In Design Issues, Vol.22, No.2, D. J. Huppatz discusses about Hong Kong’s design culture, where it has been dubbed as the “Pearl of the Orient” and traditionally discussed in terms of “East meets West” – a common stereotype to neutralise the impact of colonisation. Henry Steiner, a key figure in the development of the modern graphic design in Hong Kong, provides another principle: “Cross-Cultural” design theory. In contrast to the combination or mixture of graphic elements between the East and West – an appropriation by Western designers –, Steiner goes by the principle of “carefully maintaining the difference between Eastern and Western culture”.
Steiner discusses it in his book with Ken Haas, Cross-Cultural Design: Communicating in the Global Marketplace:
Cross-cultural designers must strive to transmit one set of messages within the medium of a foreign tradition without losing the meaning and attitude of the original concept.
In Cross-Cultural Design, Steiner uses the metaphor of chameleon as an approach to his idea of design. Like a chameleon, designers should strive to reflect local colour at the same time retaining their form – to achieve a harmonious juxtaposition; more of an interaction than a synthesis. He was against hybrid culture. Steiner states that combination and mixture are “useless concepts”, rather designers should retain individual character and identity while commenting on and enriching each other; much like the balance of Yin and Yang.
His cross-cultural designs erase the complex processes of colonisation as Hong Kong remains the eternal meeting place of the East and the West. Steiner’s design works and theories continue to reflect a popular representation of Hong Kong lasting from the 1960s to the late 1990s.
Works Cited:
(1) Huppatz, D. J. “The Chameleon and the Pearl of the Orient.” Design Issues, vol. 22, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp. 64–76.
(2) Steiner, Henry, and Ken Haas. Cross-Cultural Design: Communicating in The Global Marketplace. London: Thames And Hudson, 1995.
Amienah Simangoon 