This signboard belongs to Sweetheart Garden Restaurant, in Kowloon, which is famous for its steak.

Preserving Hong Kong’s disappearing street calligraphy signboards

Vanishing Hong Kong calligraphy signboards

For many years, calligraphy signboards for advertising and identifying businesses have been one of the most iconic elements of Hong Kong Street scenes. But government regulations that were tightened in 2011 have led to a steady removal of the commercial markings. To save this aspect of the city’s historical and cultural heritage, architect Ken Fung Tat Wai partnered with Kevin Mak King-huai to establish Street Sign Hong Kong @streetsignhk. The organization works with shop owners to help them keep signboards on the streets.

They exclusively wanted to keep the signs on the street. However, with the increasing rent, shops didn’t want to invest in physical signs and the unwilling attitudes of older shop owners. That’s when the Street Sign Hong Kong started to collect them so that they could promote signboard culture through exhibitions. They try to tell the stories and histories of shops and the neighborhoods so people can get an intimate understanding of what these signs represent.

“We passed by a pawnshop one day and saw its sign was being removed. It was already cut in half and lying on the ground. We hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but we knew it had a lot of cultural value, so we asked the workers if we could keep it. That’s how we started to look into the culture of signboards in Hong Kong,” says Ken.

They wanted to preserve the streetscape itself. Signboards built using different materials and typefaces for different shops have created a very iconic streetscape that has become a part of Hong Kong’s identity for both locals and visitors. They encapsulate an organic urban vibrancy that was built from the ground up. These streetscapes come from shop owners who wanted to create a unique style. In that sense, it’s a very collective way of design.

Some of the challenges that they are facing in their conservation efforts. “Time. It’s a race against time to try to save them. From learning about which signs are coming down, to talking to shop owners – we just don’t have enough time to do all of this, and sometimes it’s frustrating. But we still need to do whatever we can before they are gone,” responses Kevin.

Another group trying to ensure the signs for the future generations is Adonian Chan, a 33-year-old graphic designer based in Hong Kong and co-founder of design company Trilingua on a mission to digitize it into a typeface — and save it.

One calligraphy style, above all, has come to represent Hong Kong: Beiwei Kaishu, a dynamic way of writing that has its origins in 4th century China. What sets Beiwei Kaishu apart from other Chinese writing styles is its asymmetric construction, bold lines, and unexpected angles — something that makes it “energetic,” says Chan.

But with the advent of computer-generated fonts and LED signs, Chan says he observed that signs are written in the style — work that depended on the skill of calligraphers — were disappearing from Hong Kong.

“It’s almost extinct,” says Chan, pointing to the rapid transformation of Hong Kong’s urban landscape. “They demolish old buildings and, of course, the shops, as well. So it’s really destruction to the visual culture.” Consequently, few designers working today are aware of the Beiwei Kaishu style.”

Chan eventually started the process of digitizing the characters. He first writes the characters on paper with a brush and ink, which gives him a sense of proportion. Next, he makes a pencil sketch. Finally, he recreates the characters digitally, using a computer program called Glyphs.

One of the main challenges when digitizing ancient calligraphy is striking a balance between the artistic expression of handwritten lettering and the need for consistency and coherence in font design, says Chan.

He can complete two characters a day, depending on their complexity, and is aiming to digitize 6,000 characters.

Sources: