Dezeen School Shows: architectural drawings depicting “a narrative-driven exploration of religious ritual” are among the projects by students at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Also featured is a spatial learning tool for children that incorporates the traditional Chinese lion dance, and a project developing workshops to promote poetry in Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL).
Institution: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Courses: BA (Hons) in Design (Advertising Design), BA (Hons) in Design (Information Design), BA (Hons) in Design (Interior Design), BA (Hons) in Design (Media Design), BA (Hons) in Design (Service Design), BA (Hons) in Design (Social Design), Master of Design (Intelligent Systems Design) and Master of Science in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment (MScIME)
Tutors: Chan Kam Fai, Marc Chataigner, Jacky Chou, Rhys Jones, Martin Lau, Sky Lo, Hossein Najafi, Jae Oh, Jaden Park, Charis Poon, Kc Tsang, Gilles Vanderstocken, Stephen J Wang and Jonathan Yu
School statement:
“The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to nurturing creative talent with an innovative mindset and a strong sense of social responsibility.
“The University’s School of Design is consistently ranked among the top 25 on the QS World University Rankings by Subject – Art and Design, reflecting its strong global standing.
“The PolyU Design Show, with a tradition spanning over 60 years, continues to evolve as a platform for innovation, collaboration, and public engagement, spotlighting the work of emerging local designers.
“This year’s Show runs from 5 June to 7 August, presenting work by nearly 400 students from both Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes.
“Highlights include the debut capstone projects from the first graduating cohort of the expanded BA (Hons) Scheme in Design, covering nine expanded specialisms, proposals co-designed with real-world clients through the University’s Work-Integrated Education (WIE) programme, collaborative projects developed by students from different specialisms under the ‘Integrated Designpreneurship’ programme, and interdisciplinary design solutions by Master’s students.
“This section explores how design shapes perception, culture, and engagement. Spanning media, architecture, games, and cultural interventions, these projects move beyond function to influence how people experience and interpret the world around them.
“Through immersive storytelling, speculative environments, playful interactions, and cultural reinterpretations, each work invites active participation and emotional connection. Together, they demonstrate how design can frame new perspectives, foster cultural dialogue, and create meaningful forms of engagement.
“Read on to discover how emerging designers are redefining the ways we see, feel, and connect through experience.”
Mine/D by Ho Cheuk Yi Vanessa
“Weird is a conceptual project that celebrates individuality as quiet resistance in an algorithm-driven world. It is the primordial silhouette of the soul, refusing translation into a uniform world.
“It is an untameable frequency of thought – dissonant yet deeply resonant. Weird is an innate honesty, proving we are not factory replicas but living entities with unique vibrations.
“It is the singularity of creativity – it creates cracks in our thinking, and that is where the light gets in.”
Student: Ho Cheuk Yi Vanessa
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Information Design)
Tutor: Martin Lau
Neo Architecture by Li Wai Hin Harvey
“Project Neo Architecture emerges from an interest in the distinctive architectural languages of both historical and contemporary architecture, concerning the relationship between old and new.
“Rather than pursuing a stylistic synthesis, the project reconceptualises this dialogue as a typological transformation – a typological shift whereby historically horizontal, ground-based spatial systems are translated into conditions of vertical density suited to the contemporary high-rise environment.
“Operating simultaneously as a speculative design proposition and a personal exploration of architectural language, the project seeks to establish a methodological framework through which classical architectural elements and systems are reinterpreted, transformed and reconstituted within new spatial and tectonic conditions.”
Student: Li Wai Hin Harvey
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Interior Design)
Tutor: Gilles Vanderstocken
ESpot by Tam Huen Tung Chloe
“ESpot is a physical service platform designed to bridge gaps in Hong Kong’s esports ecosystem by reframing casual gaming as a professional culture.
“The project addresses the lack of a local industry identity and the disconnect between professional players and the general public. It enables active participation and consolidates local information to foster a more sustainable culture within Hong Kong esports.
“Core features include the ESpot App (a digital ecosystem featuring virtual fortune sticks and prediction interfaces), Gamified Engagement (users participate in fortune stick predictions and collect digital trading cards) and Community Building (that bridges the gap between newcomers and enthusiasts through social trading systems and interactive prediction activities at local events).”
Student: Tam Huen Tung Chloe
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Service Design)
Tutors: Jaden Park and Marc Chataigner
Robotic Lion Dance by Tang Tsz Yui Michael, Chow Yee Man, Harvansh Khokar Singh, Li Junshuo and Wang Chuhong
“Inspired by the spirit of lion dance, this project invites children aged six to eight into a world where culture, movement and technology meet.
“Through the playful encounter between a robotic lion head and a robotic arm, spatial awareness becomes something to be felt, explored, and discovered.
“Position, distance, and direction emerge through curiosity and interaction, transforming early learning into a lived experience shaped by motion, response and play.
