This year’s deTour 2025 Design Festival explores the theme of “The Shape of Yearning,” examining the core of design through three levels: the first level, function, aesthetics, and materials; the second level, structure, society, and culture; and the third level, emotion, existence, and vision.

deTour 2025 features 17 installations and exhibits created by design teams from Hong Kong, Mainland China, and around the world. Among them, visual artist moon.noon (Fan Leong Hung) and graphic designer Hamlet Auyeung from Studio Nopqrst drew inspiration from city streets — moon.noon by observing architectural window designs, and Hamlet by capturing the marks left by torn-off public notices — each offering a unique perspective on “The Shape of Yearning.”

Visual artist moon.noon creates real-time audiovisual experiences that explore urban architecture through sensory data. On his creative journey, he says, “I’ve done works on Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City; last year, I focused on footbridges and tunnels. For this year’s deTour project, Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal, the inspiration is windows. The themes have narrowed from an entire district to a specific element, yet the perspective has moved beyond locality and become broader.”

He enjoys observing urban architecture and once participated in an open-top bus tour led by artist Lam Siu‑wing to experience the community through “bus river cruising.” “It was my first time seeing buildings so closely—it was fascinating. Later, when I looked at my photos, I realized many were of windows, which inspired me to create Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal.” The installation echoes deTour’s theme, “The Shape of Yearning.” “To me, a ‘vessel of longing’ is an object that, when contemplated by the viewer, can reflect different emotions and reveal different meanings. I believe city life moves too quickly, and we often overlook so much around us—that’s the core message of Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal.” The installation features windows from different eras and styles, reminding viewers to slow down and reconnect with the city through their senses.

moon.noon explains that ‘Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal’ features a large hexagonal kaleidoscope through which viewers see a sequence of window images; a nearby crystal sphere offers close-ups of these images. The kaleidoscope displays windows from Hong Kong’s precolonial period, the colonial and pre-war eras, the post-war eras of the 1950s and 1960s, and contemporary architecture. The sound design also reflects the historical context: “For example, when trams emerge postwar, you’ll hear the ‘ding-ding’.” Visitors can interact with the installation through hand gestures to change the visuals and audio. moon.noon explains that the concept was inspired not only by the everyday gesture of “opening a window by hand” but also by how urban architecture has always been part of our environment: “Just like Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal, you’ll notice and appreciate the rich details the city has to offer.”

Alongside Urban Pulse: Spectrum Portal at deTour 2025—one of this year’s four main exhibitions—Trueform also incorporates everyday urban objects. Created by London‑based graphic designer Hamlet, the concept had been evolving for years. “One day, in front of a bus depot, I noticed five or six glue stains left behind after a No Smoking sign had been torn down. I found it intriguing and photographed them.” Since then, Hamlet has photographed nearly a hundred glue stains in London, during trips back to Hong Kong, and while traveling. Seven of the most distinctive shapes became the key elements of Trueform.

Regarding deTour’s theme, The Shape of Yearning, Hamlet states, “Desire can sometimes seem as something negative, but people need desire—aspirations and the pursuit of ideals—to drive action or creation; otherwise, a society would lose its vitality.” He uses glue stains as a conceptual metaphor—without glue, a sign cannot make its stand on the street. “So, what supports graphic design behind the scenes? Perhaps it’s the designer’s conviction—the belief that what we do has function and value.” Hamlet jokes that the glue stains, like talismanic “scribbles,” also made him think about humans’ faith in religion.

At the Trueform exhibition, visitors will see seven aluminum relief carvings, each created from one of seven glue stains through 3D digital processing and then handcrafted in cast aluminum. Hamlet also fed his glue-stained photos into AI to generate virtual 3D structures. “By scanning the aluminum relief carvings with a phone, visitors can view these virtual forms via augmented reality (AR).”

Casting aluminum reminded him of the mystique of ancient alchemy. “AI, likewise, carries a kind of magic, because we can’t predict what it will generate. So, I placed the reliefs and AI elements together to create contrast and conversation.” He describes Trueform as an experiment sparked by glue stains, without any goal of concluding. “Just as with The Shape of Yearning, what one longs for can be interpreted differently by everyone else.”

deTour 2025 – design festival

The Shape of Yearning

Date｜2025.11.28 - 12.07

Time｜11:00 - 20:00

Venue｜PMQ

Detail ｜https://main.detour.hk/en-us