International Speakers to Explore Global Design and Digital Innovation Trends and Reveal the Possibilities for Hong Kong’s Smart City Development

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach^[1] - 16^th May 2019 - Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) as the Lead Sponsor will be held from 17^th to 21^st June this year. In the KODW 2019 Media Preview hosted by HKDC today, "Designing Digital Futures" was revealed as the theme of the annual event. During the five-day curated programme comprising three thematic forums, seven interactive workshops, an InnoDesign Leadership CEO Forum and a Roundtable on Public Service Innovation, local and worldwide designers, decision makers, entrepreneurs and field experts will explore the latest global design and innovation trends, understand how human-centred design serves as a bridge between "digital and technology" and "user experience", and be inspired with new directions for future urban design.

(From left to right) Mr. Michael Chan, Deputy Academic Director (Design) of Hong Kong Design Institute; Mr. Chris Dobson, Principal of Eight Inc.; Prof. Eric Yim, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre; and Dr. Edmund Lee, Executive Director of Hong Kong Design Centre attended the Media Preview of KODW 2019 today.

Taking a human-centred design approach, KODW 2019 will have speakers and workshop leaders to discuss how design, digital and technology can transform the challenges the world is facing into opportunities, enhance our quality of life, and make Hong Kong a more dynamic, inclusive, innovative, sustainable and liveable city. The event promises to fire the imagination and outline new possibilities for future design-led innovation for the city. These are all in line with the HKSAR Government's efforts to promote good design and the creative industries and to transform Hong Kong into a world-class smart city.

Prof. Eric Yim, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre said in the Media Preview today, "Building on the theme 'Design for Liveability' last year which captured the attention of the industry and the general public, KODW 2019 will continue to inspire new ideas and discussion related to this topic, by looking into how human-centred design serves as a bridge between 'digital and technology' and 'user experience' as we explore design-led innovation for the city, economy, culture and our living. The aim is to enhance local urban planning, advance the strategic use of design and creative thinking to drive the new economy, business, education, social well-being etc., and to invite people from all walks of life to explore new directions."

Thematic Forums: Three Cornerstones of Future Urban Life

During the five-day event, internationally-renowned industry experts and business leaders from around 10 cities across America, Europe and Asia will gather together in the three thematic forums to be held in Hong Kong on 19^th and 20^th June 2019 to explore the three cornerstones of future urban life: "Liveable Smart City", "Future Retail & Lifestyle" and "Digital Health". 

"Liveable Smart City" will explore new possibilities for the liveable cities of tomorrow.  Speakers will share their experiences in using design and creative thinking to solve problems and create value in innovative urban systems. Di-Ann Eisnor, from The We Company (formerly known as WeWork), who previously incubated new urban systems at Google's Area 120 will share how enterprises may use global-scale databases to find creative urban solutions and respond to the government and citizens' need in the fast-changing world.

Other speakers are James Law, JP, Hong Kong architect and Chairman & CEO of James Law Cybertecture famed for his OPod Tube House and design-led infrastructure development in the United Arab Emirates; Ren Yee, creative team member from UNStudio/UNSense, the architecture studio behind the planning and creation of Brainport Smart District, the "smartest neighbourhood in the world" in the Netherlands; and Chris Ferguson, one of the senior executives of the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS), who is responsible for coordinating the strategies between GDS and the UK public sector, and who extensively uses design, digital solutions and technology to enhance the quality of public services and catalyse innovation across government.

"Future Retail & Lifestyle" will dive into trends, disruptions and new frontiers in the post-omnichannel retail landscape. Speakers will look at how brands are reinventing business to create personalised, intuitive and connected experiences for digitally-empowered customers. Tommy Campbell, digital designer with SPACE10, IKEA's research & design lab that explores new possibilities and solutions for future life, will deconstruct how digital and technology can improve the quality of our daily lives, make structural changes in the industry ecosystem, and create opportunities in the face of changing consumption patterns.

