Creative prints in digital format
Digital design was the focus of the first Hong Kong Textile Print Design Competition, which attracted more than 70 entries from students and professional designers.
The competition was initiated by Sheila Cook, associate professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Design, and Steve Chan Kwong-wing, a consultant with the Textiles and Apparel Division of the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
While some of the funding for the competition came from the government's Innovation and Technology Fund, the rest was raised through industry and education sponsors.
Open to two groups, students and anyone with a Hong Kong ID card, the competition format allowed entries to focus on digital design. 'The apparel industry is vastly important to Hong Kong,' Mr Chan explained, 'and we have a duty to expedite progress in useful directions. Recent technology allows a manufacturer to produce printed fabric in a small dedicated machine, without having to commit to production runs.
'The advantages of this are considerable, and not only because it makes a huge difference to operating costs for companies producing at the sample level.'
Ms Cook said the competition aimed to draw industry attention to the functional utility of digital design allied with the new technology. 'They can produce one or two metres of a useful print by directly applying a digital design to a software interface. The cost-saving benefits are immense. This technique also makes rapid prototyping possible.'
Judging was based on three main criteria: originality, printability and marketability. This allowed for a practical, industry-sensitive approach, Ms Cook said. Applicants were invited to submit entries in the form of a piece of artwork, a digital file or a traditional textile base. Eighty per cent of the entries received were for the student category, while most of the open category entries came from professional designers working within the industry.
'This innovation of digital printing for textiles is more than two years old and we felt we had a responsibility to promote it,' Mr Chan said.
'But we wanted to do it in a low-key, non-controversial way. So after deciding on a competition, we put our funding and schedule proposals through various evaluation committees.'
The three top scorers, out of the 71 entrants, to be presented their awards tomorrow, are Lam Wing-sze for her block print design; Fanny Lau for her apparel trimmings design, and Chu Chi-wing for his sunflowers theme print. Their entries are on display in a special Designers Gallery at Interstoff.
