Business of Design Week 2018: a stellar week of Design and Innovation events

BODW brought to Hong Kong some of the world’s most influential and inspirational design masters

Asia’s leading international event on design, innovation and brands, Business of Design Week (BODW), concluded its 2018 Summit on 8 December (Saturday) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

An annual flagship event co-organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and sponsored by Create Hong Kong.

BODW brought to Hong Kong some of the world’s most influential and inspirational design masters, brand leaders and business figures across a large range of different industries and sectors, who inspired an international audience of over 120,000 on driving good design and business connections across all levels of society through topical presentations, forum discussions and networking events during the week.

BODW is highly regarded as a valuable platform for professionals across sectors to network, exchange ideas about innovation and design and explore business opportunities.

In collaboration with this year’s partner city Melbourne, BODW 2018 consisted of:

• a main summit (3-8 December), a BODW City Programme to activate creative communities in different districts across Hong Kong
• and over 20 concurrent events to foster innovation and business connections that promote the development of Hong Kong’s creative industries.

This year’s summit took on the theme ‘Think ∙ Collaborate ∙ Create’. 

Of over 80 international speakers at the event, more than 20 came from this year’s partner city Melbourne, which has won the accolade of the world’s most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit for seven consecutive years (2011-2017).

The speakers shared the latest innovative ideas and industry insights in the fields of urban planning, architecture, culture, technology and digital design.

Professor Eric Yim, JP, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre, the organiser of this year’s BODW said,

“This is the first time that BODW has teamed up with Melbourne, a unique city in the southern hemisphere. Through this meaningful partnership, BODW can reach a wider audience and create even more new business opportunities.

It has been a privilege to see the meeting of minds of these two creative hubs, and I am sure this cross-territorial exchange will continue to go from strength to strength well after the event.”

Mrs Carrie Lam, GBM, GBS, JP the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR officially opened this year’s event on Thursday, 6 December.

BODW aligns with the Hong Kong SAR’s direction of cultivating design thinking and people-centred innovation and promoting wider and more strategic use of design in the city for problem solving, wealth creation and societal wellbeing.

Spreading the creative & innovation vibe around in the city

Having made its debut in Wan Chai and other districts in Hong Kong in November, the BODW City Programme is an extension of the main BODW summit.

It helps to forge collaborations between local designers, businesses and brands to celebrate good design and innovation and strengthen Hong Kong as a creative hub in Asia through exciting art installations, exhibitions, creative tours, and education and community programmes.

Featuring nearly 200 exciting happenings on a city-wide scale, BODW City Programme will prolong the momentum generated by the main summit until January 2019.

Beyond the main BODW summit, a number of concurrent partner events also took place:

• the DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony
• FASHION ASIA HONGKONG
• DesignInspire
• BIP Asia Forum
• deTour
• WORKTECH Hong Kong
• GDN Symposium
• M+ Matters Keynote
• Leadership Forum on Design Education.

Unveiling a new partnership for 2019

As this year’s summit drew to a close, BODW announced the United Kingdom as the official partner country for BODW 2019.

The United Kingdom is renowned for its flourishing architecture and design communities and as a country with a creative, vibrant and exhilarating atmosphere, where arts, culture, architecture and design all thrive together.

It is home to some of the best art and design schools, and brings cutting-edge design to its world-famous architecture.

With a partner of such rich design heritage, BODW 2019 is set to be another breath-taking event for those who look for endless inspiration and meaningful cultural exchange.