Furniture for micro-apartments, a film about a revengeful stuntman and a game about vertical farming are among the 18 diverse student projects in this school show by PolyU Design.

The featured projects were completed by 25 students studying across the "wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes" at the PolyU Design school, which forms a part of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

PolyU Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

School statement: 

"PolyU Design has been an important hub of design education and research for Hong Kong since 1964. The school thrives on its geographical position in bridging the East and the West, allowing its students to develop their design strengths with a uniquely international cultural awareness at both professional and social levels. In the 2020 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject, the school is ranked world's top 15 in the area of art and design.

"The School nurtures around 1,100 students every year in a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, with more than 40 PhD candidates. For our undergraduate programmes, we offer a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Scheme in Design in five major disciplines. The Master of Design programme includes specialisms in Design Strategies, Design Practices, Interaction Design, International Design and Business Management, Urban Environments Design, while the Master of Science programme specialises in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology.

"The school provides a high level and well-equipped environment that includes significant research infrastructure with seven laboratories and a variety of first-class technical workshops in the newly completed Jockey Club Innovation Tower, a landmark building designed by the late legendary architect Zaha Hadid."

Find out more about PolyU Design at its immersive online and 3D degree show, which has been based on the physical one taking place at the university's Innovation Tower designed by Zaha Hadid.

Still related if not related by Tsz Ching Minnie Li

"Ever experienced the moment where you are annoyed for being alone? Annoyed from interruption? Even annoyed with society? Spotify Premium Family now allowing users to connect with others.

"Introducing a family membership in which unrelated, free users can switch to a Premium account by seeking their ideal 'informal-family members' to share the premium family subscription. It encourages users to create their own family by approaching their surrounding people or even strangers, gathering a maximum of six members to enjoy the Premium Family.

"With Spotify, we are related if we were unrelated. Develop the bonding between each other, 'Be my family member' is used to crystallise the bonding in a light-hearted way, adding a value to connect people in these days when the society is split."

Student name: Tsz Ching Minnie Li
Project name: Still related if not related
Project tagline: Finding the ideal family member to yourself
Course: BA(Hons) in Advertising Design
Tutor: Francis Hung
Website: behance.net/gallery/101160961/Still-related-if-not-related-

The Unwanted Project by King Ting Adrianna Cheung

"The Unwanted is dedicated to all the things people used to like and want. It is a reminder to people for those things that they do not remember anymore. The project is aiming to trigger audiences' memories, their old memories.

"This is going to be an ongoing project for finding the unwanted pieces, the old fashion trend we all once loved but do not remember them or hate them now."

Student name: King Ting Adrianna Cheung
Project name: The Unwanted Project
Project tagline: A project dedicated to all the once loved, unwanted items
Course: BA(Hons) in Advertising Design
Tutor: Stefan Sonntag
Website: behance.net/gallery/100835303/The-Unwanted-Project

2020 by Wing Hong Ben Lee

"We are the Generation Y. We were born and grew up in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We are the creatures of this era without experiencing the change of regimes. There is no doubt that we have our own interpretation of the current era and values in Hong Kong.

"2020 is an authorship project representing our visions. Its aim is to provide an alternative vision for the Hong Kong citizens to coexist with current Hong Kong. It uses the young generation's vision to elaborate on the Hong Kong values in the Special Administrative Region era (1997-2047).

"2020 is a project using 22 Hong Kong individual values to create 22 conceptual explorations, to clarify that we could influence the society based on individual values, and to figure out Generation Y's imagination about Hong Kong values and future."

Student name: Wing Hong Ben Lee
Project name: 2020
Project tagline: Exploring the concept of Hong Kong Generation (Y)'s visions to the values of Hong Kong
Course: BA(Hons) in Communication Design
Tutor: Amy Chow
Website: https://www.bdesign85.com/2020-2

Cultural Run by Ka Ki Apple Mok

"Cultural Run, a city hunt competition, aims to minimise the problems of Pakistanis' unaccepted local identity and misconception and provide a better alternative to existing tours. It hopes to encourage Chinese-Pakistani interactions to enhance the cultural competence of the target audience  – Chinese secondary school students and achieve the ultimate goal of ethnic inclusion.

