Branding Hong Kong: Charting the City's History
Can you sum up our SAR in a symbol? We examine its evolving logos.
Hong Kong has always been one-of-a-kind: The culture, the history and the diversity have helped shape it into an incomparable city. So how do you sell that to the rest of the world?
With a logo, apparently. Our government started working on a new logo for the city shortly after the handover in 1997. It needed an image that would reinforce the city’s international image at a time when all eyes were on the brand new SAR, something that would allay fears of immediate integration into mainland China. “At that time, much attention was focused on the return of Hong Kong to China and it was the ideal time to shape a visionary, unique identity for Hong Kong,” says Brett Free, Deputy Director of Information Services for the government.
In 2001 they came up with the slogan “Asia’s World City” and a logo—a flying dragon made up of the Chinese characters for Hong Kong (香港), while also incorporating the letters “HK” (Can’t see it? It helps if you squint and turn your head sideways. Kind of). “It was intended to represent Hong Kong’s continuing link with an historical and cultural icon. At the same time, the modern rendering of the ‘flying dragon’ also symbolizes the meeting of East and West that is a defining characteristic of Hong Kong,” says Free. The cost of this exercise? $9 million.
In 2010 the logo got a controversial revamp, initiated by then-Chief Executive Donald Tsang. The visual identity was given “a more contemporary look while maintaining the virtues of the original dragon logo” says the government. How? With the addition of three colorful ribbons to the logo. The blue and green ones symbolize blue sky and a sustainable environment, while the red one is a silhouette of Lion Rock, representing the “can-do” spirit of Hong Kong people.
How much to design, develop and add those three ribbons? An additional $1.4 million of taxpayers’ money, a sum widely criticized as a waste of cash. While Free believes it was money well spent, the question remains: Does this logo capture the spirit of Hong Kong?
We’re not sure if one symbol can actually represent an entire city, which is why we’ve taken a closer look into some of the city’s most visible logos: The branding that’s evolved with the years—and the logos that have never changed.
