Richard van der Laken explained the good and bad design in Knowledge of Design Week
(KODW) 2023. Photo: Digital Wave
A three-day event (Knowledge of Design Week (KODW) 2023 from 14 June to 16 June.) at the Hong Kong Palace Museum was conducted by Hong Kong Design Center.
The theme was “The Power of Design: Innovating for a Circular World”, including six program pillars: Social Innovation & Wellness, Culture & the City, New Urban Models, Transformative Brands, Hospitality, and AI & Technology. KODW 2023 gathered more than 40 business leaders and global innovators to advance and share professional knowledge and experience.
Richard van der Laken, a Co founder and creative director of What Design Can Do (WDCD) The Netherlands, was invited to be one of the guest speakers in KODW 2023. What Design Can Do (WDCD) was established in 2011, which aims to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, fair, and just society through the power of design. It started a whole challenge program for circular society in recent years that prevent waste by rethinking our way of life: from what we eat and wear, to why we buy and how we build. He suggested that we can change the way we value materials and the way of discard food.
Richard van der Laken has started sharing with public over the world to spread the idea of circular society. Photo: Digital Wave
“It is impossible to design something that works for everybody,” Van der Laken said, the situation in Hong Kong is very different from the situation in the Netherlands or Brazil so designers need to be very aware of the locality of the issue.
Not only do the designers need to change, Van der Laken believes that it involves a lot to make the circular society happen. He added that consumers need to change their habits and behaviors, and the government needs to change the legislation. Also, the companies need to rethink the way they sell their products such as using sustainable materials and making disposable things less desirable. “Hong Kong is a well-developed society that has the potential to be a circular society,” he said.
Van der Laken encourages Hong Kong designers to stay educated.
If you wanna be part of the change, you also need to know what you’re talking about.
Van der Laken
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