Knowledge of Design Week Conference Returns to Hong Kong for its 14th Edition!

Since 2006, KODW has been an annual thematic program that gathers the global design community to explore the big design debates of today, offering an opportunity for everyone to engage in a dialogue on how design can solve complex challenges of our society. With ever-changing digital technology catalyzing smart cities of the future, the key to creating a smart yet liveable city lies in the application of human-centered design thinking. Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is featuring “Designing Digital Futures” as the theme of its annual Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) this year.

Building on the theme “Design for Liveability” last year which captured the attention of the industry and the general public, KODW 2019 will continue to inspire new ideas and discussion, looking into how human-centered design serves as a bridge between “digital technology” and “humanity” as we explore future design and urban developments. The theme also echoes the HKSAR Government’s vision of turning Hong Kong into a world-leading smart city. Internationally-renowned industry experts and business leaders from around 10 cities across 4 continents will gather together in Hong Kong to explore the three cornerstones of future urban life: “Liveable Smart City”, “Future Retail & Lifestyle” and “Digital Health”. The forums and workshops feature a stellar speaker line-up including Ms Di-Ann Eisnor, CWeO cities at The We Company (formerly known as WeWork), who previously incubated new urban systems at Google's Area 120; Mr. Ren Yee, creative team member from UNStudio/ UNSense, the archtech company behind the planning of space design in Brainport Smart District, the “smartest neighbourhood in the world” in the Netherlands; Mr. Tommy Campbell, digital designer with SPACE10, IKEA’s research & design lab; Mr. Low Cheaw Hwei, Head of Design for Philips ASEAN Pacific; Mr. James Law, JP, Hong Kong architect and Chairman & CEO of James Law Cybertecture and Mr. Rama Gheerawo, director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art; Mr. Clive Grinyer, co-founder of design consultancy Tangerine; and Mr. Javier Mariscal, one of Spain’s foremost designers and the designer of Cobi, the mascot for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, to name a few.

Based on a human-centered design approach, KODW 2019’s speakers will discuss how digital and technology can transform the challenges the world is facing into opportunities, enhance our quality of life, and make Hong Kong a more dynamic, inclusive, innovative, sustainable and liveable city. The event promises to inspire limitless possibilities, and outline the future utopia we can envision and co-design together.

More details about Knowledge of Design Week 2019:

KODW fosters cross-disciplinary learning and exchange through 3 thematic forums, 7 interactive workshops, an InnoDesign Leadership CEO Forum, and a Roundtable focusing on public service innovation, providing an invaluable knowledge-sharing platform that connects global field experts, policymakers, industry leaders and forward-thinking minds. It engages different stakeholders in a multi-level dialogue on how design can solve the complex challenges of our society.

Details of this year’s edition are as below: 

Date: 17^th – 21^st June 2019
Time: 09:00-18:00
Venue: Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui (Forums – 19^th & 20^thJune), Eaton Hotel Hong Kong, 380 Nathan Road, Kowloon (Workshops – 17^th, 18^th & 21^st June)

For more information, visit their website at www.kodw.org/ta