(Press release sent by Cultural Connections on behalf of Hong Kong Design Institute. )
A Summit of International Design Pioneers in Hong Kong
Changing the Society through Design
The First-ever International “Open Design Forum”
(25 Nov 2014) HKDI DESIS Lab will host Hong Kong’s first international Open Design Forum, creating an open platform and inviting Hong Kong citizens to join and exchange with international design pioneers from UK, USA, Sweden, Japan, etc., in the hope of creating a better and more open society.
Six international design pioneers will participate in “Open Design Forum 2014”. Each of them has in their own way excelled in the field, and opened up different possibilities in civil participation through and in design.
Dr. Patricia Moore (Industrial designer, gerontologist): As early as in the 1980s, she disguised as an old woman with help of makeup artists and by demobilising herself. Then she experienced the life of an old woman in 40 cities, only to find that a lot of designs just didn’t cater for oldies. She put her findings in the book Disguised, and also put her findings into her design practices. For example, she designed the OXO potato peeler which makes it easy for old people and even rheumatoid arthritis patients to use at ease. Patricia Moore is even named as a founding mother of Universal Design.
Prof. Lorraine Gamman (Founder of the Design Against Crime Research Centre at University of the Arts London): She is currently the director of UAL’s Design Against Crime Research Centre. After completing her Ph.D. research in shop-lifting, she created design briefs for her students, which stated that interior design, packaging and display may be in complicit with crime. Gamman asked students to assume the “criminal gaze” and develop design proposals to address the issues. She also researched in designing out crime at ATM, bicycle thefts, etc., and her recent research is on the possibilities of prisons.
Prof. Fumikazu Masuda (Professor at Tokyo Zokei University, President of Open House Inc.): Original a designer at MUJI, he returned to teach at academia and also view the environmental-friendliness from a designer’s perspective. After the 311 Earthquake in Japan, he went to the disaster site with a team of designers, and identifies and utilizes local resources, together with the locals, with a designer’s eye. Currently he runs the Open House, situated in the rural of Yamaguchi Prefecture, with a belief that every person can create value through and in the use of local resources.
Prof. Roger Coleman (Founder of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, UK): Roger Coleman founded the “DesignAge” programme to encourage young designers to cater for needs of the aging population, which was actually catering the future needs of oneself. The programme also encouraged old people to continue learning and involve in design. Recently he is commissioned by the UK Government to research on the safer design of medication packaging and emergency ambulance.
Prof. Ezio Manzini (President of DESIS International): Ezio Manzini has always been dedicated to promote design for social innovation and sustainability, and founded the intervarsity network of DESIS to connect relevant units in tertiary institutions. He also practices urban farming.
Prof. Pelle Ehn (Professor at Malmö University, Sweden): Pelle Ehn has for four decades been involved in the research field of participatory design. His early projects are often related to information technology, and pioneered in developing computer system together with the staff. He now oversees the Malmö Living Labs.
These six pioneers in design will discuss how design can bring about social changes. Three dialogue sessions include “You Can Speak Design Too!” that examines the opening up of professional language and tools in design; “Shake Up Taboo By Design!” will look at how design can open up the taboos like death; “Bang! Bang! Design Gangs!” will discuss how the elderly can be involved in design.
The HKDI DESIS Lab has been promoting “open design”, with a belief that every one can participate in design, and that the design process can be democratised. Not everyone can become a professional designer, but professional designers can think about how to engage creative citizens as partners in the design process.
“Open Design Forum 2014” is organised by the HKDI DESIS Lab. Director of the Lab, Dr. Yanki Lee, says, “We believe more creative dialogues must happen in order to create our better future.” The Forum hopes that the democratisation of design will eventually lead to greater civil participation in all areas. The activity will be held at 28 and 29 November at the Hong Kong Design Institute in Tseung Kwan O. All are welcome but registration required (www.hkdi.edu.hk/opendesignforum).