"The word 'Cultural' symbolises the cultural competence that participants can gain and 'Run' represents the posture of the event. Cultural Run is divided into three phases, which are cultural recognition, cultural experience and cultural integration. Participants have to run to different checkpoints to get marks after doing cultural tasks."

Student name: Ka Ki Apple Mok
Project name: Cultural Run
Project tagline: Ethnic Inclusion of Pakistanis in Hong Kong
Course: BA(Hons) in Communication Design
Tutor: Brian Kwok
Website: applemok.com
Email: [email protected]

Guerrilla Planter by Cheuk Sum Sumjai Leung

"In Hong Kong, 80 per cent of food is imported from China and only 8 per cent is produced on local farmland, resulting in low self-sufficiency. Consequently, food supply, green spaces, and a clean air environment will be the main issues of our future.

"The story of how food can be grown in and on existing buildings, transforming their form and the entire streetscape, as well as the relationship between the inventions and characters actions is designed as a game – Guerrilla Planter – which allows to participate, to engage with, play with, and imagine about the possibilities of self-supporting farming and sustainable living."

Student name: Cheuk Sum Sumjai Leung
Project name: Guerrilla Planter
Project tagline: An alternative solution of sustainable living and farming in dense area
Course: BA(Hons) in Environment and Interior Design
Tutor: Anneli Giencke
Website: sumjaileung.myportfolio.com
Email: [email protected]

Enfilades Through Time by Ka Siu Lam

"This is a thesis project concerning renovation frequency, material history, and time. Buildings and spaces are often renovated earlier than the end of their useful life. This renovation entails stripping history away, totally replacing it with new material. This project looks for a way to respond to material history and glorify previous work.

"The project contrasts time frames through context and program, infilling a series of old buildings with high-end retail. Material-intensive interventions meant to last for decades contrast with retail spatial programming, in which immediate and continuous exchange is all that matters."

Student name: Ka Siu Lam
Project name: Enfilades Through Time
Project tagline: The Lifecycle of Materials in Fast-paced Society
Course: BA(Hons) in Environment and Interior Design
Tutor: Daniel Elkin
Website: https://www.behance.net/gallery/100894087/Enfilade-Through-Time

Kill Danny by Lok Hei Law, Chun Tat Leung and Hau Chung Wu

"Him, a hard-boiled stuntman who is enjoying his peaceful retirement life with his beloved puppy Popo. One morning, as Him was walking his dog and buying his meal, as usual, disaster came – a car rushed into his lovely dog and blended it into a chunk of flesh...

"Here comes the notorious billionaire – Danny. Encountering the siege of gangsters, duelling with the cyborg killer. Can Him take his revenge successfully?"

Student name: Lok Hei Law, Chun Tat Leung and Hau Chung Wu
Project name: Kill Danny
Project tagline: A story of revenge – a tribute to 80s Hong Kong action movies
Course: BA(Hons) in Digital Media
Tutor: Step Cheung
Instagram: instagram.com/924.studio
Email: [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]

Revenge story of a Barber by Roy Sam, Karen Chui and Yannes Li 

"Facing totalitarian, is violence the only way out? What is waiting for the avenger after the revenge? Salvation, hope, or reincarnation of despair?

"Eight years ago, a barber was prosecuted for drug possession by a police officer and sent to jail. Eight years later, he was released from prison. He followed the leads and found the police officer who charged him. He met the policeman's daughter by chance and found out she also hated her father. She knew all the crimes her father committed and felt disgusted for what her father did to her.

"They planned a kidnap in an abandoned school and made the officer confessed for what he did. However, the barber could not hold his anger when he heard what was told by him."

Student name: Roy Sam, Karen Chui and Yannes Li
Project name: Revenge story of a Barber
Project tagline: A live-action movie
Course: BA(Hons) in Digital Media
Tutor: Sau Ping Adam Wong
Website: roylhsam.com
Email: [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]

Shall We Talk by Pui Lam Lily Wong

"Shall We Talk is a training game that helps young people and parents to learn the skills to manage daily conflicts. While playing the game, it will enhance their interaction and communication with each other.

"It can help them to understand each other's thoughts and feelings better, so as to build a stronger relationship. Unlike other existing design solutions, we believe that conflict can make your relationship stronger. It's because conflict doesn't make the relationship bad, how people manage the conflict does. Our design solution focuses on helping people to prepare for the conflict."

