Hong Kong Neon Sign Artworks Publication Crowdfunding

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香港街道的冷清將成為現實？
在霓虹招牌逐一消失之際，我們希望出版一本書好好紀錄。

Fundraising a book that documents HK’s vanishing neon signs.

香港霓虹招牌手稿出版眾籌計劃

Hong Kong Neon Sign Artworks Publication Crowdfunding Project

本書將輯錄218張繪自約50至70年代的餐飲業霓虹招牌手稿，全書內容主要分為兩部份。

第一部分集結研究室過去三年以來蒐集和分析有關香港霓虹招牌的資料，內容包括：

- 香港霓虹招牌簡史

- 餐飲業簡史與文化

- 本土飲食業店舖的訪問

- 本土霓虹師傅的訪問

第二部分將分門別類列出餐飲業的完整手稿。作為霓虹招牌製作的設計圖，手稿不乏畫師的筆跡，以及師傅製作過程中的筆記。手稿更充當著各個製作霓虹招牌的部門（例如打鐵、屈管、安裝火牛和安裝招牌等步驟）之間溝通的媒介。透過這些線索，我們能夠了解到商戶和師傅們製作一個霓虹招牌時需要考慮的因素。此部分內容包括：

- 完整輯錄218張霓虹招牌手稿

- 手稿的視覺元素及美學分析

218 restaurant artworks dated back from the 1950s to 1970s will be featured.

The contents of this book will be divided into two sections. The first section will summarise the Lab’s research findings on Hong Kong neon signs from the past three years. Topics that will be covered include:

- A brief history of Hong Kong neon signs

- A brief account on Hong Kong’s food culture and history

- Interviews with local restaurants

- Interviews with local neon masters

The second section will catalogue all the restaurant neon sign artworks with a full view of each artwork. Being design drafts created for the production of neon signs, the artworks carry not only the brushworks of the painter(s), but also remarks that were made by different neon sign masters during the production process. It is a medium over which different departments of neon sign making communicate (e.g. metal forging, tube bending, installing transformers and the actual sign itself etc.) Readers will be able to understand the factors of consideration among shop owners and neon sign masters when making a neon sign through the clues provided in the artworks. This section will cover topics like:

- Complete documentation of 218 restaurant neon sign artworks

- Analysis on the visual elements and aesthetics of the artworks

以下圖中設計只供參考，並非此出版計劃的最終設計
The design in the following image is for demonstration purposes only. It doesn’t not reflect the final design of this project’s deliverable

本書將帶領讀者分別從日與夜兩種不同的光線，重新觀看、欣賞這些源自50至70年代的霓虹招牌手稿；透過特別的印刷工序，把香港霓虹招牌的美好紀錄下來。為求達到日與夜的不同效果，有別於一般出版製作，本書除了使用基本四色印刷(CMYK)外，亦特別使用了四種螢光油墨，隨書更附送紫外光燈（UV）電筒。讀者在鑑賞手稿時，會有更特別的體驗：在普通光源下，宛如走在昔日街頭能夠看到招牌的色彩斑斕和結構；關上燈打開UV電筒的話，更有晚上的香港霓虹燈發光的視覺效果。

第二部分收錄的218張霓虹招牌手稿，每一張都逐一經過人手做獨立拆色處理，分配每個著色點上螢光油墨的比例，確保印刷出來的線條達到光管發光的效果，因此本書的設計需時較長。另外，本書將善用油墨，令手稿手稿上黃色、綠色、桃紅或紅色的光管都能在UV燈下，呈現出霓虹光管發光的效果。惟現有的螢光藍色，因為油墨自身的限制，並不能在UV燈照射下發光。

This book would like to guide readers to appreciate and reexamine these 1950s-to-1970s neon sign artworks from two different perspectives – daytime and nighttime. Through using special printing effects, we try to document the spectacle of Hong Kong’s neon signs. In order to achieve distinctive day and night visual effects, we will use four additional fluorescent inks besides the basic CMYK printing used in common publishing production. When looking at the artworks with the UV torch that will be provided with the book, a unique reading experience is created – under daylight, readers will be able to see the vivid colours and composition of these old neon signs; when viewed in the dark with the UV torch, the glowing neon tubes depicted in the artworks will come to life, just like the neon signs we used to see on the streets at night.

The 218 artworks that will be featured in the second section will require manual colour separation done individually to make sure the right balance and distribution of the fluorescent inks are applied to each area. It is a long and tedious design process that will ensure the printed lines and shapes can mimic the glow of neon tubes. Furthermore, we will utilise the fluorescent inks to visualise the glowing yellow, green, pink and orange-red neon tubes depicted in the artworks, which shall be revealed to readers under UV light. However, due to the technical limitation of the fluorescent blue ink, neon tubes of blue colours will not be able to glow under UV light.

香港昔日的霓虹招牌設計自成一格，其中西匯聚的用色、字體、構圖、設計風格等，這些視覺元素都鮮有在其他城市中找到。街道上佈滿密密麻麻、五光十色想要爭奪人們眼球的的霓虹招牌，極具香港的獨特性，曾經代表著城市的景觀，象徵著繁華。這些霓虹招牌手稿正正記錄了這個輝煌的年代，因此，我們更加需要好好地記錄和保存它們，希望能提供不同的角度，讓更多人認識香港的文化歷史。

Hong Kong’s neon signs in the olden days have unique design styles on their own. The mixed use of Chinese and Western styles in colours, typography, composition and other visual styles are rarely found in other cities. The spectacle of overlapping neon signs filling up the space above the streets was an icon of Hong Kong, symbolizing the city’s prosperity with the dazzling lights of neon signs at night. The neon sign artworks happened to capture these glorious times, which is why we wish to preserve and document these artworks to offer a chance for readers to understand Hong Kong’s cultural history through different perspectives.