Appendix 1: Programme of Open Design Forum:
| Time | Activity | Speakers / Curators |
| 28 Nov (Fri) Social Design Cases in Asia | ||
| 1030 – 1200 | DESIS Showcase Hong Kong 2014 | |
| 1400 – 1500 | Lecture on “Culture of Resilience” | Prof. Ezio Manzini (Italy) Chair of Design for Social Innovation at the University of the Arts, London (UK), President of DESIS InternationalProf. Fumikazu Masuda (Japan)Professor in industrial design & sustainable projects at Tokyo Zokei University and President of Open House Inc. (Japan) |
| 1530 – 1630 | OPEN LIGHT: Design your own light(Sponsored by MEGAMAN) | Mr. Pascal Anson (UK)Designer-maker from London |
| 1630 – 1730 | Book Launch | HKDI DESIS Lab |
| 29 Nov (Sat) Citizen Participation | ||
| 1000 – 1200 | OPEN LANGUAGE:You can speak design too!Exploring ways to share professional languages and develop common ground | Prof. Ezio Manzini (Italy) Chair of Design for Social Innovation at the University of the Arts, London (UK), President of DESIS InternationalProf. Fumikazu Masuda (Japan)Professor in industrial design & sustainable projects at Tokyo Zokei University and President of Open House Inc. (Japan) |
| 1200 – 1330 | OPEN LUNCH:Design your own meal | Mr. Craig Au–Yeung (HK)Creative Writer, cross-media artist |
| 1330 – 1530 | OPEN MIND:Shake up taboo by design!Creating new possibilities on taboo matters and changing mindset | Prof. Lorraine Gamman (UK)Director of Design Against Crime Centre and Socially Responsive Research Centre, Professor of Design, Central Saint Martins (UK)Prof. Pelle Ehn (Sweden) Founder of MEDEA and Professor at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University (Sweden) |
| 1530 – 1600 | OPEN COFFEE:Designing your own meal | Mr. Craig Au–Yeung (HK)Creative Writer, cross-media artist |
| 1600 – 1800 | OPEN HEARTBang! Bang! Design gangs! Provoking new perspectives towards society and building resilience in the elderly community | Prof. Roger Coleman (UK)Professor Emeritus of Inclusive Design, Founder of the DesignAge programme and Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art (UK)Dr. Patricia Moore (US)Industrial designer, gerontologist and author, President of MooreDesign Associates (USA) |
| Appendix 2: Biography of Speakers and Curator-in-Residence |
Prof. Roger Coleman (UK)
Professor Emeritus of Inclusive Design, Founder of the DesignAge programme and Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art (UK)
As an ageing art, design and social activist, Roger Coleman has, throughout his life, retained a strong and guiding belief in making art and design accessible and understandable to all, and above all in the power of creativity to shape a better world through individual and collective action. In 1968, a year when revolution was in the air and he was shortly out of art school and university, he set up a community-based arts/performance/action group with a handful of fellow artists determined to challenge the elitism of the arts and what they saw as the divorce of creativity from everyday life under consumerism.
Prof. Pelle Ehn (Sweden) 
Founder of MEDEA and Professor in Media Design at Malmö University, Sweden
Pelle Ehn has for four decades (!) been involved in the research field of participatory design and in bridging design and information technology. Research projects include DEMOS from the seventies on information technology and work place democracy, UTOPIA from the eighties on user participation and skill based design, ATELIER from the last decade on architecture and technology for creative environments, and during the last years Malmö Living Labs, on open design environments for social innovation.
Prof. Lorraine Gamman (UK) 
Professor of Design; Founder and Director of the Design Against Crime Research Centre (DACRC) at University of the Arts London(UAL) and Co-director of the Socially Responsive Design and Innovation Hub, Central Saint Martins (CSM), (UK).
Lorraine Gamman is Professor of Design at Central Saint Martins (CSM), part of the University of the Arts London (UAL), as well as Visiting Professor/Research Associate with the Designing Out Crime Research Centre at the University of Technology, Sydney. She has written many articles, most recently (2011) as Co Editor of Socially Responsive Design, a special edition of the Co Design journal and Sustainability via Security, a special edition of the Built Environment journal (2009).
