Three ribbons have been added to the flying dragon logo used to promote the city in a HK$1.4 million redesign - part of a review of Brand Hong Kong which left the 'Asia's World City' slogan unchanged.
Designer Alan Chan Yau-kin created the new logo with an 'evolved' dragon, along with three ribbons. Chan said the blue and green ribbons symbolise blue sky and a sustainable environment, while Lion Rock, which represents the 'can-do' spirit of Hongkongers, is silhouetted by the red ribbon.
'The new dragon maintains the essence of the old flying dragon, but it has evolved,' Chan said. The new and old dragons would co-exist for a time until the old logo was phased out, said Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who helped unveiled the logo yesterday at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Designer Eric Cheung Kai-wa, who led the team that created the original flying dragon logo 10 years ago, said it was difficult to find the city's character in the new logo.
'I'm shocked by the changes made to the original design,' Cheung said. 'The additional elements create confusion. From a distance, you can see only ribbons, not the dragon. And the 'East meets West' element is lost.'
Cheung said the 'East meets West' element was embodied in the old design since parts of the dragon formed the Chinese character for Hong and the English initials for Hong Kong. But he said the element was lost in the new design with the Chinese character missing.
