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Michelle Chan

A group of students has learned from a local artist that art is not only about  attractiveness but also about having a message.

Fabrica Features by United Colors of Benetton: Out of the Box T-shirt Design Project is a recent project organised by  Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (YAF).

Starting in April,   YAF conducted two months of T-shirt design workshops at  their studio.

Guided by renowned local artist Tommy Li Wing-chuen, 30  design students aged between 18 and 25 created 30 unique designs.

Using signs, symbols, icons and slogans,  participants demonstrated their creativity  on the fronts of T-shirts.

Mr Li shared  his professional insights with the students, as well as  teaching them how to brainstorm for designs.

Before they started on their individual designs, each  participant was given a  letter or a number. They were then asked to think  of a related word and create a design around it.

'I was given the letter 'O',' said Lui Oi-man, a Year Two student  of visual design at  Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

'We were asked to base our designs on something from our daily lives. The words 'over' and 'organic' came to mind.

'I wanted to  include humour in my design, so I  came up with the slogan 'Get over or game over',' said the 21-year-old.

Mr Li  encouraged students  to include graphics, photos, typography or illustrations  in their designs.

After a few amendments  to her first layout,  Mr Li agreed that Ms Lui's slogan would  work well with a photo of the Queen's Pier.

As well as encouraging students to design from the heart,  Mr Li reminded them that their work should contain a message.

'Tommy taught us that a design should be able to convey  meaning without  explicitly spelling anything out,' said Deborah Chow, 25, who  studies exhibition design at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education.

'My original design was based on the word 'run'. I wanted to  convey the message that 'time is running fast'.

'However, Tommy said the fonts I'd  chosen  didn't convey the  idea of  movement, so I   changed it to 'running', and  the 'legs' of the letter 'R' resemble two human legs,' she said.

The students were given useful advice for their future careers and future works of art. It was also a change of scene for many students.

'It was  great meeting Tommy in person. He  shared many of  the experiences  he's had in his successful career.

'It's also a pleasure to be doing something creative which is neither for a job nor homework,' said Ms Lui.

All completed works will be exhibited  in Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui, in August. Selected works will be reproduced  for sale in Benetton shops.  Proceeds will go to charity.

For more details,  visit http://www.hkyaf.com/projects/VA/2007/Benetton/eng/



T-shirts that talk