Peak Hours / 高峰
Peak Hours is an ongoing surface pattern design project drawing inspiration from the crossover of nature and the urban sprawl of Hong Kong
Flamingoes in Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui
O R I G I N S
The starting point of Peak Hours began on a trip to Hong Kong, I was walking through Kowloon Park and came across groups of flamingoes gathered against lush vegetation in front of towering skyscrapers.
Of course, flamingoes are not native to Hong Kong - they had been placed in the parks landscape. However this unexpected scene of nature against the backdrop of urban sprawl really caught my attention and prompted me to explore the relationship between organic forms and Hong Kong’s built environment.
An iconic feature of Hong Kong’s urban landscape is its bamboo scaffolding. I was particularly drawn to its use of a natural material to construct and maintain the towering architecture of the city. This feels central to Peak Hours - the overlap of a natural form and functional part of the environment.
Further into the collection, I will explore the areas native flora and fauna alongside other elements of the city’s urban landscape, continuing to investigate the relationship between the natural and built in environment.
C O L O U R
Colour within Peak Hours begins with one of Hong Kong’s most recognisable features - its taxis. Hong Kong’s taxis are distinguished by three colours, each associated with a different operating area:
RED - urban taxis
GREEN - New Territories
BLUE - Lantau Island
These three colours form the foundation of the collection’s palette.
Urban Taxis, Queen’s Road, Central
When considering my supporting colours I looked at elements of Hong Kong’s character. The area offers a plethora of visual references to draw from - neon signage in Mong Kok, air-con units breaking up façades and bamboo scaffolding interrupting the architecture. However, this largely represents the built environment. To balance this I looked towards the native flora and fauna.
Some species of banyan tree are native to Hong Kong, their distinctive roots not only providing an interesting visual to draw from, but also to look at in terms of a neutral colour to ground the collection.
Another natural element I looked towards was the bauhinia flower. This appears prominently on the regions flag, and the purple shades of the flower offer another colour to draw from - brightening the palette.
I have named these colours after the region that has inspired it:
Urban Red
Territory Green
Lantau Blue
Rather than directly copying the shades, I have interpreted these to keep them cohesive with the collection. Urban Red, for example is a rich, almost dark tone, which complements the powdery shade of Lantau Blue.
Potential banyan tree roots, Nha Trang, Vietnam / Banyan Tree, Bangkok, Thailand
This led me to these five colours:
Urban Red
Banyan
Bauhinia
Territory Green
Lantau Blue
Looking at these I have four vibrant shades, and one grounding neutral. whilst the red, green and blue will be dominant colours in their own way - such as urban red reflecting more architectural repeats - the purple provides an accent whilst the brown provides depth.
Finally, introducing a lighter neutral at this point to provide breathing space is needed. Looking again to the man made structures of Hong Kong, I have decided to use the abundance of air con units as an appropriate reference, their off white/grey tone offering a quieter shade amongst the collection.
However, Part of me is considering using bamboo as a reference. This could offer another neutral shade, bridging the two neutral shades together. This would give me a total of seven colours to work with - eight if you include the black, expressive linework.
In previous print projects I have used less colours. For example in Ilha I used five, and in narratives in design three were used. Working with a potential of eight colours does feel extensive and potentially chaotic, however, part of what I wanted to communicate within this collection was chaos. Peak Hours initially had a double meaning: a reference to the natural landscape and Victoria peak, but also peak hours of activity and the visual chaos of the urban sprawl.
With this in mind, a broader palette may actually benefit the collection rather than overwhelming it, providing each colour is balanced in their usage within repeats.
Finalised Colour Palette:
Urban Red
Territory Green
Lantau Blue
Banyan
Bauhinia
Unit
After Hours
Bamboo
R E S E A R C H
Birdlife
As mentioned, nature exists in abundance in Hong Kong, from the bauhinia flower to the woven roots of the banyan trees. I wanted to look beyond plant life and consider the animals and birds which are also present or native to the region.
The first, slightly more familiar bird I looked to was the pigeon. whilst walking around Hong Kong I saw multiple warnings against feeding them with fines to be issued if found doing so. These signs were recurrent on my walks around so thought pigeons would be an interesting subject to draw from.
Looking further into birdlife found in Hong Kong I have come across other species relevant for Peak Hours:
Oriental magpie-robin - a bird described by the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society as an “abundant, widespread resident”.
Black Kites - Found all over Hong Kong, particularly around Aberdeen.
Red whiskered Bulbul - The Agriculture Fisheries Conservation Department states that Lung Fu Shan is an area these are found.
