Industrial Designers Society of Hong Kong’s The 3rd Edition of “ReMIX” Creative Business Partnership Programme

Announcing Designer-Brand Pairings which will Ignite Creative Sparks Through Collaboration Organising Exhibition at Bangkok Design Week to Promote Hong Kong’s Creative Industries, and Visiting Thai Green Enterprises to Explore Business Opportunities for Sustainable Design

HONG KONG SAR 5 March 2024 – The 3^rd edition of the “ReMIX · Yesterday’s Future, Invent Tomorrow!” (“ReMIX”) Creative Business Partnership Programme, which is organised by Industrial Designers Society of Hong Kong (IDSHK), with Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Create Hong Kong) as the lead sponsor, goes beyond simply connecting Hong Kong design talent and brands. It actively works towards promoting Hong Kong designers and their creative strengths, while also exploring the latest trends in sustainable design. After a thorough matching process, the ten-designer-brand pairings for the 3^rd edition of “ReMIX” were announced. These collaborative teams then commenced the development of their crossover products, which are scheduled to be released by September 2024. On the other hand, “ReMIX” has accepted the invitation to set up a booth at the “Bangkok Design Week 2024” to showcase the over 40 crossover products that have shined in the previous editions of “ReMIX”, with a view to generating more overseas interests in Hong Kong’s original designs and creative industries. As part of the delegation trip to “Bangkok Design Week 2024”, the Hong Kong delegates also visited the local companies in Thailand that embrace sustainable design principles.

The 3^rd edition of “ReMIX” Creative Business Partnership Programme features nine Hong Kong brands, namely Leung So Kee, Koon Wah Food, A-Fontane, Law Knitters, FOTOMAX, BAST Lighting, LOG-ON, Momax and INFINITE, as well as a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) brand, 伊仕利家居. Upon the completion of recruitment and matching of interested Hong Kong design teams from various fields, each of these ten brands has successfully matched up with a Hong Kong design team to collaborate on creating crossover products. These collaborations involve cross-industry partnerships, such as A-Fontane, specialising in bedding, is teaming up with InnoSphere, renowned for lifestyle accessories. Other cross-generation collaborations can be seen in the partnership between Leung So Kee umbrella factory, which has over a century of history in Hong Kong, and Studio of SAI (Brand: SO-SAI), an emerging design firm. Furthermore, there is cross-regional collaboration as demonstrated in the collaborative team formed by the GBA brand 伊仕利家居 and Hong Kong design team Soti Design Studio. All ten teams will officially launch their creative outcomes by September, promising countless creative surprises.

In an acknowledgement of the market success of and international recognition gained by the creative crossover products in the past two editions of “ReMIX”, “Bangkok Design Week 2024” extended an invitation for the Hong Kong designers and brand representatives concerned to set up a booth at Thailand Creative & Design Center during the design week, while attending its opening ceremony on 27 January earlier this year. The “ReMIX” exhibition not only successfully showcased over 40 crossover products collaborated by Hong Kong designers and brands in the 1^st and 2^nd editions of the Programme, but also received support from Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand, who visited the “ReMIX” exhibition in person. Ms. Teresa Poon, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok, Ms. Yvonne Lee, Director of “ReMIX”, IDSHK and the representative of “ReMIX” delegation, Mr. Angus Yiu, Stork Stork Design introduced the background of “ReMIX” and exchanged with them enthusiastically. As the organiser of “ReMIX”, IDSHK firmly believes that the exhibition at “Bangkok Design Week 2024” will deepen the collaborations between Hong Kong’s and Thailand’s industries, government agencies and academia, and in turn helping Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries with immense potential go international.

In addition to the exhibition at design week, this Thailand trip also organised exchange activities under the theme “Empowering Sustainable Design”. The Hong Kong delegates visited local companies in Thailand that uphold sustainable design. These included Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), which provides shared workspace for researchers in the fields of science, engineering, industrial design, and art, as well as PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (GC), which focuses on implementing sustainable design and producing various petrochemical products. During the visits, the Hong Kong delegates had the opportunity to exchange experiences and insights with Thai talented designers. This kind of exchange not only enriched the knowledge of Hong Kong designers themselves on waste recycling, biotechnology, and environmental-friendly materials which will contribute to the forward development of sustainable design in Hong Kong, but also strengthened the relationships between Hong Kong designers and Thai manufacturers, suppliers, and researchers. These visits helped enriching the knowledge of Hong Kong designers in this field and fostering integration between the industries of both Hong Kong and Thailand.

Mr. Ball Cheung, President of IDSHK, emphasised and stated the Society’s mission, “The Society not only acts as an intermediary, connecting Hong Kong designers and brands to launch collaborative products that captivate consumers’ attention, but also aims to bring the distinctive design styles and creative thinking of Hong Kong designers to overseas markets through delegation trips. This initiative seeks to expand global demand for Hong Kong designers and brands and foster the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s creative industries.”

More details are available on the website of “ReMIX” Creative Business Partnership Programme (https://remix.idshk.org/en-us), or please contact the “ReMIX” secretariat at 3586 8831 or email remix@idshk.org for inquiries.

The 3^rd “ReMIX” Creative Business Partnership Programme

Pairing Results between Hong Kong Designers and Brands