Business of Design Week (BODW) 2020, Asia’s leading event on design, innovation and brands, will bring together design visionaries, creatives, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across sectors and industries around the world with a series of events from 30 November – 5 December 2020 to inspire a new vision of success for the ‘new normal’. One of the highlighted events, the BODW Summit (3 – 5 December 2020), themed “VISION 20/21” this year, will be a hybrid LIVE event, with selective sessions simulcast on ViuTVsix, social media and at ‘BODW CitySalon’ partner locations including PMQ, D2 Place and Fashion Walk for the first time to deliver a ‘Beyond virtual, LIVE global’ experience for international audiences.
At the BODW Summit, over 100 local and international design and business leaders will share their collective creative vision to help participants find clarity in uncertainty. This year’s event explores timely themes namely Brand Futures, Connected Health, Safe Travels, Circular Economy, Immersive Tech, Creative Leadership, Entwined Spaces, Communication & Design and Culture & the City.
Some highly relevant discussions at the BODW 2020 include:
• Designing Tomorrow’s Travel Experience: Paul Priestman (UK), Designer, Co-founder & Chairman of PriestmanGoode and Arnaud Champenois (UK), Senior Vice President of Brand & Marketing of Belmond, will share how they envision a future for safe travels by delivering innovation from hotel design to transportation.
• Future Materials: Inspired by Nature, Cities and the Planet: Lay Koon Tan (UK), Co-founder of Nature Squared and Elaine Yan Ling Ng (Hong Kong), Founder of THE FABRICK LAB, will explore how to make the circular economy a reality by turning waste natural materials into stunning, luxurious surfaces.
• Between Nature and Architecture: Sou Fujimoto (Japan), Architect & CEO of Sou Fujimoto Architects, will present his vision of the relationship between the built environment and organic structures.
• Immerse the Body, Create with Others, and Become One: The convergence of design, art and technology has enhanced how we connect and experience the world. Pioneers of making immersive technology fun for all ages, teamLab (Japan) will challenge the boundaries of live experiences.
• A New Now : Morag Myerscough (UK), Artist and Designer, will explore endless creative possibilities in the realm of communication for positivity through design, as demonstrated in her 2020 ‘New Now’ installation, which encourages people to focus on the positives of this year.
These world renowned creative and business leaders will be speaking at the Summit:
Patrik Schumacher (UK), Principal of Zaha Hadid Architects coined the term “parametricism”, and has published manifestos promoting it as the epochal style of the 21st century. He designed the new Beijing Daxing International Airport, which opened in 2019.
Thomas Heatherwick (UK), Founder of Heatherwick Studio, an architecture and design firm with projects that span commercial and residential buildings, master planning and infrastructure schemes as well as high profile works of public art. In 2019, he designed Vessel, the centrepiece of the new Hudson Yards development in New York.
André Fu (Hong Kong), Founder of ANDRÉ FU STUDIO has wide acclaim for his signature modern style and understated elegance. In 2020, he published ‘Crossing Cultures with Design’ featuring 18 recent notable projects spanning hospitality, residential and lifestyle design and architecture. His well-known work in his hometown includes The Upper House and St Regis Hong Kong.
Es Devlin (UK), Artist and Stage Designer, is one of the world’s most influential set designers. She is the artistic director of the 2021 London Design Biennale and is designing The UK Pavilion at EXPO 2021 Dubai.
Michael Young (Hong Kong), Director of Michael Young Studio, heads one of the most exciting design companies in Asia, acclaimed for its use of iconic industrial design to enhance user experience of products. Back in 2017, he designed Roxanne, an armchair inspired by radical 1970s designers’ disco décor for the Italian brand Gufram.
Business of Design Week is organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) and co- organised by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) as the Lead Sponsor.