This document summarizes a study conducted by the Hong Kong Design Institute DESIS Lab for Social Design Research on designing for living and dying matters. The study involved collaborations between older adults and younger designers to explore new design ideas and alternatives for death rituals. Through workshops, exhibitions, and other activities, the study aimed to use codesign to encourage intergenerational dialogue around taboo topics and bring about positive changes to practices and policies surrounding end of life.

1. Fine Dying.
Possible Study of
Living and Dying :
When older people
designwith younger
designers for our
dying matters
Hong Kong Design Institute
HKDI DESIS Lab
for Social Design Research
China
Dr Yanki Lee/Albert Tsang/Meng Lau/Tuhlis Ip/
Kenneth Siu

2. Promoters:
HKDI DESIS Lab for Social
Design Research and
William Outcast (A
renowned activist of death
education and the organiser
of the 1st Living Funeral in
Hong Kong
Funders:
Vocational Training
Council and SAGE
International Limited
Aknowledgements.
Leslie Lu, Amy Chan, Daniel Chan, Liz Mclafferty, Terence Yung,
Beam Leung, Sara Wong, May Wong, Lampros Faslis, Jeff Wan,
Winza Choi, Yasmin Chir and SAGE charity club members

3. Context From Ageing to Dying We notice that the afterlife is an
issue that concerns many older people. However, they are not afraid
to talk about death nor unwilling to plan their funerals and death
rituals. Involvement in their afterlife business would make them feel
like being able to complete the full circle of their own lives.
“Silent teacher”: Programme
set up by local university
medical schools, which
allow one to donate the
body after death for
medical education. The
cadaver will still go through
cremation or burial once it
has served its medical
purpose.
Currently the most
common way of
post-funeral rite in Hong
Kong, over 90% of the
deceased are cremated
in last year.
The major way of
resting the ashes
now. Yet Hong Kong
has only 190,000
existing or planned
public columbarium
niches to meet an
expected demand of
more than 470,000
over the next 10
years
(1). Yet there
could be so many
alternatives.
(1)
http://www.scmp.com/article/
699260/solution-lack-urn-niches
-sorely-needed
DYING
LIVING HEARSING
BURYING
illustration by ON

4. Fine Dying = Social Design X Death Education
Fine Dying is HKDI DESIS Lab for Social Design Research’s 1st
Design Possible Study, Living and Dying, to explore new design ideas
for death rituals and life education which they are sharing with the
public to explore the meaning of life.

5. Fine Dying is a
Co-design process.
Working with older people
who had done researches on
death ritual and they became
advisers for the young design
students to understand dying
as well as living through their
life stories.

6. Skill Training and Design Education
How can older people become
life design experts to
collaborate with younger
students to design for our
future selves?
Workshop led by older people about dying matters

7. Governance and Policy Making
How can new design ideas
to challenge existing
social practice and
demonstrate possibilities
for policy reform?
Student work – food- package-like container for human ash to explore the possibility to keep them as home

8. Activism and Civic Participation
How can design actions
enable people to have
positive responses to their
own death?
Coffin exhibition – showing as products with material and production explanations to get visitors to explore such
taboo objects

9. Social Interactions and Relations
How can design schools
become change agents to
bring different citizens to
explore taboo subjects
together?
50 ‘tables of ideas’ were lined up at the Design Boulevard of Hong Kong Design Institute as a public encounter
that advocates new concepts between life and death.

10. City and Environmental Planning
How can new ideas of
burial methods make
changes to our
relationship with
nature?
A study model by Landscape Architecture students to develop a comprehensive scheme to promote poetical way
to conduct sea burial celebration.

11. Job Creation
How can new design
education programme
to inspire young
designers to develop
new business models
for the silver market?
Life History Photos was a collaboration between fashion image design students with active older people..

12. Storytelling and Visualisation
How can design tools
enable citizens to design
their own dying matters?
“Design your own obituary” and “Design your own coffin” were exhibited with “Life story photos” revealed people’s
life and death stories and ideas.

13. http://
hkdi.desislab.vtc.edu.hk
Hong Kong Design Institute
HKDI DESIS Lab
for Social Design Research
China
Dr Yanki Lee, Albert Tsang, Meng Lau,
Tuhlis Yi, Kenneth Siu