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在余奉祖的记忆中，香港设计界自60年代初至今已有四代人材：
第一代：王无邪、石汉瑞、靳埭强、施养德、高文安、周志波、张树新、郭乐山……
第二代：韩秉华、陈幼坚、余奉祖、蔡启仁、林衍堂、欧贤浩、何中强、邓昭莹、洪约瑟、冯永基、朱家鼎……
第三代：李永铨、陈超宏、刘小康、蔡楚圣、黄炳培、余志光、欧德诚、吴秋全、易达华、叶智荣、彭志江、陈瑞麟、施家礼、黄安、何宗宪、赖维钧、卢永强、陈华雄、林席贤、陈耀堂、周素卿、刘绍增、KINSON CHAN……
第四代：林伟雄、JAVIN MO、麦雅端、高少康、古文裕、郑永仪…… (人名众多，不能尽录)
香港设计界就是由这四代人材组成，而香港的设计事业，亦是由他们把着关，坚如钢壁，不易冲破，无论前辈或后辈都是朝着同一方向勇往直前，永不停步，要让本港与内地的设计师一同携手，发光、发亮、冲向世界！！
香港设计的演变和力量
早在60与70年代初，由于香港旅游业的兴起以及作为推广本港贸易唯一官方机构“香港贸易发展局”的成立，带动了设计的需求及发展。然而当时我们唯一具备国际视野的设计师便是HENRY STEINER(石汉瑞先生)。他毕业于美国耶鲁大学，却选择香港作为他开创设计事业的基地，也成了我们华人设计师的一个榜样。他高超而近乎完美的设计水平亦渐渐成为我们追求的指标。当时本港差不多全部的高级酒店，英资或美资机构，就连汇丰银行都是他的客户。在此期间成立的香港贸易发展局，其使命是面向世界推广香港。因而局内的设计，展览及宣传部渐形成另一股设计风格，既有东方特色，亦有国际风格，当时领军的是MR.MARSHALL CORAZZA 以及我们熟识的前设计师协会主席周志波先生及LANA CHAN小姐，他们的设计往往令我们眼前一亮。至于第三股的设计力量则来自我们的设计大师王无邪先生，他是香港艺术和设计的先驱，著有《点线面》一书。还有靳埭强、施养德、张树新、张树生，吕立勋以及钟培正，他们代表着香港第一代的华人设计动力。至于第四股的设计力量则来自当时本土以及海外的广告公司。当时的广告与平面设计的关系十分微妙。从事广告的常常有机会兼顾平面设计，相反，做平面的则很少会负责执行广告创作，因公司人手、制度、架构不同，因此在广告公司内隐藏着不少平面设计高手(君不见现时大部份的著名平面设计师都是出身于广告公司吗？)。到了80至90年代，香港设计事业，突飞猛进，由于经济起飞，百业蓬勃，百货及娱乐事业，工业及贸易的增长，令设计需求有增无减，设计水平被推高，本港设计师在国际比赛中屡获殊荣，因而在国际设计舞台上占一席位，尤其是靳隶强先生，石汉瑞先生。他们最先令到外国人知道什么是“香港设计”，就象李小龙令全球知道什么是“中国功夫”一样！我们第二代的设计师陈幼坚先生更将“香港设计”的地位巩固下来，建立了真正的香港风格。我认为第一代与第二代的设计师对巩固香港设计的根基作了很大的贡献，虽然他们最能享受到经济蓬勃带来的优势，但作为开荒者，所流的血汗亦是不少，他们开垦了水井和山路，后来的第三代第四代要行的路畅顺了，也有了明确的大方向。当然，由于金融风暴的摧残，令他们面对很多的限制，但随着全球化、国际化，香港现在的设计风格有了改变，变得更国际化，更简约化，慢慢将东方或本地元素淡化。
也谈到内地的设计，随着80～90年代的渐进开放，我们香港的设计师无论是平面产品，室内设计师或建筑师，都很早已踏足内地，参与建设项目，开办设计讲座，到大学演说，举行香港产品及平面设计展。还记得在1994年我在广州举行设计展，那时真是十分热闹，内地大部份设计师都以香港的设计作为借鉴，频繁的交流，就像酒店的兴建管理，营运等人材都是香港输入，现在匆匆十数年已过去，内地经济起飞，但最高档次的酒店，仍然是外来的建筑师设计，室内和灯光设计仍是香港来的。电视上播着的高档次广告仍然是香港创作人有份参与的，香港的影响力还存在着，很多人在访问我时都问我怎样比较两地的设计，我则认为这问题本身亦有问题，硬将两地比较是不合理的，就像是要将香港的设计与纽约或意大利比较，就算我们的设计师能够在外国的D&AD，ART DRIECTORS CLUB, GRAPHIS或COMMUNICRTION拿到了100个奖，也不能够说我们赶上了美国或欧洲，难道李安的“卧虎藏龙”拿了奥斯卡大奖便是赶上了美国吗？由于历史不同，两地制度不同，起步时间与年代不同，硬要比较是太肤浅了。当然，如果到有一天，内地的设计师都来香港讲学，开研讨会，举行平面，尤其是产品设计展，而香港的客户也都聘用他们的设计，到了那一天我才会给你正确的答案！(文/余奉祖 作者系香港设计师)
FOUR GENERATIONS OF HONG KONG DESIGNERS
There are four generations of designers in Hong Kong since the sixties according to Michael Miller Yu. The first generation of designers includes names* like Henry Steiner, Wucius Wong, Kan Tai Keung, Kenneth Ko and Alan Zie Yongder. Among the second generation would be Hon Bing Wah, Alan Chan, Michael himself and Mike Chu. Next in line will be Tommy Li, Eric Chan, Eddy Yu, Freeman Lau, Stanley Wong, Dennis Chan, Kelly Sze and the fourth generation of upcoming stars are Hung Lam, Javin Mo and others of this period. These are the designers who make Hong Kong design what it is today. The legacy of local design continues as these individuals embark on a quest to take Hong Kong design to the next level not just in Hong Kong but also internationally.
*The names mentioned are a representative of their generation and are in no particular order.
A SLICE OF HONG KONG DESIGN HISTORY
In the early sixties, tourism in Hong Kong started to boom as more and more people became interested in visiting this earl of the orient? It was in this same period that design guru Henry Steinertook the opportunity to start his design business in Hong Kong. His designs became extremely popular and had a major influence on local Hong Kong designers. Henry list of clients consists of international hotels, large British and US Corporations and banking giants such as HSBC.
