Kan Tai-keung
Award-winning designer and ink painter Kan Tai-keung has been in the design industry for over 40 years, and has seen plenty of changes along the way. The mastermind behind many iconic logos around the city (the Bank of China logo, for instance) tells Leanne Mirandilla about the many highlights of his career, and his musings on the local art and design scene today. Translation by Yannie Chan.
I was set on being a painter before learning design. But then I got a job offer as a designer. With that and my studies in design, I fell more and more in love with design. Now I am equally into design and painting.
I have been in the design and art scene for around 40 years. Throughout each of my stages in the industry, I’ve had very exciting and proud moments. As a design student, I won design competitions—beating my teachers and design masters.
Before becoming a designer, I worked 10 years as a tailor. I was 15 years old when I started tailoring and there were not many choices available to me. I wanted to paint, but in the 50s and 60s, the environment was harsh and we were struggling, so I followed my dad and became a tailor. After four or five years, it felt like there was no way out for me so I buried my dream as a painter.
During my later years as a tailor, though, I began reading art-related books and went to art exhibitions and music performances. It got me to appreciate art again and I rediscovered my dream.
By the time I made my decision to become a designer I was 25 years old. I was old enough and my father believed in my choice. Besides, the design industry was still in its early stages. No one, including me, knew much about the industry so my family couldn’t offer too much advice.
In the 60s and 70s, going to college was only for a small batch of people. There were only two universities and no design schools at all. I enrolled in a night school while working in the daytime as a designer.
I started learning in 1964 and by 1969 I displayed my artwork in a student exhibition in the City Hall for buyers and collectors. It felt very fulfilling when someone I didn’t know bought my work. It made me very, very happy. There was no agency or any assistants, so I had to deliver my art to the buyers myself. They were mostly westerners. I showed up in front of their places and we chatted. Then, two or three years later, the Hong Kong Art Museum bought my ink paintings, even though I only had four years of training in ink painting. I was overwhelmed with happiness.