Over 70 speakers from more than 15 countries to present at this year’s BODW Summit at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with concurrent city-wide events

[HONG KONG – 7 November 2018]

Organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), co-organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and sponsored by Create Hong Kong, Business of Design Week (BODW), Asia’s leading annual design event, will be held in Hong Kong from 3-8 December, 2018.

This year’s summit will take on the theme of ‘Think ∙ Collaborate ∙ Create’ and be presented in collaboration with partner city Melbourne, cited as the world’s most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit for seven consecutive years (2011-2017). The event features more than 70 speakers from over 15 countries and regions to present the latest industry insights and to promote the advancement of the creative industries.

“BODW represents a core component of Hong Kong Design Centre’s public mission to promote a good design culture and cultivate design thinking for all,” said Dr. Edmund Lee, Executive Director of HKDC. “We are thrilled to see this event grow from strength to strength since its inception in 2002 to become one of the most important events on the global design calendar.”

The week-long event will feature more than 20 events, including the BODW Summit, BODW City Programmes and a series of concurrent events, all with the aim of providing a platform for business and creative leaders to exchange ideas, network, and explore new business opportunities.

An anchor event of the week, the BODW Summit presents a stellar lineup of international speakers to share latest industry insights and to promote the wide and strategic use of design for cities, the economy, culture and living. In addition, new sessions focusing on Digital & Design, Greater Bay Area & Design and more, will be introduced this year.

BODW Summit’s Plenary sessions feature a lineup of design experts including Martha Thorne, scholar and executive director of Pritzker Architecture Prize (US); Prof. Rob Adams AM, director of city design & projects of City of Melbourne (Melbourne); and Ben van Berkel, founder / principal architect of international design network UNStudio (The Netherlands), and the designer of the Lyric Theatre of the West Kowloon Cultural District; Ron Arad, acclaimed industrial designer, artist, and architect (UK); Charles Renfro, distinguished architect and partner of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (US), and Toyo Ito, multi-award winning Japanese architect (Japan).

The ‘Brand Asia Forum’ and ‘Communication & Design’ tracks will explore the future of brands and how the shifts in lifestyle are transforming businesses and changing the way we connect and communicate. Influential leaders and visionary creative minds include Erik Spiekermann, iconic type and information designer as well as an expert in letterpress printing (Germany); Antonio Colombo, president of Cinelli & Columbus (Gruppo Company) (Italy); Tony Chambers, creative consultant and founder of studio of TC & Friends, and former Editor-in-Chief of Wallpaper* (UK); Suzanne Santos, chief customer officer of Aesop (Melbourne). Other participating brands include naked Group (Mainland of China) and BEYORG (Hong Kong).

In the ‘Product & Technology’ track and the newly introduced ‘Digital & Design’ session, BODW will explore how technology and its application are changing our everyday experiences with speakers such as Sonny Tilders, animatronics designer, creative director & CEO of Creature Technology Co. (Melbourne); Ken Wong, game designer, creative director and founder of crafts games studio Mountains who won the Award at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference (Melbourne), Leah Heiss, Melbourne-based designer combining design research and technology to benefit the health industry, who has won a Premier’s Design Award for her design of the world’s first modular hearing aid product – Facett (Melbourne); Rex Sham, co-founder & chief science officer of Insight Robotics; Michael Stoddart, Director, Creative Cloud, Asia Pacific of Adobe; and a panel of speakers and disruptors coming from across the fintech, healthtech, retail and hospitality sectors.

Newly introduced in 2018, the ‘Greater Bay Area & Design’ track provides knowledge into the business opportunities created under the Greater Bay economic policy spearheaded by the mainland Chinese government. Speakers include Jia Wei, founder and chairman of LKK Design Company (Mainland of China); Mann Lao, founder and creative director of Chiii Design (Macau); Elaine Yan Ling Ng, founder of THE FABRICK LAB (Hong Kong); and Hong Ko, partner of KL & K Design (Hong Kong / Mainland of China)

The ‘Creative Mindset’ session will feature speakers including Patrick le Quément, co-founder and president of the Advisory Board, The Sustainable Design School (France) and Sebastian Conran, CEO of Sebastian Conran Associates and Consequential Robotics (UK). In response to Melbourne’s globally recognised status as the world’s most liveable city from 2011 to 2017, a special seminar on ‘Liveability, Sports & Design’ will feature prominent speakers from the city of Melbourne, Hong Kong and beyond. Jill Garner, Victorian Government Architect; Brian Morris, CEO of Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust; and Alastair Richardson, director of Cox Architecture, will bring valuable insights on how forward-thinking sports venue design and strategic redevelopment of existing sports facilities can increase the liveability of a city and benefit its economy. Margaret Brooke, co-founder of Heritage Hong Kong Foundation and Very Hong Kong Fondation, will also share her insights into the liveability and wellbeing industry from a Hong Kong perspective.

This year’s Masterclass will feature Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, renowned architect, urbanist, educator, and design principal of Ross Barney Architects (US). She will discuss the making of liveable cities and how to design for social good.

BODW City Programme

Launched this year as a new extension of BODW, the BODW City Programme is an annual creative community activation programme featuring exciting happenings such as art installations, exhibitions, creative tours, and education and community programmes. It will debut in Wan Chai and other districts in Hong Kong with the vision to engage both business and the public. The BODW City Programme aims to foster stronger collaborations between local designers, businesses and brands to celebrate good design and innovation, and strengthen Hong Kong as a creative hub in Asia. The annual programme will take place from November 2018 to January 2019.

Other Events

• DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony – the most recognised design awards celebrating outstanding designs with Asian perspectives
• FASHION ASIA HONGKONG – a fashion initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to position Hong Kong as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development
• DesignInspire – an international exhibition for global creative elites, design brands, design associations and institutes to showcase their creativity, 90 designers and 5 universities and focus on the ways in which design is shaping everyday life
• BIP Asia Forum – an annual event bringing IP professionals and business leaders from all over the world to discuss the latest developments in IP
• deTour – an annual creative festival with a variety of programmes featuring innovative designs to inspire creativity
• WORKTECH Hong Kong – a leading international workplace conference
• GDN Symposium – a roundtable discussion and open dialogue organised by a design promotional body and supported by a strong international membership network
• M+ Matters Keynote – part of the M+ Matters public talks series featuring key figures from some of the most influential cultural projects of today
• Leadership Forum on Design Education – a forum for global design leaders and educators to share their perspectives on the future of design education

For the latest information about ticketing and this year’s programme, please visit bodw.com.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR
Details of ticket sales are now available. Register on BODW’s official website now to receive Special Offer now.

About Hong Kong Design Centre
Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) was founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as centre of design excellence in Asia. HKDC continues its public mission to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking to create business value and improve societal well-being. Our initiatives are anchored by five major work directions: CONNECT, CELEBRATE, NURTURE, ADVANCE and ENGAGE.

HKDC’s flagship programmes include Business of Design Week (since 2002) – Asia’s leading annual conference and event on Design, Innovation and Brands; DFA Awards (since 2003) – a widely recognised design awards that celebrates outstanding designs with Asian perspectives; Design Incubation Programme (since 2012) and Fashion Incubation Programme (since 2016) – 2-year incubation programmes to nurture future design and fashion entrepreneurs; FASHION ASIA HONGKONG (since 2016) – a fashion initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to energise the city’s image, and position it as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development; Knowledge of Design Week (since 2006) – an annual thematic design knowledge sharing platform that explores how design can solve complex challenges of our society.

Media Contact
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