo structures as an interactive material to engage people to explore local street cultures and craftsmanship.  As for Lau To from the same cohort, his work ‘Dwelling as an expansion: Indeterminacy of the domestic boundary’ (Tutor: Anneli Giencke) is conferred 2022 Honourable Mention in Conceptual Architecture.  The notion is to transform the existing city landscape to fulfill the needs of changing life forms under the pandemic, with longer hours spent and more activities happening in our dwellings. The new dimension of city life and space-using are, therefore, introduced to create a vague physical boundary between exteriors and interiors.  To learn more about: Wing Sze Kung’s work: https://youtu.be/a-7YMjpZC4U Lau To’s work: https://youtu.be/Iz4Z3rybElU  

School of Design participated in production of Hong Kong Public Libraries exhibition

PolyU Design collaborates with Hong Kong Public Libraries to hold the “READiscovery / LIBRARY” Interactive Multimedia Exhibition to display the transformation in library services and reading forms along with the technological development in the past 60 years.  Themed with “Five Elements” and “the Universe”, the exhibition is comprised of six zones, entitled "Travel in Time", "Adventures in Succession", "The Odyssey of Collections", "Journey through the Virtual/Reality", "Co-creation of Stories", and "Exploration of Infinity".     “Changes in living habits have led people nowadays to prefer segmented reading. The opening of the exhibition allows visitors to walk through the time tunnel, and the guidance on the floor is like the index of a book, allowing visitors to decide their route,” said Dr Anthony Kong, curator of the exhibition and Assistant Professor at PolyU Design.  In addition to making the exhibition a freer space for visitors to choose their routes, digitalisation and interaction are also the biggest features of the exhibition. Two Digital Media students, Ceci and Helen, participated in the production of animation in the exhibition. In order to enrich the animated content, it required them to conduct research in advance.  “We hope to express the idea that words and knowledge in books carry the memories of different generations in our animation,” said Helen. As for the making progress, Ceci added that the making of animation was not difficult, with a few layers of drawings. They visited the Central Library, storey by storey, to learn the features, to incorporate them into the works, enhancing the details of the animation.  The exhibition is held from 29th October to 20th November at the Exhibition Gallery in Hong Kong Central library, as a part of the Hong Kong Library Festival 2022.

IASDR2021 proceedings is published

IASDR2021 is proud to announce the release and publication of the full proceedings with Springer. Entitled “[ ] With Design: Reinventing Design Modes”, the proceedings is a collection of 249 design research contributions, across a wide spectrum of disciplines. The proceedings is now available on Springer. Get a copy for yourself!