#BODW2015 : Design. Cities. Future.
Now in its 14th edition, BODW 2015 carries a broad theme on “Design. Cities. Future.”. We have a strong line-up of speakers of 70+ and good mix of projects from Barcelona and from all round the world to inspire us on how good design creates value and well-being and helps to make cities of the future.
We particularly welcome Barcelona as BODW’s first ever Partner City. Design in Barcelona, the beautiful graphicity as it is often referred to, is both community-driven and forward-thinking. It captures the city’s rich traditions and full embrace of art and culture, and is well loved by its peoples and visitors.
As we chart our future, we need creative confidence, new knowledge and skills to navigate complexity and uncertainty, and to stay competitive. Design bridges big ideas and innovations. In the economy of choice, design also helps to create empathy with people, meaningfulness and new possibilities for ventures, enterprises and societies.
BODW 2015 creates a kind of pan-universe view on how creative endeavours and co-creation transform cities, activate spaces and connect with communities. It also fosters entrepreneurship and ventures, effect new immersive brand experience, and achieve good design of services and products. Good design, after all, creates lasting brand value and contributes towards economic and societal well-being.
In this edition, we have new business of design features such as Internet of Things (or perhaps better Internet & Things) and Crowdfunding to underpin their role and significance in the new economy. The “New Economy” mindset will also help to spill creativity everywhere in our society and work places and build up creative confidence crucial for startups and organisational renewal.
The Fashion Ecosystem Forum is a timely programme. In advancing Hong Kong as the hub of fashion in Asia, we need to stimulate creativity and effect vibrant, innovative and responsible development. We also need to tackle challenges holistically and address issues pertinent to future fashion education, nurturing of creative talents and sustainable trade and industry development.
The BODW Brand Asia Forum remains a core programme along with other sessions namely Design For Asia, Space & Design, Communication & Design, and Product & Design. Through case sharing, we will get to sense brand’s future in the new economy and how design creates empathy with people and build immersive experience, activates spaces and communities and contributes to social innovations. Through storytelling, bigdata-driven insights and strategic use of digital and technology, we will be inspired on how Design creates engaging user experience and breeds brand authenticity.
The Culture & The City day programme on the last day of BODW 2015 aims to enlighten us on visionary design and cultural leadership in transforming cities and communities. Impactful deployment of design and the arts will lead to growing city vibe and identity, urbanism and advancement of cities to become better places to live, work and play.
This year, we have also made PMQ a core venue of BODW 2015 together with HKCEC. Other concurrent programmes, namely, Business of Intellectual Property, DesignEd Conference, Global Design Network Symposium, InnoDesignTech Expo and deTour community programme provide ample opportunity to foster knowledge sharing, design talent exchange and showcases, public engagement and business development.
Shaping our futures is a big act of designing. And BODW is an act of co-creation among all programme partners and sponsors to inspire new perspectives, possibilities and futures. For programme details or updates, please visit www.bodw.com.
See you at BODW 2015 in Hong Kong!
Dr Edmund Lee
Executive Director
Hong Kong Design Centre
