Kristopher Ingle
Graphic Design as a Tool for Cultural Preservation: Preserving Hong Kong Graphic Design
Graphic Design as a Tool for Cultural Preservation: Preserving Hong Kong Graphic Design
Hong Kong’s history of design is worth preserving. Teaching people about cultures different from their own promotes respect, understanding, and a diverse artistic landscape. To teach about a culture, we must first preserve it. In order to truly preserve Hong Kong’s culture, preservation efforts cannot be limited to the context of Hong Kong. Preserving this culture outside of its context is as important as preserving it within Hong Kong, not only so that members of the diaspora can connect with their culture but also so that we can enrich and diversify the graphic design canon. My thesis is both an effort to accomplish that goal and an exploration of what the future of design might look like if the preservation of Hong Kong’s culture of design is successful.
Image of Thesis Publication cover (English text reads “Graphic Design as a Tool for Cultural Preservation: Preserving Hong Kong Graphic Design and Kristopher Ingle”)
Image of Lo Ting toy
Image of page inside Thesis Publication
Image of 3 posters
Kristopher Ingle
Washington, DCChinese painting founded my love for the visual arts. It’s composed of deliberate brushstrokes and, many times, unexpected results. It’s an art form that relies on the way you hold the brush and move your arms, and decades of cultural history.
I think it’s easy to forget that the many things we see or touch are handcrafted, even things produced digitally. There is a certain charm to things that you can tell were made by hand—like Chinese paintings—but there isn’t much appreciation for the things that don’t outwardly appear handmade.
As a bicultural artist and designer, I love to work with my hands but also take a lot of pride in the digital work I create. So I work to combine elements of physical craft into my graphic design, taking inspiration from my heritage, my identity, and my love for the handcrafted.