My proposal for the contest for an Icon to Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong) was selected as shortlisted among a thousand entries. Even though it didn’t win the competition, my design was shown in the roving exhibitions of the Victoria Harbour and in the final Competition Report (1st panel for shortlisted entries).
My creation was quite risky in terms of what is expected in these kinds of politically correct contests. But I was convinced that the association of the entry of Hong Kong to the figure of lips, to a beautiful mouth, would be good for Hong Kong.
That is because it would attract the public attention and would achieve a redefinition of the current image of the city, allowing the city and port makes a nod toward the world. A nod that can be interpreted like a city willing to invite travellers, showing itself warm and fun.
In this sense, I believe that as a city brand, Hong Kong requires of these attributes in the international arena, to go beyond of other competitive cities and ports like Shanghai, Dalian, etc. In addition, to show a certain freedom in the way of showing its personality, because this would help to position Victoria Harbour as unique.
©Sebastian Guerrini, 2011
