Neon City- Hong Kong: The influence of neon colour on architecture and ambience
Since the mid-20th century, countless neon lights blinking dot the skyline of Hong Kong, the Victoria Bay and the tall buildings. “When you think about Hong Kong and its visual culture, the first thing that comes to mind will be its neon sign,” according to Aric C. (2014), Curator of M + Museum, a collection of Hong Kong neon signboards, also include some demolition of the neon signs, such as Nemesis Neon cows. Neon signs are exotic design from West, but soon developed new forms in China in 1920s, first in Shanghai and then in Hong Kong, which combining ancient Chinese calligraphy with modern commercials. As a medium, the meaning of neon lights also changes over time. The fascinated colour of neon signs was a symbol of urban taste and prosperity in Hong Kong.
Most of neon signs are all designed in ‘Chinese style’, specific related to words or patterns. In this one (Figure 1), pawnshops signs especially prominent: almost all pawn industry are “the symbol of” flying hamster money “as a neon sign, The top half is the form of a bat, take bats “blessing” homonym, the lower part of the circle represents money, is a symbol of profit. There are also common Chinese dragon-shaped signs, which meaning auspicious and momentum (Figure 7). These signs not only meet the unique traditional cultural and aesthetics design, also has Informative and narrative function.
However, Hong Kong neon signs are not only preserves the traditional cultural awareness, but also a symbol of vitality, and one important dynamic element of architecture, structure and ambience (Figure10–14). The frame of neon signs used in Hong Kong is extended beyond architectural, to include realised through colour communicative, for instance, Informational values, framing, vectors, storyboarding, rhythm and layout. Those cold tones lights seem soft and non-directional but cover the whole city like fog. At the same time, these neon lights use a variety of brilliant colours lighting can create a colourful festival atmosphere. A clear colour light design contrast between the front and sidewalls of buildings can enhance the depth of the building structure (Figure15–17). The same is neon signs through the different colour and temperature light make the shape of buildings more vivid. The deployment of similar and complementary colours, arranged in similar colours in an orderly manner may create a harmonious effect. Under the neon signs, Hong Kong has an international cosmopolitan style for most of the time, but also presents the traditional historic city style because of the different neon colors in sometimes. These two styles are intertwined and change because of the time and place.
Aric C. (2014) states “neon signs are a combination of art and technology, typography and graphic design. Artists and film directors describe Hong Kong’s visual culture through them.” At Lockhart Road in Wan Chai, there still retain some of the best neon signs: Waikk Club, Amazonia, Hong Kong Cafe, Cinta-J, Dragon Club, Pizza Club (Figure19–24). An array of signboards with Chinese and English characters combined with horizontal, straight, curved, circle, semicircle, square and outer circle patterns add the colours of red, green, yellow, pink and light blue to the night sky. And these colours, letters, lines and symbols, but also reflected on the ground water stains, roof of car flow, stop signs and the opposite wall window. All these neon signs became part of the urban scene with energy and excitement. Moreover, According to the report of WenWei Po (2015), Tung Tak Pawn is one of only three pre-war tenement building were with curved designs and the last arc-shaped prefabricated arcaded in Hong Kong. It also retains many of its former pawnshop facilities, including the side door of the ceiling fan, the stop bell in the front door and the sun-shaped iron bars common in the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, reading order of these signs is from right to left. It is now become to a memorial scenic for tourists.
In 1912, Georges Claude tested the chemistry of different noble gases created the first neon signboard for commercial use and offering guests a choice of colours: argon is purple, xenon is light blue, helium is pink ; While krypton is silver-white (Wikipedia). Unlike neutral white light illuminating walls, there will be clean, bright, eye-catching effects. Under normal circumstances, neon sign brings colourful, pile gem and magnificent effect, but this colour light will be varying degrees of rendering to ambience due to the production process and light colour impure or insufficient illumination. For example, the faint yellow light will emit dim, warm atmosphere (Restaurants and Cafe prefer to choose, for instance, ‘Hong Kong Cafe’). In contrast, dim red light will render ambiguous, seductive atmosphere (More used in the bar signs, ‘Dragon Bar’), the dark blue and green light will result in dark, secretive effects (Pub-Pipe Bar). For a result, design the appropriate colour light that depending on the shape of the building and the location of the characteristics will get better effect.
Consequently, even with the advent of cheaper and more durable lightbox advertising and LED technology, especially the use of lightbox advertising and LEDs, neon signs are disappearing and withdrawn irrevocably. However, we could often see that youth people still keep an eager and unforgettable eternal memory and love for neon signs, and the special culture and social image of neon lights are still alive today (Figure27–29).
Overall, although what we can see on the streets of Hong Kong today is more landscape rivers consisting of light box and LED advertisements, and they may creating the spatial order they represent. However, the neon signs still have other forms of advertising unmatched mysterious and charming visual effects and light power.
This is probably due to the special colour effects of the neon signs, which own fragile glass tube and ethereal light. In further, there may be a more important reason, that neon signs are produced by excellent skilled craftsmen. In other words, every neon work is unique. And this unique hand-made artisan often with a subtle and special culture and human touch. It is also represented by a unique firm, at the same time, represents a diverse and competitive culture. And the Neon element can once again be repressed among young people may have been suppressed for a time and the neon sign now reviving again is more like, new generation prefer to defy the vision of others, break the boundaries and define themselves, like the have been misunderstood and disappearing neon signs.
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Reference:
Aric,C. 2017, ‘Why neon Signs’ , Neonsigns.HK. < http://www.neonsigns.hk/neon-in-visual-culture/why-neon-signs/ > viewed on 30 January, 2018.
Ribbat, C. ‘Tomorrows neon a history’ Neonsigns.HK. <. http://www.neonsigns.hk/neon-in-visual-culture/tomorrows-neon-a-history/ > viewed on 30 January, 2018.
Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Claude> viewed on 4 February 2018.
Zhen,H.2015, WenWei Po <http://paper.wenweipo.com/2015/09/14/ED1509140032.htm> viewed on 10 February 2018.
Photo and written by Yeqing Sun, 2018
