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Rebecca Lo

With its international content, multi-textured layout and CD-Rom giveaways, IdN (International Designer Network) magazine has drawn a loyal following of readers in cities in North America, Europe and Asia.

In Hong Kong, however, the numbers tell a different story.

Yet the surprise is that this bi-monthly magazine is actually edited and published in the SAR, a place better known for its designer labels and street level-urban designs.

Established by local designer  Laurence Ng, 13 years ago, and based in Wan Chai,  IdN now has   a circulation of 45,000 and six editions, including versions in English, Chinese and Japanese.

Next month, Ng will publish DOTMOV 2004, a photographic book about the award-winning short digital films shown at the international DOTMOV festival  at Sapporo last year. The annual competition is organised by Shift Japan,   a designer website and monthly online magazine.

As with other design/pictorial books IdN has published this year  - Flip 8 MovieW, Vinyl Will Kill and Japanese Graphics - the packaging is slick. DOTMOV 2004  resembles a VHS cassette box.

Ng has   attracted big-name collaborators across all disciplines for  his  works.  Cinematographer Christopher Doyle, for instance, published a book with  IdN in  late 2003 of photographs he  took while on the set of Hero. Douglas Young, head of G.O.D., contributed to the theme of contemporary pattern-making in an issue  last year, and  Spike Jonze directed a video on skate boarders for IdN's recent  focus on  extreme sport design.

The magazine hasn't always been at the cutting edge.   Ng,  a self-taught publisher, started  by providing technical support  to creative industries about 30 years ago.

'There weren't any computers at the time, so everything was done by hand,'  he says. In a khaki shirt and black-rimmed glasses, he seems  light years from the  style his magazine seems to personify. 'It was very mechanical,' Ng says. 'At the beginning of desktop publishing in the early 1990s, we were  interested in exploring its limits.'

In 1992, Ng  produced a  magazine aimed at teaching people about desktop publishing. It was replaced by IdN  the next year. The content also gradually shifted from instructional material to reports about creative industries, international movements and operating procedures.

Initially, Ng used to give away  a floppy  disc containing surplus content with every issue. Then came CDs. Now it's DVDs with complementary interviews and film clips. The magazine costs $70 in Hong Kong (US$15 overseas).

'People interested in design read us,' says Ng.  'That's why  we do so well internationally -  in  Japan, England and Australia. It's not necessarily professionals, but people who enjoy aesthetics and ideas.'

In this media-saturated city, IdN attracts many lookers - but few buyers.

'It's an expensive magazine,' says Charles Tsui, a creative director  at a local graphic-design firm. Ivan Ho, an art director with a Hong Kong lifestyle magazine says he's a lukewarm fan.  'They discuss particular trends, but their content isn't always  useful,' he says. 'Their style appeals to a person with very specific tastes.

'Each issue has a particular theme.  And if I don't like the  theme, I won't buy the issue. I also find their layout  messy.'

Ng  agrees that IdN is too specialised for mass consumption in Hong Kong. 'It wouldn't survive if it just remained in Asia,' he  says. 'The audience is too narrow, too niche. We had to go international from the beginning.'

Today, with the line between art and design increasingly indistinguishable, Ng  tries to make the medium his message.

'Art and design cross over frequently,' he says. 'Even the pure artists have some sort of design component. IdN now contains components I never would have imagined  10 years  ago: short films, music, toys, interactive media - these are  now part of our content.'

Part  of Ng's philosophy is sharing ideas among people   with similar passions.  His company has  organised a number of events, ranging from informal  events in the downstairs shop -  such as last month's Royal Elastic party - to international  design conferences.

Ng says there's more to come: 'Sometimes, when we just keep our heads down and work, it can get boring. So, I like to get together with  friends to talk, have fun and exchange new ideas.'



From geek to sleek: how a backroom nerd mag went global