Books

Hong Kong Comics: A History of ManhuaThis is the first comprehensive, highly organized book on the history of Hong Kongcomics. It was published first for Chinese readers in 1999, and in 2002 a New York-basedpublisher, Princeton Architectural Press, published the English version, Hong KongComics: A History of Manhua. The English edition of the book has been sold all over theworld and on the Internet. The Chinese version received an award at the Hong KongDesigners Association Design Show in 2000. Since the publication needed to cover as much material as possible, I needed toarrive at a functional design. The overall design strategies aimed to display and reflectthe rich contents of the publication. More than 500 close-up illustrations taken from thecomics were used in the front cover design. The book was printed on comic paper tocreate a comic book feel. A long flap book jacket design was adopted to create a dynamic impact to matchthe contents. It includes approximately 1000 historical color illustrations of comics fromHong Kong and China. The use of grids and alignment are emphasized throughout thedesign. Blow-up pages and different colors are used to visually separate the sections ofthe book. Wendy Siuyi Wong | Book

An Illustrated History of 13-Dot CartoonThis project is a 160-page book about a famous Hong Kong comic, 13-Dot Cartoon,created in 1960s Hong Kong by female artist Lee Wai Chun. The book contains an analysisof the relationship of the comics to the society in which they were produced, and alsodevotes several chapters to the visual styles and content of the comics. This comic is considered to be one of the classic works of Hong Kong comics. Thebook contents combine both full-color and line art illustrations in different sections. It waschallenging to accommodate different illustration types during the layout. The designsystematically displays information and analytical material visually. One of the special features of this comic is the outfits worn by its main character,Ms. 13-Dot. This characteristic was most familiar to the cartoon’s readers; thus, illustrationsfrom the comic which highlight the cartoon’s fashion design element were used onthe cover. Wendy Siuyi Wong | Book

Advertising, Culture & Everyday Life:Hong Kong Newspaper Advertisements, 1945–1970This is a 240-page, one-color book survey (with 9 color pages) of Hong Kong newspaperadvertisements from 1945 to 1970. The cover is designed to look like a front-pageChinese newspaper advertisement, and illustrations are borrowed from the samplesdiscussed in the book. A special mirror sticker appears on the cover to allude to the ideathat advertising content is a reflection of the society in which it is created. The book was printed on newsprint-quality recycled paper to give the publicationthe feel of a newspaper. It includes an analytical essay on the advertising languageof newspaper advertisements at that time. A collection of more than 200 samples withannotation, detailed reference list, and resources for further study are provided to helpreaders conduct their own research into the topic. The book became a bestseller at one bookstore when it hit the market. It hasbeen added to the collections of most public and university libraries, and is checkedout frequently. Wendy Siuyi Wong | Book

Advertising, Value, and Consumer Culture:Hong Kong Television Commercials, 1970-1989This project is a 208-page book of Hong Kong television commercials from 1970 to 1989.The objectives of the project are to research, analyze, and publish historical materialson Hong Kong television advertisements, and to establish the history of Hong Kongadvertising while encouraging research interest in this area. This book is the first of itskind about 1970s Hong Kong television commercials, containing both analysis and hard-to-access empirical materials. The overall design strategy was selected to display therich contents of the publication with a systemic grid. Wendy Siuyi Wong | Book