「DesignXcel」Opening Ceremony |《設計列陣》開幕禮
「DesignXcel」 First Joint-School Design Exhibition in Hong Kong Officially Opened
Showcasing over 200 pieces of works collaboratively created by design graduates and industries
Hong Kong, 6 October 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.”
香港首個聯校設計展覽《設計列陣》正式開幕
展出超過200件設計畢業生與業界跨界創作作品
由香港工業總會和其轄下之香港設計委員會主辦的香港首個聯校設計展覽《設計列陣》（「DesignXcel」）於今日（2017年10月6日）假香港中央圖書館展覽廳正式開幕。開幕禮特別邀請到香港特別行政區行政長官林鄭月娥出席並擔任主禮嘉賓，在香港工業總會主席郭振華及香港工業總會副主席及香港設計委員會主席嚴志明陪同下，為展覽掀開序幕。典禮上有逾百位嘉賓出席，業界及各大設計院校代表均到場支持並慶祝多月來的努力成果，場面熱鬧。
《設計列陣》是香港史無前例的聯校設計展覽，透過全年度的協作機會，促成設計畢業生和業界之間相互協作，讓設計師的新思維結合業界的實戰經驗，達到一加一大於二的跨界協作效果，促進設計畢業生與工商業界共同創新。《設計列陣》共有16間本地設計院校參與，並從4,000名2017年設計院校畢業生中提名各院校之畢業生與60多間不同行業的公司進行協作。超過200件協作成果將會於2017年10月5日至10月17日於香港中央圖書館展覽廳展出。
香港工業總會副主席及香港設計委員會主席嚴志明在開幕禮上致歡迎辭，他提到：「今次展覽是香港首個聯乘校展，展示設計畢業生與本地工商業界的協作故事和收穫。自上世紀七十年代起，香港開辦了許多設計學院和學科，每年五月和六月每所學校都會各自舉行畢業設計展，今年我們為各院校、設計系同學及工商界搭建共創平台，並聯合展示豐碩的成果。聯乘校展不僅幫助更多工業家、企業家了解怎樣與設計師合作，設計畢業生亦可直接參與將作品轉化為產品的過程，認識包括生產工具、物料和潛在問題，可說是一次多贏的協作機會。」
《設計列陣》是香港設計委員會邁向五十周年精心呈獻的項目，也是香港特別行政區創意香港的贊助項目之一，香港工業總會主席郭振華在典禮上致開幕辭時道：「香港工業總會早於半世紀前已洞察到設計對工商業的重要性，因此在1968年創立了香港設計委員會，一直秉承促進工商業界的貿易、投資、技術創新產品、人力資源等各方面發展的使命，開創設計業務拓展機會。《設計列陣》的成立目的，就是為了建立一個能持之以恆，且目標明確的商校合作計劃，有系統地將設計畢業生和商業機構進行配對，促進工商業家、年青設計師、設計教育三個界別的緊密協作，從而鼓勵業界積極肩負企業社會責任，體驗跨代互惠，最終提昇整體創新指數，惠及總體香港經濟發展。」