design|er|leben #18: Henry Steiner

In Hong Kong you can see his work nearly everywhere – on billboards, banks, and all kinds of buildings. People even have it in their pockets in the form of banknotes. designaustria member Henry Steiner, who has been named »the father of Hong Kong design«, was born Hans Steiner in Vienna on February 13, 1934. In 1939 the Steiner family managed to escape the National Socialists to the United States just in time. Henry studied at Hunter College, Yale University, and the Sorbonne in Paris and has been living and working as a graphic designer in Hong Kong for over fifty years.

He published »Cross-Cultural Design,« the first book to examine the challenges and rewards experienced by the world’s leading communication professionals when handling assignments outside their own cultures. In today’s world, with more and more cultures mingling and overlapping, this approach can teach us a lot in general as to respecting different cultures and not seeking to harmonize them, but recognizing their contrasts as a fascinating enrichment and valuable complement.