When Inspiration Becomes Movement
At DX design hub on an October afternoon, designers, educators and business professionals gathered around their laptops, experimenting with AI prompts and reimagining centuries-old design processes. This wasn't theory, this was bodw+ Series in action, where Italy's design excellence met Hong Kong's innovative spirit through hands-on exploration.
Building on BODW's legacy, the bodw+ Series transformed summit dialogues into sustained practical engagement. Following Series 1's successful introduction to Italian furniture and product design in June, Series 2 and 3 took place across two intensive sessions held on consecutive days, bringing together leading voices from Italy's most respected design institutions—POLI.design, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), and Domus Academy, alongside key craftsmanship and cultural institutions such as Lineapelle, UNIC Italian Tanneries, and L’Immagine Ritrovata, together with Hong Kong's creative community.
Under BODW 2025's unifying theme of "Curiosity Ignites Desing Innovation", these back-to-back programmes explored how curiosity fuels innovation at the intersection of strategic design, emerging technologies, and time-honoured craftsmanship. For participants spanning professionals, practitioners, civil servants, educators and tertiary students, this wasn't just knowledge transfer, it was transformation in motion.
When Curiosity Meets Technology
On 22 October, Series 2 posed a critical question for our accelerating age: Can AI truly help us design better? The answer, as Italy's design educators revealed, lies not in replacing creativity but in amplifying it through strategic curiosity.
Prof Cabirio Cautela, CEO of POLI.design, challenges participants to rethink established design models in his keynote "The Rise and Fall of Design Thinking" at bodw+ Series 2.
Prof Cabirio Cautela, CEO of POLI.design, opened with a provocative reframing in his keynote ‘The Rise and Fall of Design Thinking’. Rather than defending established models, he challenged participants to ask: ‘What happens when established models no longer fit the complexity of today's world? How can we rethink the ways we learn, create, and collaborate?’ This honest assessment of Design Thinking's achievements and shortcomings set the tone for a day focused on evolution, not preservation.
Stefano Carta Vasconcellos, Deputy Academic Director of IED, explores the intersection of strategic design and artificial intelligence.
Stefano Carta Vasconcellos, Deputy Academic Director of IED, explored how to distinguish AI hype from genuine innovation, examining both generative and predictive intelligence. Meanwhile, Domus Academy professors Giovanni Caruso and Stefano Cardini offered perhaps the day's most intriguing perspective: approaching AI not merely as a tool, but as a ‘design material’—something to be shaped, experimented with, and integrated into the creative process itself.
Domus Academy professors Giovanni Caruso and Stefano Cardini present AI as a "design material" rather than merely a tool.
The conversation gained local resonance through a panel featuring Hong Kong's design leaders, including Lam Wai Keung (Head of Department of Digital Media, HKDI), Prof Henry Duh (School of Design, PolyU), and Amy Ip (Co-Founder, CaaS). Together, they explored essential skills and mindsets for nurturing the next generation of designers in an AI-driven future.
Afternoon workshops transformed theory into practice. Participants brought laptops, accessed AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, and collaboratively ‘hacked’ classic design thinking stages. In another space, groups created speculative ‘future manuals’ examining how AI might transform creativity, creation and collaboration. The emphasis throughout remained experimental, collaborative, and anchored in curiosity-driven exploration.
Heritage Reimagined for the Future
Just one day later, on 23 October, Series 3 shifted focus to where tradition and innovation intersect. If Series 2 explored design's digital future, Series 3 celebrated its tangible heritage—Italian leather craftsmanship and cinematic preservation.
Alessandra Siena, leather expert from Lineapelle and UNIC - Italian Tanneries, reveals how Italy's leather industry leads in sustainability and circular design.
Alessandra Siena, leather expert from Lineapelle and UNIC Italian Tanneries, presented ‘Leather in the Age of Innovation: Crafting a Sustainable Future’. Her keynote revealed how Italy's renowned leather industry now leads in sustainability and circular design, transforming not only fashion but furniture, interiors and automotive sectors. The following fireside chat brought this into local context, as Siena conversed with Milton Ho, Studio Director of Hong Kong's Laws Knitters, exploring how both communities preserve heritage whilst driving innovation forward.
Davide Pozzi, Director of L'Immagine Ritrovata, shares insights on how film restoration can spark innovation and shape cultural identity.
The day's second thread examined cultural stewardship through film. Davide Pozzi, Director of the internationally acclaimed restoration laboratory L'Immagine Ritrovata, shared insights from the lab's work across studios in Bologna, Paris and Hong Kong. ‘For today's designers, curators, creatives, and cultural leaders,’ Pozzi noted, ‘the thoughtful preservation of the past can spark innovation, shape identity, and fuel the future of creative work.’ His conversation with M+ Museum's Chanel Kong deepened this exploration, examining practical and ethical challenges in preserving Hong Kong cinema for new audiences.
Participants experiment with AI tools during the "Hacking Design Thinking" workshop, reimagining design processes through hands-on collaboration.
Afternoon workshops made heritage tangible. In one space, participants examined extensive leather samples, discovering the journey from raw materials to finished types whilst exploring Italian tanneries' sustainability practices. In another, L'Immagine Ritrovata experts guided hands-on sessions in film handling, inspection, mechanical repair and cleaning—offering invaluable real-world restoration experience.
Attendees examine Italian leather samples, discovering the journey from raw materials to finished products while exploring sustainable practices.
From Knowledge Exchange to Lasting Transformation
Across three intensive sessions spanning June to October, the bodw+ Series demonstrated what sustained engagement can achieve. From furniture design to AI experimentation, from leather craftsmanship to film restoration, each programme offered distinct entry points into how curiosity drives innovation—whether pushing technological boundaries or honouring time-tested traditions.
What unified these diverse explorations was the bodw+ model itself: concentrated one-day programmes combining forums, workshops, masterclasses and networking that built genuine connections across disciplines and cultures. Italy's year-round partnership with Hong Kong created space for deep knowledge exchange rather than fleeting encounters, strengthening bonds within Hong Kong's design community whilst fostering international collaboration.
As part of HKDC's broader ecosystem—encompassing the DFA Awards, Fashion Asia Hong Kong, BODW in the city, and DX design hub initiatives—bodw+ Series reinforces Hong Kong's evolving role as a dynamic bridge between Eastern wisdom and Western innovation. The series proves that when curiosity becomes methodology rather than merely theme, transformation becomes inevitable.
From summit dialogues to hands-on workshops, bodw+ Series charts a path forward: one where Hong Kong's creative community continues building connections, applying learnings, and shaping the future—one curious exploration at a time.
Unlock exclusive design experiences and be part of Hong Kong's creative pulse.
