HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Oct 6, 2017) - Organised by The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) and its Design Council of Hong Kong (DCHK), the first Joint-School Design Exhibition - DesignXcel has officially opened today (6 October 2017) at Hong Kong Central Library. The Hon Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, Chief Executive of HKSAR, GBM, GBS, attended the opening ceremony as the Guest of Honour, accompanied by Mr Jimmy Kwok Chun-wah, BBS, MH, JP, the Chairman of FHKI and Professor Eric C. Yim, JP, the Deputy Chairman of FHKI and the Chairman of DCHK. Over a hundred guests including representatives from across industries and major design institutions were present to show their support.
DesignXcel is the first-ever joint-school design exhibition in Hong Kong. The aim of this unprecedented project is to connect the fresh design graduates with the industries in Hong Kong and to create a positive synergy with the innovative ideas and practical experience through the collaborations. A total of 16 local design institutions participated in this yearlong project and selected graduates were chosen from the 4,000 full-time 2017 design graduates in Hong Kong to work with more than 60 companies across industries. Over 200 pieces of their works will be exhibited at the Exhibition Gallery of Hong Kong Central Library from 5-17 October, 2017.
At the opening ceremony, Professor Eric C. Yim, JP, the Deputy Chairman of FHKI & the Chairman of DCHK said in his welcome address, "This is the first joint-school design exhibition in Hong Kong to showcase the collaborations and achievements created together by our design graduates and local industry. Since the 1970s, there has been a growing number of design schools in Hong Kong and each school organises their own graduate exhibition every year around May and June, but there was never a joint-school platform to showcase their accomplishments. DesignXcel provides an opportunity for the industry and entrepreneurs to understand how to work with designers. And in return, the design graduates could also learn more about the tools, materials and even potential problems through their participation in the process of converting the design into real products. It is therefore absolutely a win-win opportunity for both parties."
Sponsored by CreateHK, DesignXcel is also a project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Design Council of Hong Kong. Mr Jimmy Kwok Chun-wah, the Chairman of FHKI shared in his opening remarks at the ceremony, "The Federation of Hong Kong Industries had foreseen the importance of design to the industries half a century ago and so we established Design Council of Hong Kong in 1968 with the mandate to promote trading and investment, as well as the technology and innovation products, human resources and other aspects for the interest of local design industry. DesignXcel is hence organised with a goal to establish a sustainable and well-defined link for business and education so design graduates could be paired up with companies in a systematic manner. We encourage the industry to take up corporate social responsibility and benefit from the intergenerational reciprocity, which can result in a rise of overall innovation level and contribute to the Hong Kong economy."