With the establishment of the Hong Kong Trade & Development Council to promote Hong Kong to the world, design and advertising went into high gear under the leadership of Mr. Marshall Corazza. Other big names began to surface. These include Ex-HKDA Chairman Chow Chi Bor and designers Lana Chan, Kan Tai Keung and Alan Zie Yonder, to name just a few.
As the local economy blossomed, there was a dramatic increase in the establishment of local and international advertising agencies. Lurking inside these agencies was a new breed of designers and illustrators. Many of these individuals started to make a name for themselves by winning prestigious design and advertising awards around the world and a new generation of designers is born. Many people hold the view that Henry Steiner and Kan Tai Keung let the world know about Hong Kong design much the same way that Bruce Lee introduced Kung Fu to the world. This just goes to show the impact of Hong Kong design at that period.
As with all economies, there are good days and bad days. Many will remember the financial crisis and the uncertainties after 1997 when the advertising and design industry saw a decline in business. Fortunately many designers persisted through this difficult period and with the gradual uptrend in the economy, the need for quality design and advertising services surfaced once again.
What makes Hong Kong designers unique from designers in the mainland is their international viewpoints and training. It is no surprise that between the eighties and nineties, many local graphic designers, interior designers and architects from Hong Kong were invited to give talks and seminars on design and advertising in major cities in the mainland such as Guangzhou. The knowledge and expertise are still evident in many of China designs today.
Some like to compare Hong Kong designs with those of Italy and New York. A fair comparison is hard considering the different cultural, social and historic backgrounds of these countries. Even if Hong Kong designers win hundreds of awards abroad, this does not mean that Hong Kong designers are etter?than designers from other countries. It is like saying Chinese film directors are 詁etter?than their US counterpart because Ang Lee won an Oscar for the movie 訡rouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? A claim like that would be too superficial! On the other hand, some are asking if designers from the mainland are 詁etter?than Hong Kong designers. There may be an answer to this question if one sees a dramatic increase of invitations for mainland designers to give talks and seminars in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong designers have achieved excellent results on the international design arena winning many awards between themselves including D&AD, Art Directors Club, Graphis and Communication Arts. This only goes to show that Hong Kong design are recognized for its exceptionally high international standard.
Looking ahead, there are many Hong Kong designers who have a deep passion for design and one can expect to see even more exciting work from Hong Kong.(by MICHAEL MILLER YU)
