Project Description

Ka Man Chow Collection

Description:

Creative media design freshmasonry Ka Man Chow had a number of collaboration projects with her different illustrations. The contrast of movement and stillness always comes into play in her works, which take the audience into a game of hide-and-seek within the illustrated world she has created. Her works portray a unique mystic atmosphere that is best described by the German word ‘Waldeinsamkeit’ (literally the sensation of being alone in the woods). Often featuring no other human subjects in frame, she pushes the audience to take on a solitary journey into her fantasy world. In the collaborations facilitated by 「DesignXcel」, Ka Man’s illustration was applied and transformed into many different formats, broadening and enriching the product ranges of the different collaborators.

Duo Dots Design Limited is a very concept-driven brand, they strive to blur the lines between reality and fantasy through their lighting designs, which are expressed through the artistic and sculptural presentation of their lamps. Ka Man’s sketches of the local photo hotspots Nam Shan Estate and Tai O were printed on a bespoke fabric that serves as the lampshades of their lighting products – ‘deLight’ and ‘Dash’. Although printed lampshades are part of Duo Dots Designs’ usual practice, it is their first attempt to feature scenery of Hong Kong, a different approach from their usual, more abstract imagery. Given the multifaceted origami construction of the lampshades, images of the city are represented in a distorted fashion, accompanying by the disproportionately large cat as a symbol to their pervasive existence in the city.

UPD Limited(Greenology) is a specialist when it comes to understanding the characteristics of concrete material. Along with a strong affection to plants, the result is a collection of planters that strangely reflects our urban landscape. During the collaboration, Greenology and Ka Man explored different manufacturing and printing processes to apply the artwork onto the concrete planter. They have eventually settled with CNC engraving on a concrete surface polished to a silky smooth finish. This technique preserves the distinct style of the Greenology planters, yet accentuating the elements of Ka Man’s nature imageries in the purest form. Through her illustrations, the stillness of the concrete planter is injected with a dose of playfulness and liveliness.

With a distinct focus on good designs that enhance the quality of life through home products and personal accessories, Rcube Design Studio Limited and Ka Man joined hands on the collaborative product of ‘Balloon Dock’. Through merging Ka Man’s ‘hide and seek’ graphic gameplay of two cats subtly staring at each other with the Balloon Dock, which is to be fixed on the wall to hold and charge mobile gadgets; the floating balloons now offer the users an elevated sense of personal gadget recharging as a dynamic and interactive experience.

Both images and music are distinct forms of human expressions. As the moods alter, what one sees and listens to change accordingly. PSL offered this device for collaboration, which is at once an image frame and a loudspeaker, the tunes are enriched and elevated to the next level by the illustration of Ka Man. Her work ‘Hide’ continues with the central idea of hide-and-seek, featuring a black kitten hiding in a nordic forest.

Ten Stationery is passionate in exploring extraordinary yet practical ideas in the realm of stationery design. In a civilisation that is primarily built on flat screen interactions, the mechanical tactility of card case design – ‘I AM’ – provides a very satisfying nostalgia that is gradually disappearing in industrial designs. Underneath its minimalist exterior hides an ingenious mechanism: the releasing of the silicone band simultaneously raises the deck of cards from inside the case, providing a pragmatic yet surprising solution in the midst of self introduction. Ka Man also designed a simple pattern of a little fox for the case’s exterior, tying in with her ‘hide and seek’ collection. The ten cards inside include some of her most notable works in recent years.

創意媒體設計新鮮人周家敏透過繪畫插圖，與不少企業開展了合作項目。動態和靜態的對比總會在她的作品中佔有重要席位，帶領觀眾進入她所創造的插圖世界中，參加捉迷藏遊戲。她的作品營造了一種獨特的神秘氛圍，用德語單詞「Waldeinsamkeit」(字面意思是獨自身處於樹林中的感覺)形容最為貼切。她的作品通常都沒有包含有關人類的題材，務求引導觀眾投入她幻想世界的孤獨之旅。在《設計列陣》推動的合作中，周同學的插圖得以應用在不同產品上，並轉換為多種不同的格式，拓寬和豐富了各大合作夥伴的產品範圍。

研點設計有限公司(Duo Dots Design Limited)是一個非常著重概念的品牌，燈具的藝術感和雕塑感是其設計的精粹，助其致力消除現實與幻想之間的界限。 周同學將本地留影勝地南山邨和大澳的素描畫印在一個定制的面料上，製作成燈罩 – 「deLight」和「Dash」。儘管印制燈罩是研點設計有限公司平日的拿手好戲，但這是他們首次嘗試在燈具中展現香港的風景，與平常使用那些較抽象的圖像不同。基於燈罩為多面式摺紙結構，城市的圖像便以扭曲的方式呈現，而燈罩上也有一隻體型不按比例地龐大的貓兒，象徵貓在城市裡無處不在。

UPD Limited（Greenology）是混凝土材料特性方面的專家。企業透過順應自身對植物的熱情，結果產生出一系列灌溉器，以奇特的方式反映我城的景觀。在合作過程中，Greenology和周同學探索了不同的製造和印刷流程，將其藝術作品應用到混凝土灌溉器上。他們最終通過CNC雕刻技術在混凝土表面上進行了拋光，打造出絲綢般光滑的表面。這種技術保留了Greenology灌溉器的獨特風格，卻同時以最純粹的方式凸顯了周同學描繪大自然景觀的圖像中的各種元素。通過她的插圖，看起來紋絲不動的混凝土灌溉器被注入了一絲俏皮與活力。

Rcube Design Studio Limited和周同學均專注創造出設計精良的家居產品和個人配件，提升生活質量，故此他們為了給產品「氣球底座」增值而攜手合作。氣球底座揉合了周家敏的「捉迷藏」平面遊戲玩法，巧妙地將兩隻相互盯著對方的小貓隱藏在氣球中。氣球底座要固定在牆上，讓行動裝置不會掉落同時又能為行動裝置充電，懸浮半空的氣球為用家提供了更高層次的動態互動個人配件充電體驗。

圖像和音樂同為人類用以傳情達意的工具。隨著情緒的轉換，人們接收並理解到的信息也會相應地改變。 P.S.L. Limited提供了一個同時是圖像框架和揚聲器的裝置以供雙方合作之用，在周同學的插圖美化之下，從揚聲器傳出的音韻不僅生色不少，更提升至一個新的水平。她的作品「躲貓貓」繼續以捉迷藏的核心意念為特色，以隱藏在北歐森林中的黑色小貓擔任作品的主角。

一直以來，Ten Stationery Limited都熱衷於在文具設計領域中尋覓非凡而實用的意念。在一個人們主要用平面屏幕互動的社會中，其出品的卡片盒－－「I AM」自帶的機械化觸感就能帶來一種令人尤覺滿足的懷舊感，而這種懷舊感事實上已經在工業設計中逐漸消失。卡片盒看似簡約的外觀下，其實暗藏機關。當放鬆卡片盒附有的硅膠材質橡皮筋時，內藏的卡片就會相應升起，為正想拿出卡片自我介紹的用家提供了既實用又富驚喜的方案。周同學還為卡片盒的外殼設計了一個簡約的小狐狸圖案，與她的「捉迷藏」系列相呼應。此外，裡面的十張卡片亦包含了她近年最值得留意的作品。

Design Graduate:
Chow Ka Man

Collaborator:
Duo Dots Design Limited 研點設計有限公司
PSL Limited
Rcube Design Studio Limited
Ten Stationery Limited
UPD Limited

Email:
kaman.c0713@gmail.com

School:
City University of Hong Kong 香港城市大學