survey_41 — graphic design and typography
1. Alan Chan — 陈幼坚 (Hong Kong, 1950)
A Hong Kong graphic designer, art director and collector; founder of Alan Chan Design Company (Hong Kong, 1980), author of identities and branding for international and Asian brands, winner of more than 600 awards.
- Path — born in 1950 in Hong Kong; in 1980 he founded Alan Chan Design Company in Hong Kong; over more than forty years of work — designer, brand consultant and performer; since 2000 he has been gradually moving from commercial design to an art practice.
- Practice — the studio describes its approach with the formula 东情西韵 (Eastern feeling, Western rhythm) and the joining of art with culture; more than 1,000 branding projects have been completed in retail, food service, hotels, entertainment, real estate, art and culture.
- Clients — the studio's clients include Coca-Cola, Disney, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Bernardaud, Alessi, Kirin, Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, City'Super, Fancl, Franc Franc, Seiko and Hong Kong International Airport.
- Recognition — the studio and its founder have received more than 600 local and international awards, including Communication Arts, the New York Art Directors Club, D&AD, Tokyo TDC, the Japan Typography Association and HKDA; in 1996 the New York publisher Graphis Press named Alan Chan Design Company one of the world's “Graphis Top Ten Design Companies”.
- Art and collections — selected twice for the Shanghai Biennale and the Hong Kong Biennale of Contemporary Art; in 2002 a solo exhibition at the Ginza Graphic Gallery (Tokyo); in 2007 he was the first Hong Kong designer with a solo design-and-art exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum; since 2010 he has been developing the photo project 《iEye爱》; works are held in the collections of the Museum of Design Zurich, the National Art Museum of China, the M+ museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.
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2. Kan Tai-keung — 靳埭强 (Panyu (Guangdong), 1942)
A Hong Kong graphic designer and ink painter; co-founder of KL&K Design (靳刘高设计), author of the Bank of China logo; a teacher and the organiser of the 靳埭强设计奖 award.
- Path — born in 1942 in Panyu (Guangdong); in 1967 he moved to Hong Kong and began working in design; in 1970 deputy director of the 大一设计学院; in 1976, together with colleagues, he founded 新思域设计制作 — the predecessor of 靳埭强设计公司 (1988) and 靳与刘设计顾问 (1996); in 2013 the company was renamed 靳刘高设计 (KL&K DESIGN).
- The Bank of China logo — in 1980 the Bank of China commissioned him to develop the mark; its form is built on the ancient Chinese coin (a circle with a square hole and vertical lines forming the character 中); from the mid-1980s the mark came into use, and its author received a CA award (USA) for it.
- Recognition — gold at the International Art Competition in Los Angeles, New York Mercury Gold and Galaxy Grand, and a win at the 1st Polish International Biennale of Computer Art; in 1979 he was the first designer elected one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong”, in 1984 the only designer to receive the Urban Council Design Award; in 1995 the first Chinese included in “Who's Who in Graphic Design”; in 1999 the Bronze and in 2010 the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS).
- Exhibitions and projects — the solo exhibition 生活·心源—靳埭强设计与艺术大展 at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (2002, more than 200,000 visitors); exhibitions at the DDD Gallery (Osaka) and Shizuoka University of Art and Culture (2003); a solo ink exhibition 画自我心 at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong (2008); in 2007, in the 创作9707 project, he created for Royal Copenhagen the porcelain set 华宴 for the tenth anniversary of Hong Kong's return.
- Roles — dean of the Cheung Kong School of Art and Design at Shantou University; a visiting professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Tsinghua University; a member of AGI and chairman of its Chinese branch; in 2005 he received an honorary doctorate in design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
3. Guang Yu — 广煜
A Beijing graphic designer specialising in typography and book design; co-founder of A Black Cover Design (ABCD, 2015) and of the 獾和 (Badger & Press) publishing house; a member of AGI.
- Path — in 2004 he co-founded the design alliance MEWE (米未设计联盟); in 2008 the studio 吐毛球 (TOMEETYOU); in 2009 he founded the 獾和出版 (Badger & Press) publishing house; in 2015, with Nod Young, he founded A Black Cover Design (ABCD); in 2019 ABCD opened an office in Los Angeles.
