Design Institute sweeps awards
Three students from the Hong Kong Design Institute have won prizes at an annual watch and clock design competition.
This year, more than 200 students put their design talents to the test at the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Design Competition. Winning entries were announced and went on display in the Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair last week.
The competition was divided into open and student groups. The theme for the student group was 'Black Beauty', with participants required to use black as the main colour for their timepiece designs.
Contestants not only had to show originality and creativity, but also needed to come up with marketable product designs.
Winner of the student group, Leung Wing-Hing, a Year Two Higher Diploma student of product design from the Hong Kong Design Institute, impressed the judges with his blending of ancient elements with modern technology.
His design 'Night' was a black, globe-shaped clock with an LED light in its centre that projects blue light to show the time. Its plastic sphere surface embodies the night skies, which ancient Chinese people observed when measuring time.
'In ancient times, Chinese people observed star movements to measure time's passage. I incorporated the elements of star movements into the clock to invoke nostalgia for a traditional timing method,' he said.
Two other students from the institute won two runners-up prizes. They were both Year Three Higher Diploma students in timepiece design and branding.
Leung received a HK$15,000 cash prize and his clock will be displayed at the Baselworld 2010 Watch and Jewellery Show in Switzerland early next year.
First runner-up prize went to Yuen Siu-man with her 'Hide and Seek', a quartz-movement watch with an LED light that projects time on a grey reflective glass. Her classmate Chu Hoi-ying won the 2nd runner-up prize for her 'Black Wheel', which was inspired by the design of a sports car.
Four of the eight finalists also came from the design institute.
The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair was held at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, with 700 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions taking part.
