The 2017 edition of Asia’s leading international event on design, brands and innovation, Business of Design Week (BODW), officially came to a close. The week-long event organized by the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) brought more than 70 creative minds and influential design masters and brand leaders to inspire an international audience of over 120,000 on the merits of good design.
From the architects behind some of the world’s most iconic modern masterpieces to the innovative leaders behind cutting-edge products, speakers from 16 countries and regions actively participated in a total of 12 sessions covering a wide range of themes, including Massimiliano Fuksas (Studio Fuksas); Professor Jacques Herzog (Herzog & de Meuron); Alberto Meda (Alberto Meda Design); and Sou Fujimoto (Sou Fujimoto Architects Inc.). Canadian representation included Idris Mootee, CEO and co-founder of Idea Couture, and author of five books on innovation and strategy including his most recent, Design Thinking for Strategic Innovation; and Venelin Kokalov, principal at Vancouver-based Bing Thom Architects (which as of December 18th has re-branded as Revery Architecture), who spoke at length about the firm’s work in Hong Kong, including the new University of Chicago Centre and the Xiqu Opera House in the West Kowloon Cultural District.
As Partner Country of this year’s event, 23 of Italy’s most influential designers and thought leaders – such as Mario Bellini (Mario Bellini Architects); Mitja Borkert (Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.); Oscar Farinetti (Eataly); Rocco Yim (Rocco Design Architects Ltd) – came to BODW 2017 to share insights to embolden the global creative community and inspire the next generation of design talent. Italy hands the baton of Official Partner for BODW 2018 to the city of Melbourne, the first city in the southern hemisphere to partner with the event. As a fast emerging global capital of creativity and design, Melbourne has become a diverse and progressive centres of design and innovation, globally renowned for its deep respect of design heritage as well as its championing of new ways of approaching design.
“BODW has once again served as a world-class platform in Asia for the business communities and creative industries to come together,” says Professor Eric Yim, JP, Chairman, HKDC. “This leading event on design, innovation and brands allows established and emerging professionals and organisations a chance to share knowledge, exchange ideas and explore new collaborative opportunities.”
