Quest for Creativity

in its 2009 budget announced on 25 Feb 2009, Hong Kong government has pledged a budgetary spending of $300 million towards the creation of a 'Creative Economy' emphasising the importance of productivity and competitiveness in the economy. In the next 3 years, the government aims to develop creative industries with a strong local characteristic through the promotion of culture and art.

At about the same time I came across a news clipping that Savannah College of Art and Design(SCAD) was to house its Hong Kong based academy in the historic North Kowloon Magistracy Building. SCAD-Hong Kong will become the preeminent site for the study of digital media in Asia, focusing on art and design. The curriculum will offer advertising design, graphic design, illustration, interactive design and game development, motion media design (broadcast design and motion graphics), photography, sound design and visual effects. The school is scheduled to open in 2011.

Not only does this mean that there will be a host of qualified and capable graduates to service Hong Kong's pop culture and film industry but also restore and conserve heritage monument.

Branding Hong Kong can now be called Brand Hong Kong.

Puma City

I recently came across this wonderful retail concept by Puma that uses 24 shipping containers to create mobile architecture of 3 storeys high and weighs 11 tons. The structure was made in China and shipped across to Alicante before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Puma initiated this design challenge in July 2007 that was won by Lot EK - a design entity that is successfully blurring the boundaries between art and architecture.

Aside from being a mobile architecture, Puma City also meets with international building codes, withstands all climatic conditions and can be quickly assembled or disassembled. Its double height indoor and outdoor space and cantilevered top deck provides ample space for retail, parties and other events.

It is quite rare to be impressed by design ingenuinity. Puma City definitely is worth a 'WOW'.

Care for the environment

I am in the process of writing an article on sustainable architecture and have been interviewing some architects for this. One of them from DP Architects had a simple solution to environment conservation - regression in all that we consume. As Gandhi said, "There is enough in this world for every man's need but not enough for one man's greed." We have become voracious consumers with little thought for saving it for the next time. It was a simple solution to go backwards when much of what we consume today was not available and when there was a bit a hardship involved to get what we wanted. With the convenience of having things done in a snap of our fingers, we have become impatient and take the easy route - drive where we can walk or cycle, buy a bottle of water instead of refilling one or use plastic bags instead of taking a shopping bag from home. The tried and tested way: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle still holds good when it comes to being responsible towards our environment. It is also an economical way of leading our lives.

Word archtiect

As an ardent fan of architecture and design, I would call myself a word architect, building a text full of meaning, creativity and hopefully inspiration. Words don't come easily to me sometimes. I want to be simple and yet amass a world of meaning in them. I admire writers who can do this; whose writing is so fluid like a glass of clean, sweet water that quenches the reader's thirst. It is very difficult to be simple yet poignant. It is even more difficult to be simple and imaginative. It is for this reason I like getting a dose of new word every morning from wordsmith. I could actually call myself an anglophile. Indeed, there are more words in English language than what we use everyday and wordsmith is founded on a simple belief to increase your vocabulary A Word A Day. Go ahead and give it a try.

Ideas abound

Recently, I wrote an article on Ogilvy and Mather's Guangzhou office. Designed by MMoser Associates, it was based on the theme - A Carnival of Ideas. I couldn't help but be impressed by both the designers and O&M who wanted to create an inspiring office environment for its employees. In current times, with the advent of the Internet, when employees can work from home, such workplaces go contrary to the trend.

Galloping horses on barley twist poles, fairy lights on mirrored windows bring out the carousel theme at its best. Elsewhere vintage furniture, fairytale creatures, confetti carpet and other whimsical features add to the design theme.

MMoser is known for its office designs. With the O&M office design it has gone beyond mixing aesthetics with functionality and added the element of fun.

You can find more on this office and the associated images by clicking the links below.

http://www.mmoser.com/casestudies/ogilvy.php

http://www.mmoser.com/DesignGallery/gallery.php?currloc=guangzhou&curr_proj=1

http://www.mmoser.com/news/press_ogilvy.php

Laying the foundation

Well, after months of dilly-dallying, I finally started my blog-site and waiting even longer, I have now found the time to post my first blog.

Writing is my passion. And blogging is just an extension of this. Besides, through writing, I get so many opportunities to meet such wonderful people that it needs to be expressed and shared. So here it goes - a cauldron of ideas. imagination, interesting people and their interesting pursuits and the infinite joy of knowing them.