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ENDANGERED HERITAGE | TYPOGRAPHIC CAMPAIGN
Endangered heritage is a typography-led campaign to help promote the neon culture in Hong Kong, aiming to preserve these compelling artifacts of urban streetscape and visual culture before they were lost.
INTRODUCTION
Hong Kong was known to be "The Pearl of the Orient", there is no doubt it links to the vibrant neon signs that lightens our night. They articulate a live-wired language of the city, playing the communicative role of typography and graphic design. Offering a seductive visual medium for advertising in the 20th century when HK undergoes a rapid economic regeneration. Yet they have lost their once favoured status in the 21st century, demonstrating a rapid decline in the number of neon signs be seen on the street due to technology advancement, legal issues, urban redevelopment and change in societal trends.
The intension of the project is to examine and explore the neon culture in Hong Kong. Understand how they are craft and designed for certain reasons, marking as emblems of the city. Neon sign can be seen everywhere in Hong Kong. However people are not paying attention to them because we are used to their existence and ubiquity. Therefore the goal is to raise the awareness of cherishing these fast-disappear urban fixtures, in both Hong Kong and global context. Also to preserve these compelling artifacts of Hong Kong's urban streetscape and visual culture before they were lost.
INTENTION
APPROACH
The approach of the project is by personification, giving life to the neon signs, taking them as a species that are endangered. Four iconic neon signs, featuring animal graphics, were chosen to be the visual representation of the "endangered animals". The thing they have in common is that they are all "dead" as they were once hung above the street as local landmarks but had been taken down for various reasons. It give rise to the naming of the project campaign, "Endangered Heritage".
Other than the English naming, the Chinese name of the campaign has also been carefully thought through, after all it is about the neon culture in Hong Kong. The direct translation of the word "Endangered" is " " and "Neon" is " "
And in Cantonese, the second character of the word endangered " " pronounced the same as the first word of of neon, " ", making it perfect to combined the both meaning into one. Therefore there is an extra colleen in " " which also works as the frame-like feature of neon signs.
Placing an ad on public transport is one of the most effective ways to reach the mass public. After deep considerations neon ads on "Endangered Heritage" will be placed on taxis, scattering around Hong Kong to promote the neon culture, regaining their past glory to be seen on the streets again.
AD CAMPAIGN ACROSS CITY
A set of posters is designed where each feature a different neon signs. Each was iconic to HK's streetscapes but were taken down due to various reasons. The height of the signs correspond to their once glory hanging above the buildings. The imbalanced placement create a sense of danger, afraid of falling, hinting the threats faced by these signs to be taken down in any moment. The logo was placed vertically on the side as another projecting columnar to provide negative space to enhance the sense of powerlessness. They were dimmed down to redirect the focus back to the feature neons, also representing the fading away and declining number of neon population.
This campaign continues in an digital platform, please click the button to view its full presentation.