- Recognition — a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 2014; among his awards are the Tokyo TDC Prize (2004, 2008), the Merit Award of the New York ADC (2006, 2007), D&AD In Book (2009), the GDC Grand Prix (2005, 2011) and gold, silver and bronze at the HKDA Global Design Awards (2018).
- Jury and curating — a jury member at Tokyo TDC (2010), the GDC Award (2015) and the Ningbo International Poster Biennial (2006); curator and jury member of 中国设计大展 (2012) and curator of the exhibition 大声展 (2012).
- Exhibitions — a participant in China Design Now (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2008), Design of the year 2007 (Design Museum, London), Schriftbilder Bilderschrift (Essen, Germany, 2016) and 贰零一叁杰出华文汉字设计作品展 (Taipei, 2013).
- Works — posters and publications: 一粒尘埃 / A Drop of Dust (2015), 不再图像中行动 / Unlived by What is Seen (2014), Minimal Card (2015), 没有人在乎 / Nobody Cares (2015), 大比喻家 / The Great Metaphorist (2012), MADE IN JAPAN (2013) and Shanshui Records — 10th Anniversary (2013).
4. Liu Zhizhi — 刘治治
A Beijing graphic designer and a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts; co-founder of the studios MEWE, 吐毛球 and 立入禁止 (STUDIO NA.EO).
- Path — in 2003 he graduated from the graphic-design department of the School of Design of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (中央美术学院设计学院); from 2010 to the present he has taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts; in 2003, together with Guang Yu and He Jun, he founded the design alliance MEWE; in 2007, with Guang Yu, he reorganised the studio 吐毛球; in 2015 he reorganised the studio 立入禁止.
- Recognition — Tokyo TDC nominations (2004–2009) and the Merit Award of the New York ADC (2005–2006); a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) since 2010.
- Studio — 立入禁止 (STUDIO NA.EO) was reorganised in 2015, its core being Liu Zhizhi, 迷盒 (Mazzybox) and 张琦; the team works in graphic design, editing, type research, spatial narrative and moving image; with offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
- Works (studio, art director — Liu Zhizhi) — 东方儿童书展 (publisher 一善书店), Wallpaper store (the 沙美大楼 building, Shanghai, 2021), 三个展 (an exhibition by the photographer 黎晓亮), 流浪椅子新生 (a Central Academy of Fine Arts programme), ICI Branding (Chinese association for the protection of monuments and ancient sites), Yuelai (悦来中心) and The Tang (唐舍).
5. Wang Zhihong — 王志弘 (Taipei, 1975)
A Taiwanese graphic designer, art director and book designer; co-founder of WANGZHIHONG CO. (Taipei, 2000), known for integrating typography into graphic design; a member of AGI.
- Path — born in 1975 in Taipei; in 1995 he graduated from 复兴高级商工职业学校; in 2000 he founded his own studio; in 2001 he did the overall design of 阮庆岳四色书 and the cover of 迷幻异域.
- Studio — WANGZHIHONG CO. was founded in 2000 by Wang Zhihong and Hsu Yu-wen in Taipei; its fields are art direction, visual identity, campaigns, wayfinding, packaging and book design; its clients come from Taiwan, Japan, the UK, China and Hong Kong.
- Publishing series — co-founder of the book series INSIGHT (2008) and SOURCE (2012); within them he introduced to Taiwanese readers Yoko Tadanori, Nakahira Takuma, Araki Nobuyoshi, Rei Kawakubo (COMME des GARÇONS) and others.
- Recognition — D&AD Wood Pencil, ADC Silver Cube (USA), TDC Certificate of Typographic Excellence (New York), Tokyo TDC Prize Nominee Works (three times), Paju Book Awards (Korea), HKDA Design Awards Kaoru Kasai's Choice, and six gold awards at the Golden Butterfly Awards (Taiwan); a member of AGI since 2015; in 2022 a D&AD jury member in the Typography category.
- Publications and works — the monograph Design by wangzhihong.com: A Selection of Book Designs, 2001–2016 (2016); book designs: My Back Page, and the Memory of Youth (Tokyo TDC 2023 nominee), Meters Series (D&AD 2023 Wood Pencil), the trilogy The Autobiography of Eikoh Hosoe (ADC 2021 Silver Cube), Provoke & Beyond (Tokyo TDC 2019 nominee) and Letter A-F (Tokyo TDC 2018 nominee).
