SHENZHEN will set up a design center to help strengthen the training of designers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, according to an agreement signed by the Shenzhen Association for Industrial Designers (SAID) and the Hong Kong Design Center over the weekend.

The two parties also agreed to regularly hold seminars and exhibitions to boost the design industry for both cities.

The design center, to be established at Shenzhen Hi-tech Industrial Park, will also help the exchange of designers between the two cities, according to the agreement, signed at the closing ceremony of the Hong Kong leg of the Shenzhen International Design Festival.

SAID and Hong Kong Design Center would set up a joint task force with government officials, university professors and members of design associations to promote cooperation between the two cities, the agreement said.

The three-day festival was held after Shenzhen won the title of City of Design from UNESCO.

Shenzhen has more than 800 industrial design companies and 60 percent of the design professionals on the mainland. Josiah Leung, head of the Hong Kong Design Association, said cooperating with Shenzhen would help Hong Kong designers expand the market to set up design companies in mainland China and communicate with their counterparts in Pearl River Delta cities.

The festival in Hong Kong attracted 2,000 professionals and 500 design companies.


Shenzhen Daily 2008-12-15