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HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 17 December 2021 - 'Happiness' is the ultimate pursuit of humankind, but how does design inspire happiness? One of the fundamental principles of design is problem solving, so most products are designed to offer ease and comfort for everyday life. But the value of design is much more than just 'functional'. Good design not only solves everyday problems but can nourish the mind and soul by channelling positive energy and perpetual joy. From 6th December 2021 to 28th February 2022, Design Spectrum, the public-facing platform of Hong Kong Design Centre, sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is launching a new thematic design exhibition titled 'Delightful Design'. Curated by Lee Chi-Wing, the Founder and Design Director of Milk Design and an experienced of designer and educator, Lee will share his views on how to imagine, measure and pursue happiness with the public and explore these ideas through showcasing more than 30 local and overseas design projects at the exhibition.
Curator Lee Chi-wing, the Founder and Design Director of Milk Design
Through the application of Design Thinking, designers can express their vision and pursuit of a more positive and happy world through Positive Design from four aspects, including Sense, Mind, Ideology and Social.
30+ Exhibits Reveal Designers' Formula for Happiness from Four Aspects
Commodities may make you feel happy, but it is short-lived and temporary, and not the true source of happiness. The exhibition theme was inspired by "PERMA", a scientific theory of happiness proposed by Martin Seligman, credited as the father of positive psychology. It promotes a formula of Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment to sustain happiness. In recent years, designers have attempted to connect their designs with happiness, and take the spirit of "happiness" as their inspiration. Through the application of Design Thinking, designers can express their vision and pursuit of a more positive and happy world through Positive Design from four aspects, including Sense, Mind, Ideology and Social.
At the exhibition, more than 30 outstanding local and global design projects from different regions including Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, the UK, the US and the Netherlands will be showcased, revealing how happiness is formed through the four design aspects, and igniting dialogues on how design sustains happiness from an individual to a social level.
1_Sense:
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching through the senses is how we experience the external world. In this section of the exhibition, designers make use of colour, shape and texture as the medium, allowing users to savour happiness from design in our everyday products.
2_Mind:
Besides serving a functional purpose, design can also nourish the mind and soul, like creating a moment of peace or a humorous twist. Designers present their unique vision in a gentle and delicate way through their design works, reminding visitors of the little things they may have overlooked in everyday life.
3_Ideology:
The pursuit of happiness gives meaningful depth to life when it converges with the pursuit of truth and universal values in the context of enhancing common good. In this section, designers show their engagements with social and environmental issues such as climate change, equality, and freedom to drive social change for a better tomorrow.
4_Social:
A people-oriented approach is the key to happiness and a fundamental element of good design. With empathy as the first step of creation, designers contribute to community building through design innovation, and applying a bottom-up approach to think, create, listen and cater for the needs of different social classes, inviting the public to work together to build an inclusive society.
Happiness for All: A Co-design Experience
After walking through the exhibits from the four aspects, visitors will be invited to share their own views and understanding of 'happiness'. Through the integration of space utilisation, STICKYLINE , a local art design team specialising in paper art crafts, created a large-scale art installation named 'In the Wild'. The public are welcome to adorn the installation with paper flowers made with materials provided onsite and create 'A Garden for All' together until mid-January 2022. Then, KaCaMa Design Lab, whose expertise is sustainable design, will take their turn with another creation. Stay tuned!
Bring Designer's Happiness Home
The key visual of the exhibition is created by Sandy Choi, well-known Hong Kong designer . W ith a palette of red, yellow, blue and green, Sandy has developed a dynamic system that brings forth endless possibilities. Visitors can redeem a masking tape, inspired by the four-colour design by collecting stamps in the exhibition venue!
Free Featured Public Events for Hunting Happiness
During the exhibition, a series of public events such as sharing sessions, workshops and a community trip will be held to inspire public imagination on the connection between design and happiness, including a sharing session hosted by Corrupt the Youth , a community experience day led by Peng Chau Islanders , multisensory workshop by Beyond Vision , and Signage Lab workshops co-instructed by Milk Design and KENNIFSTUDIO . Join us to make your happiness statement!
Please refer to appendices for more information about 'Delightful Design' and related activities. For registration details, please visit www.designspectrum.hk . Pre-registration is required.