Prof. Ezio Manzini (Italy) 
Chair of Design for Social Innovation at the University of the Arts, London (UK), President of DESIS International
For more than two decades Ezio Manzini has been working in the field of design for sustainability. Recently, he focused on social innovation and started DESIS: an international network on this same topic. He collaborates with the Politecnico di Milano and, currently, is guest professor in Shanghai, Wuxi, London and Cape Town.
Prof. Fumikazu Masuda (Japan) 
Professor in Industrial Design & Sustainable Projects at Tokyo Zokei University and President of Open House Inc. (Japan)
For the first half of his career, Fumikazu Masuda has worked mainly on projects for major Japanese industries, including electric home appliances, electronic devices, audio visual equipment, transportations, packages and many other products from various deferent categories. The latter half of his career has been dedicated more to work for local SMEs as a design consultant while studying and teaching at design schools , and as a representative of o2 Global Network, o2 Japan, which is an international network of eco-designers.
Dr. Patricia Moore (US) 
Industrial designer, gerontologist and author; President of MooreDesign Associates (USA)
Patricia Moore is an internationally renowned gerontologist, designer and leading authority on consumer lifespan requirements. Named one of The 40 Most Socially Conscious Designers in the world and one of The 100 Most Important Women in America, ABC World News featured Moore as one of 50 Americans Defining the New Millennium.
CREATOR-IN-RESIDENCE:
Mr. Pascal Anson (UK) 
London-based designer, maker and educator
Pascal Anson studied three-dimensional design at Kingston University. He completed his studies at the Royal College of Art in London in 2000 with an MA in Design Products.
He works across many disciplines in art and design from graphics to clothing to vehicles. Anson runs his own design practice and is a Senior Lecturer in Design at Kingston University in South West London. He is currently developing a book and television series on Design and Making.
Mr. Craig Au-Yeung Ying Chai (Hong Kong) 
Creative writer, cartoonist, experienced cross-media artist
Craig Au-Yeung is involved in radio and TV programme production on cultural issues, working actively in graphic design, art direction, comic and illustration. Au-Yeung also offers commentaries on travel, home living and food, his writings and comix works appears extensively in newspapers and magazines in greater China region.
Au-Yeung has authored books and hosted TV programmes on food and loves to cook. Recently, Au-Yeung started the Taste Library at PMQ.
| Appendix 3: About HKDI and HKDI DESIS Lab |
About Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI)
As a leading design education provider in the region, HKDI is committed to offering excellent learning opportunities to keep pace with the growing demand of the creative industries.
The state-of-the-art HKDI campus at Tseung Kwan O is an international award-winning architecture, designed to encourage a dynamic flow of people and ideas, and equipped with the latest learning facilities and exhibition spaces, to enhance the creative learning experience at HKDI.
Our comprehensive design programmes encourage active participation and nurture our students’ creative thinking, cultural sensitivity and global perspective. Active collaborations with industry provide our students with first-hand knowledge of the latest industry trends.
About HKDI DESIS Lab for Social Design Research (HKDI DESIS Lab)
HKDI DESIS Lab for Social Design Research is a new cross-disciplinary action research group at the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI). HKDI DESIS Lab is set up as a research platform on social design – an emerging field that advocates a new approach to design: ‘designers as enablers of social change’.
HKDI DESIS Lab is part of the DESIS International Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability) collaborating with over 40 DESIS Labs around the world. The network aims to advance international knowledge in design for the social good and develop social design practice to benefit Hong Kong society.
Officially started in summer 2013 on the behalf ‘Everyone can design’, HKDI DESIS Lab explores new design education modules and projects that respond to social needs. HKDI DESIS Lab brings together staff members and design students as well as creative citizens to explore the possibilities of everyday living through design actions.