Student name: Pui Lam Lily Wong
Project name: Shall We Talk
Project tagline: A mobile training game to help young people & their parents to nurture a stronger relationship
Course: BA(Hons) in Interactive Media
Tutor: Huaxin Wei
Website: lily-wpl.wixsite.com/portfolio
Email: [email protected]

Waves by Ho Yee Zuchi Chan and Man Ying Mavis Wong

"Waves aims to provide young couples with emotional support and communication channels to help them understand each other's moods and thoughts so that they can make the most appropriate response.

"The design includes a holographic projection drifting bottle that uses voice emotion detection and an application that provides emotional support and solves communication problems based on psychology-based solutions."

Student name: Ho Yee Zuchi Chan and Man Ying Mavis Wong
Project name: Waves
Project tagline: An interactive novel system for young couples in communication problem
Course: BA(Hons) in Interactive Media
Tutor: Kenny Chow
Website: zuchichan.wixsite.com/myportfo and portfoliomavis.com
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]

Asit by Hang Tat Henry Hui

"What would happen if I was living in the future? Technology has emerged in our daily life. We are so satisfied with what the internet can give, but seems we left the 'real' behind. A future that is appreciated to live in. Perhaps, an inclusive public transport would be the start to connect to the 'real'.

"The double-decker bus is one of the important public transports in Hong Kong. However, the problem of increasing special needs users in the future might cause restrain for people to enjoy their journey in the future. Therefore, well-designed, inclusive public transport is important in the future."

Student name: Hang Tat Henry Hui
Project name: Asit
Project tagline: A future bus seat and interior design solution for the ageing population in the future
Course: BA(Hons) in Product Design
Tutor: Scott Chin
Website: behance.net/gallery/100738733/Asit-A-future-bus-seat

Sound Universe by Wai Ho Edmond Chan

"Sound Universe uses open-ended play with sound to spark imagination and develop creativity. It encourages exploring and experimenting rather than focusing on the final outcome and result. It uses cues for physical action input and sound output. There is a linkage between the sound, action and form. The simple forms of a circle, rectangle, triangle represent objects.

"Natural sounds are chosen for this project to define the scope and scale of this project. Using a set of themes to generate a picture for the player to imagine different scenarios of the set theme.
Each piece represents different sounds and sound effects. To make the module, it needs to start from the main unit than expand the connections of the board.

"Initial play by visual cues for interaction then experiment with different input and combination to create sound and rhythm. Testing with different interaction with the modular boards and create different rhythm."

Student name: Wai Ho Edmond Chan
Project name: Sound Universe
Project tagline: Education toy for creative development. Using open-ended play with sound to spark imagination and develop creativity
Course: BA(Hons) in Product Design
Tutor: Chi Wing Lee
Website: behance.net/edmondchanwh
Email: [email protected]

Visualising Community Relations in Fa Yuen Street Market by Long Hei Lester Law, Wing Se Wincy Lam and Lok Yi Claudia Choy

"Wet market where people would go in daily life involves many interactions and relations. However, by its closed community, outsiders are less easy to get involved in various small communities; people are less likely to find the nodes among their community.

"This community project aims at relationship-building, and also to provide an alternative perspective from mainstream discourse to explore the Fa Yuen Street market. By conducting several engagement methods, we have designed and developed a community network which allows outsiders to immerse deeper into the community."

Student name: Hei Lester Law Long, Wing Se Wincy Lam and Lok Yi Claudia Choy
Project name: Visualising Community Relations in Fa Yuen Street Market
Project tagline: An Alternative Perspective: Exploring the Nodes among Ordinary Community Living
Course: BA(Hons) in Social Design
Tutor: Kam Fai Chan
Website: https://www.behance.net/gallery/100939287/Visualising-Community-Relations-in-Wet-Market

Intergenerational Cooking Project by Cheuk Nam Chad Cheung

"The Intergenerational Cooking Project aims to enhance communication and create memories between the elderly and young people. After documenting and analysing the living patterns of grandparents, it was discovered that many elderly wished that they could spend more time with their grandchildren, meet their old friends, and relive the good old days.

