When you think of Hong Kong streetscape, neon signs immediately strike you. Neon lights encapsulate the city’s cultural identity and have been an essential part of Hong Kong’s unique urban landscape since the 1980s and 1990s. Used by businesses to advertise and attract customers, they became the symbol of Hong Kong’s economic prosperity at that time.

For many Hong Kong residents, neon signs evoke a deep sense of nostalgia, and personal memories of a bygone era, forming an essential part of their cultural identity and heritage. Neon signs have also been widely used in films, television shows, and other creative industries to represent Hong Kong’s uniqueness. That’s why their removal for safety concerns since 2010 has led to many reactions from the public, who felt that a part of their identity was wiped out and that the city might loose its cultural and artistic heritage.

By Frankie Chi Chau Hang

Young homegrown designer Frankie Chi Chau Hang is among the artists moved by the disappearance of iconic street signs in the city. In November 2024, he won the DFA Hong Kong Young CreateSmart Young Design Talent Special Award for his graduation project, Retractable Signage System, where he reimagined street signage by integrating it into foldable canopies. His innovative solution adheres to safety regulations while preserving the signs’ unique character, in an attempt to enrich the city’s visual culture.

Frankie graduated in 2024 from the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Architecture with a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in Design+, as part of the programme’s second cohort. Unlike traditional design or architecture training, Design+ emphasises interdisciplinary integration, enabling designers to draw insights from related fields.

Frankie Chi, DFA Hong Kong Young CreateSmart Young Design Talent Special Award

We had the chance to chat with Frankie about his design practice and his perception of Hong Kong’s streetscape culture.

“The DFA Award validates my work over the last few years. Only the second cohort from a relatively new program (HKU’s BASc Design +), I have struggled to position myself among other more established disciplines like architecture and graphic design. The award recognises the value of an interdisciplinary designer and the ability to tackle and think in multiple fields at once,” he shares with us.

During his studies, Frankie explored material science and data science, which fostered an experimental spirit and helped him to develop a design approach that blends aesthetics with scientific inquiry. This interdisciplinary mindset also led him to focus on solving complex problems through cross-field research.

By utilising awnings in Retractable Signage, classified as “Minor work items”, the symbols of the city can be maintained without requiring approval from the Building Service Department. This approach offers a sustainable solution to enhance the streetscape while also honouring its heritage.

Project by Frankie Chi Chau Hang

“Growing up witnessing both their glamour and disappearance, I have always wanted to bring signages back to the streets in a culturally and legally relevant way. While current legal restrictions made traditional signage implausible, a canopy or awning can be categorised under “Minor work items”, and hence installed without prior approval from the Building Department. What I did was to adapt its aesthetic into canopies to make it lightweight and foldable. Slowly, we can transform the streetscape and revive industries, such as calligraphy and neon art,” he explains.

Raised in Kwun Tong, Frankie vividly remembers the Kai Kee Mahjong parlour at old Yue Man Square with its bright red rooster on the blue sky. “Despite being well-preserved by M+ Museum, I wonder what is left of the glaring rooster. I believe signages are not just works of art, but also a container of community stories and people legacies. Without our unique visual culture, we are losing an essential representation of our way of life and our identity. This is something we need to convince not only shop owners and private collectors, but more broadly the public,” he advocates.