“Together, they create a warm and memorable experience that reimagines spatial learning as something lively and meaningful.”
Students: Tang Tsz Yui Michael, Chow Yee Man, Harvansh Khokar Singh, Li Junshuo and Wang Chuhong
Course: Master of Design (Intelligent Systems Design)
Tutor: Stephen J Wang
One Per Cent Doubt, 100 Hundred Per Cent Body Odour by Chan Wing Ling Nicole
“Many men live with lingering doubts about their body odour, leading to the awkward ‘secret sniff’.
“Gatsby turns this doubt into a clear answer: even one per cent doubt should be treated as 100 per cent body odour.
“By exaggerating these awkward self-checks, Gatsby encourages men to drop the strange poses and reach for Gatsby deodorant body wipes. Wipe away the doubt and restore freshness, instantly.”
Student: Chan Wing Ling Nicole
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Advertising Design)
Tutor: Kc Tsang
Let’s Go to the Beach! by Chan Chun Wang Bonar, Lam Carlo, Lam Pan, Pong Sze Ning, Su Ka Yiu and Yeung Yeung Alvis
“This animation project is set in the summer of 199X. Stuck at home and bored, Max and Ollie decide to escape to the beach.
“They were having the best time of their lives, until the day the trip came to an end. It is a 17-minute animation about summer, the beach and a breakup.”
Students: Chan Chun Wang Bonar, Lam Carlo, Lam Pan, Pong Sze Ning, Su Ka Yiu and Yeung Yeung Alvis
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Media Design)
Tutor: Jae Oh
Ember Cocoon by Zhang Danyi, Chen Yingwen Iris, Guo Xiang, Zhang Jiayang Jake and Zhang Mingzhi
“Ember Cocoon is a 3D psychological narrative puzzle game developed using Unreal Engine 5. It follows Ran Ming, a survivor of a childhood fire who is haunted by guilt.
“Triggered by a kitchen fire, players navigate three ‘Mental Cocoons’, representing disorientation, distortion and reconciliation.
“The game’s core innovation lies in ‘mechanic storytelling’, which turns psychological trauma into interactive gameplay constraints.
“Players manage a three-state mental model – panic, intrusion and stress – where rising stress distorts the audiovisual environment. To avoid collapse, players must interact with ‘grounding objects’, reflecting therapeutic techniques that anchor trauma survivors.”
Students: Zhang Danyi, Chen Yingwen Iris, Guo Xiang, Zhang Jiayang Jake and Zhang Mingzhi
Course: Master of Science in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment (MScIME)
Tutors: Hossein Najafi and Rhys Jones
Egg Farm by Ma Jiayin, Li Yutong and Yu Wenlong Steven
“As the farm owner, you gather resources through idle management while combining random items and abilities to make your eggs grow bigger, split apart, ricochet and even explode.
“Blending idle farming with rogue-like gameplay, each run features different upgrade paths and unpredictable disasters – tornadoes, sandstorms, meteor showers, electromagnetic storms, and more – turning the entire farm into chaos at any moment.
“Upgrade your farm, unlock bizarre power-ups, and create your own overpowered egg-build strategy. Survive waves of enemies in a battlefield filled with rolling eggs, massive explosions and relentless farm chaos.”
Students: Ma Jiayin, Li Yutong and Yu Wenlong Steven
Course: Master of Science in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment (MScIME)
Tutors: Jacky Chou and Hossein Najafi
Make Seng with silent poetry by Tse Ho Sze Natalie and Zheng Tsz Ching
“This project promotes inclusive communication through Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL) poetry.
“It breaks down rigid learning frameworks and lowers barriers to participation, enabling deaf and hearing individuals to connect more naturally in public spaces.
“Through interactive, low-pressure workshops, participants explore emotional expression through gestures, movement and silent poetry.
“Rather than enforcing fixed rules for sign language use, the project encourages curiosity, respect and creative engagement.
“It aims to deepen public understanding of HKSL culture, reduce communication gaps, and foster a more connected, empathetic and inclusive society where silent communication is valued and shared.”
Students: Tse Ho Sze Natalie and Zheng Tsz Ching
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Social Design)
Tutors: Charis Poon, Chan Kam Fai and Jonathan Yu
Labour of Liturgy by Chow Yan Man Shannon
“This project is a narrative-driven exploration of religious ritual. Within the narrative, a misguided society believes the divine only recognises visible effort, leading to a mechanical, labour-driven performance.
“Physical labour becomes spiritual communication, expressed through choreographed movement and repetitive bodily exertion.
“The project translates bodily movement into mechanical systems, exploring how labour, devotion and spectacle intersect.
“This is expressed through a series of immersive perspective drawings depicting speculative ritual environments. The creative process unfolds in three phases: anatomical exploration, movement prototyping and mechanical interpretation.”
Student: Chow Yan Man Shannon
Course: BA (Hons) in Design (Interior Design)
Tutor: Sky Lo
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.