'I think it is a great effort to try and close the gap between design and business,' says the award-winning anonymous Japanese designer behind the Nosigner label, just one of the high-profile international names taking part in the coming Business of Design Week.
'The age of Asia is rising - and everything is centred on mainland China. The surrounding Asian countries are eagerly trying to cultivate a design culture, and Hong Kong is one of the most important cities in terms of business and design,' the Nosigner leader says.
When it began in 2002, the show's goal was 'to create a 'must-attend' platform in Asia that allowed the exchange of ideas for the world's most innovative thinkers and business leaders and upgrade the skills and knowledge of the local design community,' says William To, project director of the Hong Kong Design Centre, which organises the annual event.
Nine years on, the event consists of seminars, exhibitions and outreach programmes that target local design professionals, educators and students. 'It provides a forum for better understanding of the intricate relationship between design and business, offering an opportunity for designers to upgrade skills and knowledge to stay competitive,' To says.
Among this year's speakers will be designers from German brands such as Audi, Hugo Boss and Porsche Design, as well as internationally known architects and designers such as Dieter Rams and Ole Scheeren (a visiting professor at Hong Kong University), the typographer Erik Spiekermann, the eco-design guru Werner Sobek and the new media artist and designer Joachim Sauter.
Other high-profile speakers include Anthony Lo, the Hong Kong Chinese designer who heads the design department of Renault in France; the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, most famous for his innovative cardboard buildings; Nosigner, whose latest project, Olive, a wiki-style web site that anyone can access to help people in disaster-stricken areas, was conceived in response to Japan's earthquake in March; and the legendary Italian furniture designer Antonio Citterio.