The chameleon and the pearl of the Orient

Hong Kong's design culture has traditionally been discussed in terms of 'East meets West,' a cliche which served to neutralize the impact of colonization in its various forms. This idea of Hong Kong culture as the meeting place between two monolithic cultures is a common stereotype that continues to be used in contemporary criticism, journalism, and tourism promotion. This paper analyzes the work of Henry Steiner, a key figure in the development of modern graphic design in Hong Kong. Over the past thirty years, Steiner's designs have provided a public image for some of Hong Kong's most powerful corporations, and his 'cross-cultural' design theories have provided a model for many other designers. His crosscultural designs carefully maintain the difference between 'Eastern' and 'Western' culture, subtly reinforcing the hierarchies of Hong Kong's colonial situation. The design work and theories of Steiner analyzed in this paper reflect a popular representation of the Colony that lasted from the 1960s until at least the 1990s, and continues to endure in contemporary tourism promotion.