Photograph by Alexis Birkill
a more creative and innovative
place overall. Perhaps I’m generalizing too much here, but
that’s my feeling about the situation in Hong Kong.
Sue: I think the clients here
have less background in interaction design, so they need a
bit more education (specifically
on the design process). I think
in general, the feeling is more
“businessy” when dealing with
clients in Hong Kong as compared to California, where clients or teams are more patient
in going through the education
process. I feel that our Hong
Kong clients don’t necessarily
want to understand how you do
it, as long as they see the results.
The pace is fast in both markets (HK and the U.S.), but it
is true that project schedules
and demands are sometimes
much more ridiculous here.
Essentially, HK clients are
more “daring” when giving you
impossible deadlines. The fast
pace becomes the norm. Hong
Kong is a metropolis, like New
York or Tokyo, so it’s reasonable to expect this pace. It’s an
expectation embedded in the
HK culture—a way of life and
practice. Anything slower will
make a client think you are less
capable or unskilled. People
expect things to be highly efficient (look at our airport and
Mass Transit Railway systems),
and sometimes I am quite
proud of that.
James: I have been living
in Hong Kong for a decade,
and there is a different work
style here than in other cities.
Besides being a fast-paced city,
Hong Kong is a city that likes
a move toward “action.” Part
of this comes from a “can do”
attitude. However, the speed
can sometimes result in a lack
of quality in and around the
output. So sometimes it is fast
for the sake of being fast, which
is not always the right strategy
in the right context. Sometimes
it’s OK to stop and think about
the problem before moving
toward “action.”
Hong Kong took some time to
adjust and find its own personality after the handover in 1997
and in working or learning how
to work with mainland China.
Nonetheless, it is a fortunate
July + August 2009
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