Other speakers are: Alexis Bonhomme, Vice President Greater China - Commercial, Farfetch, a leading global fashion shopping platform with more than 2,000 designers and luxury brands; Anson Shum, Co-Founder and Creative Director of OOKONN, a Hong Kong luggage brand that breaks the traditional design concept with its circular shape; Chris Dobson, from the prominent experience design studio Eight Inc. that designed the iconic Apple Store experience; and Raymond Leung, Vice President (Sales & Client Services) of Cherrypicks, a Hong Kong mobile technology and mobile business developer with over 100 international and local awards for its products and technologies.

"Digital Health" will discover new innovation opportunities and solutions for health and care in the digital age. Low Cheaw Hwei, Head of Design for Philips ASEAN Pacific, will share how design thinking, digital and technology can improve the healthcare system and change people's mindsets through design, so that various solutions to medical problems can be developed from individual to institutional levels. Prof. Fung Hong, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Medical Centre and Professor of Practice in Health Services Management of The Jockey Club School of Public Health & Primary Care, CUHK, will share his experience in advocating and developing "Smart Hospitals" in Hong Kong.

Other speakers are: Chris McCormack, Managing Director, Digital Care Planning, Helix Centre, a design-led innovation lab in healthcare based at St. Mary's Hospital in London, a collaboration between Royal College of Art and Imperial College London; Liam McGuire, lead designer of Opaque Media Group, a premier technology consultancy in Australia, who has worked with the Australian Alzheimer Association using the latest Virtual Reality (VR) technology to enable healthcare professionals to feel and experience the life challenges of people with cognitive impairment;Vicki Tan, Lead Product Designer at Headspace, a mobile app that creates a health meditation experience for its users; and Rama Gheerawo, Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, who is a world leading champion for inclusive design.

Interactive Workshops: Learning from Industry-Leading Figures

Apart from the three thematic forums, KODW 2019 also boasts seven interactive workshops to be held on 17^th, 18^th and 21^st June 2019 respectively. With the sharing of experiences and ideas during the workshops, participants will learn more about the global trends in design along three major directions, namely, "Design Thinking & Future Mindset", "Collaborate & Co-Design" and "Unleashing Creativity". One of the workshops is: "Breaking Space and Media Boundaries: Co-creating Augmented Experiences" hosted by Tin&Ed, a playful and highly versatile design studio. In this workshop that emphasises digital media experiments, participants will learn about mixed media through the experience of virtual and real interactions.

In the workshop "Masterclass by Javier Mariscal: Digital Drawing -- Move in Hong Kong", the famous Spanish design masterJavier Mariscal will present his creative design thinking, not only through lively brainstorming exercises, that try to define and analyse the core values ​​of Hong Kong, but also through an iPad digital drawing demonstration to present his unique thinking and visual interpretation of Hong Kong.

Clive Grinyer, one of the Creative Leaders 50 selected by Creative Review in 2018 will also come to Hong Kong for the first time to host the workshop "Designing for Digital and Service Transformation" in which he will present different case studies to showcase how service design is bringing changes to private and public organisations, and how digital tools and knowledge such as artificial intelligence, big data and Internet of Things (IoT) technology can transform services through a human-centred design approach. Other workshops are two sessions of the highly popular "The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method: Envisioning Future Leadership for Change" hosted by Per Kristiansen, Partner of Trivium; "Design Thinking in a Day: Advanced Tools for Creativity and Leadership" (Tentative Title) hosted by Rama Gheerawo;and "Sorting Wheat from Chaff: A Robust Approach to Emerging Technology Adoption" co-hosted by Liam McGuire and Chris Mackenzie.

In addition, KODW has an InnoDesign Leadership CEO Forum and a Roundtable on Public Service Innovation where experts will discuss the latest developments in innovative design.

More details about "Knowledge of Design Week 2019":

KODW 2019 welcomes design practitioners, brand leaders, business executives & professionals, government and policy makers, academia and anyone who has an interest in innovation, from Hong Kong, the Mainland, Southeast Asia and beyond as participants. For more details about the programme and ticketing, please visit the official website (https://www.kodw.org/pr^[3]), WeChat account (香港设计中心HKDC) or Facebook page (KODW Knowledge of Design Week 設計「智」識周).

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} https://www.kodw.org/pr (www.kodw.org)
3. ^{^} https://www.kodw.org/pr (www.kodw.org)