Cultural Evolution

Alan Chan, one of the city’s most renowned designers, talks to Perspective about forging a Hong Kong design identity, East-West directions and the cultural connections of tea

- Kate Whitehead

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alan Chan is one of the city's best-loved creatives. In his almost 50 years working as a designer and brand consultant he has seen Hong Kong go through many changes, influenced first by the West and then by China. Now, he says, it’s time for today’s homegrown designers to forge their own identity.

Chan’s academic training in graphic design was limited to a 10-month evening course in Hong Kong in 1970, but that didn’t stop him and the company he set up in 1980 with his wife Sandra from winning more than 600 domestic and international awards. Not one to be pigeonholed, Alan Chan Design Company has tackled a wide variety of projects from brand identity and packaging to interior design.

When he began his career in the 1970s the Hong Kong creative community was made up of expats, largely from Europe, Australia, New Zealand and some from the United States. “I learned from them and that sensitivity went into my blood in everyday life. I learned not by studying but by living everyday life,” says Chan.

The fusion of Asian and Western cultures in contemporary graphic design has been one of the defining themes of his work. Drawing on the spirit of each, he has reinterpreted them to create his own style.