Design Spectrum website: www.designspectrum.hk
Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/designspectrum.hk/
Official Instagram: www.instagram.com/designspectrum.hk/
Appendix:
Design Spectrum 'Delightful Design' Exhibition and programme details (pre-registration is required)*
'Delightful Design' Exhibition
| Date | 6th December 2021 – 28th February 2022 |
| Time | 10am – 7pm (Monday – Sunday) |
| Venue | 3/F, 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai (Free entry) |
| Remark | Masking tapes redemption: Collect a total of four stamps at the exhibition venue and DS Shop on G/F, then complete a survey and follow Design Spectrum on Instagram and/or Facebook to redeem a roll of masking tape. |
Corrupt the Youth 'On Happiness'
| About | Hosted by Corrupt the Youth, a philosophical conversation about how to design for happiness; how to judge its success and will design ruin happiness? |
| Date | 9th January 2022 (Sunday) |
| Venue | 3/F, 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai |
| Target Participants | General public, aged 18 or above (Capacity: 30 people) |
Milk Design & KENNIFSTUDIO Signage Lab
| About | Participants will be introduced to design thinking through the local signage system. They will have a chance to channel their vision of a better neighbourhood into their street sign creation. |
| Date | 22nd January 2022(Saturday) |
| Venue | 3/F, 7 Mallory Street and the Wan Chai neighbourhood |
| Target participants | General public, aged 16 or above (Capacity: 20 people) |
Peng Chau Islanders 'Finding the commons'
| About | Islanders is an independent magazine published by the owner of Sun Sat Store in Peng Chau and his wife, an expert in urban research. Follow the couple to explore how a community flourishes on the islet. |
| Date | 23rd January 2022 (Sunday) |
| Assemble Point: | 3/F, 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai |
| Target participants | General public, aged 18 or above (Capacity: 10 people) |
Beyond Vision 'TouchAble Self-portrait' multisensory workshop
| About | Hosted by Beyond Vision, this mindfulness session aims to deepen participants' understanding of oneself and the visually impaired. In the workshop, participants will be invited to experiment a simple sensorial approach to discover facial features personally and transfer it on a paper. The finished drawing will be specially processed into a tactile artwork (a unique 2.5-D touchable art). |
| Date | 19th February 2022 (Saturday) |
| Venue | 3/F, 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai |
| Target participants | General public, aged 18 or above (Capacity: 30 people, 3 sessions in total) |
The above activities are free of charge and available for online registration two weeks prior to the activities:
https://www.designspectrum.hk/tc/activities-programmes/
For details and latest updates, please visit: www.designspectrum.hk
*To comply with the current COVID-19 restrictions and ensure the health and safety of all participants, precautionary measures will be adopted in 'Delightful Design' exhibition and related activities. The activity schedule is subject to the latest update by the Organiser.
About Design Spectrum
Design Spectrum is a new initiative organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to foster a good design culture in the community. Located in a revitalised cluster of Grade 2 historic buildings at 7 Mallory Street, Wan Chai, Design Spectrum features year-round exhibitions, exchanges, design appreciation and other promotion programmes to cultivate a creative atmosphere, while nurturing local creative capital. It serves as a unique public face for HKDC to strengthen linkages with the community and partners locally, in other cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, ASEAN cities and overseas, and contributes towards creative and cultural tourism.
(Website: 
http://www.designspectrum.hk)
About 7 Mallory Street
Established in July 2013, 7 Mallory Street is a preservation-revitalisation project of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), comprising a cluster of 10 pre-war Grade II historic buildings built in the 1910s. After refurbishment by the URA, prominent features of the project such as cantilevered balconies, tiled pitched roofs, timber French doors and internal timber staircases are retained and preserved. 7 Mallory Street also serves as a multi-functional community space for various community, cultural, art and design programmes to take place.
(Website: 
https://mallory.ura-vb.org.hk/)
About Hong Kong Design Centre
Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is a non-governmental organisation and was founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as an international centre of design excellence in Asia. Our public mission is to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking to create business value and improve societal well-being.
(Website: 
http://www.hkdesigncentre.org)
About Create Hong Kong
Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated agency set up by the HKSAR Government in June 2009. It is under the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and dedicated to spearheading the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. CreateHK sponsors HKDC to organise various projects to promote Hong Kong design.
(Website: 
www.createhk.gov.hk)
#DesignSpectrum #HongKongDesignCentre
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