"This project proposes to initiate potlucks as a medium to bring these different people together once again. In every potluck, they can design their own dish based on the given templates that facilitates them to work together and document the cooking process. In the long term, it can be hosted as a workshop in elderly centres by different organisations, but also for anyone who wants to use this to bond with their own family members."

Student name: Cheuk Nam Chad Cheung
Project name: Intergenerational Cooking
Course: BA(Hons) in Social Design
Tutor: King Chung Siu
Website: behance.net/gallery/100850567/Intergenerational-Cooking-Project

Comfor:t:able by Mathis Buchbinder

"More than 37,000 elementary school children in Hong Kong live in subdivided units, single room apartments measuring 10 square metres. For their daily studies, they have to utilise their environment with all its limitations. This leads to unhealthy compromises, mismatched table and chair heights, or crouched corner positions.

"Comfor:t:able is set up in a way to transform formerly unused space in a better way. The chair can be used as a leisure pillow when it's not in use and the table element has two configurations as well. A sociable small tea table which can be positioned on the bed between two people for leisure activities, and a study table that tucks half away under the bed."

Student name: Mathis Buchbinder
Project name: Comfor:t:able
Project tagline: A modular approach to provide adjustable and ergonomical furniture for elementary school students in subdivided units
Course: Master of Design
Website: behance.net/gallery/102991017/Comfortable

Bukas by Analyn Lao Yap

"This design-led research project looks into the phenomenon of communication and expression in the diasporic family relationship, particularly between Filipino domestic workers and their families.

"The research also looks into material culture and the meaning of the 'balikbayan box' metaphor as a design prompt, leading to the creation of design guidelines and concept development for Bukas, a tangible product linked with a mobile interface that facilitates meaningful daily communication for migrant Filipina workers and their families through augmented reality-enabled physical messages contained in a box.

"The inquiry consists of immersive qualitative methods including interviews, cultural probes, and participatory workshops to deepen the understanding of the stakeholders' mindsets, behaviours, and expressive needs."

Student name: Analyn Lao Yap
Project name: Bukas
Project tagline: Material Messages for Filipino Migrant Workers and their Transnational Families
Course: Master of Design
Website: behance.net/gallery/103352151/Bukas-Material-Messages-for-OFWs-and-their-families

RoleRoad by Wing Yiu Yoyo Cheung, Kwok Ching Yahoo Fu and Cheuk Shing Danny Lo

"RoleRoad believes that storytelling through a local persona in a first-person perspective is the best way to immerse yourself in a comprehensive and authentic experience.

"After arriving in Hong Kong and downloading the app, travellers can choose stories of Hong Kong people and become the main character of the story. According to the storyline, travellers will walk through local locations, shops, restaurants, and experience local life from a local perspective. Users can make choices in the story, which affects the route they experience. AR technology is used to cooperate with real-life environments and create interaction to drive the plot. Location detection technology will also be used for triggering specific interaction in precise areas.

"Through RoleRoad, we hope to create new and fun Hong Kong travelling experience to global travellers, promote local brands and facilitate the recovery of Hong Kong tourism."

Student name: Wing Yiu Yoyo Cheung, Kwok Ching Yahoo Fu and Cheuk Shing Danny Lo
Project name: RoleRoad
Project tagline: Offering global travellers with local experience packages through a personal roleplay app with interactive technology
Course: MSc in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology
Tutor: William Liang
Website: https://www.behance.net/gallery/103211585/RoleRoad

It's Time by YiHsiu Krystal Cheng, JingYi Colra Chen, HuiQi Winnie Xie, Xiang Alicia Chen and YuHin Johnny Lam

"A time management application for new graduates and newbies of the workplace to adapt to a new environment in a leisure manner.

"By helping users form the habit of doing time schedule in advance, It's Time helps users save more energy on overcoming struggles of entering a new environment, which also decrease the possibility of newbies quit from their first job and make users more organised about dealing tasks."

Student names: YiHsiu Krystal Cheng, JingYi Colra Chen, HuiQi Winnie Xie, Xiang Alicia Chen and YuHin Johnny Lam
Project name: It's Time
Project tagline: Material Messages for Filipino Migrant Workers and their Transnational Families
Course: MSc in Multimedia & Entertainment Technology