White Throated Kingfisher - present in Hong Kong throughout the year but habitat may differ dependent on season.
Little Egret - a common waterbird, the AFCD recorded breeding at Tai O on Lantau Island.
Notice against feeding pigeons, Conduit Road, Central
Pigeon Study, 2026
Already, I have an abundance of birdlife to draw from. When considering the composition of my repeats I need to ensure I don’t overload each one, and ensure I am selective. For example, denser, urban repeats could feature pigeons and black kites, whereas calmer, nature-led repeats could draw from Lantau’s wildlife such as the little egret.
Mammals
Moving beyond birdlife I looked further into the native mammals of the region. One of the most distinctive is the Chinese Pangolin, a rare native species associated with the countryside and woodland. Of course, trying to shoehorn this into an urban repeat would be silly, but when considering nature-led repeats like before, this unique animal is something to draw from.
Researching further, here are some other mammals I may include within Peak Hours:
East Asian Porcupine - A native, widespread and primarily nocturnal animal found in woodland.
Leopard Cat - another native animal, primarily found within woodland.
Shop Cats - although not a ‘native’ animal, the shop cats of Hong Kong are a notable part of the urban landscape, hanging around shops and market stalls. For example @shuetsotong_catcat account on Instagram actually documents one of these shop cats walking around the shop located in Wan Chai.
Wild Boar - whilst naturally associated with the countryside, the AFCD mentions that some enter urban areas in search of food, creating an overlap of a typically ‘country’ aspect making its way into the urban environment.
Considering this list, I do have enough visual material to work from in creating both urban and nature-led repeat patterns. A final animal I could look at is macaques. Whilst they are not ‘native’, they are present in Hong Kong at Kam Shan Country park or Monkey Hill. However, I am not sure they will feature heavily in my prints, if at all.
Bauhinia Study, 2026
Flora
Banyan trees and Bauhinia are two aspects of flora I have already decided on using within my prints. Bauhinia was discovered in Hong Kong and in 1965 used as a floral emblem, appearing across the flag and coins, while the tree itself is planted as a street tree. Other aspects of flora may include:
Bamboo - numerous species of bamboo grow across Hong Kong, and as mentioned it is used as a construction tool.
Mangroves - Hong Kong is home to eight species of mangroves, particularly in coastland and wetland environments.
Chinese Fan Palm - native to parts of southern china, but is planted in Hong Kong’s urban areas
Chinese Banyan - native and commonly found throughout the city’s urban landscape, even growing out of masonry.
Hong Kong Camellia
Hong Kong Gordon
Red Azalea
I could continue researching and listing other flowering plants found in Hong Kong, but fear I would be going on forever. When making and constructing my repeat patterns I may expand on this list depending on how well the repeats work and whether they work in context.
The Urban Landscape
Finally, I turned my attention to the urban landscape. Whilst Hong Kong’s wildlife and plant life has provided a wealth of natural forms to work from, the built environment is the other half of my concept that will complete the collection.
The first, and perhaps one of the elements most synonymous with Hong Kong, is its hanging signage. Hong Kong became renowned for its dense displays of neon signs projecting from buildings and overlapping the streets below. Although many of these signs have now disappeared, they remain strongly associated with the visual culture of the area. Fortunately I did get photos of some of the remaining signs on Changsha street , Mong Kok.
Hanging signage will most definitely become an aspect of my repeat patterns. However, when developing signage as motifs, I need to strike a balance between making it recognisably Hong Kong without simply copying Cantonese text that I don’t understand. Using Chinese characters purely as a visual device risks reducing the language to decoration and could begin to feel novelty driven or an orientalised representation of the area. Instead I should consider the shapes, scale, repetition and density of these to establish a sense of place rather than relying solely on written language. When I began illustrating Hong Kong, particularly in my Sai Ying Pun work, I suggested written signage through abstract marks retaining the density and character of the writing which should be carried over into Peak Hours.
Neon signage, Changsha St, Mong Kok
building façade, Elgin street, Central
Building façades are another element I want to draw from, especially the contrast between older, weathered buildings and the towering high rises surrounding them. Window grilles, Air-conditioning units, balconies, pipes and wires all create layers of texture and repetition I can translate into my urban repeats.
One detail that is impossible to ignore across Hong Kong’s urban landscape is the abundance of air-conditioning units. Of course, Hong Kong has a tropical climate, these are needed and almost become a part of the architecture itself. Although they are incredibly ordinary, their repetition is something which interests me, especially when paired with an organic, natural form.
I have already discussed bamboo scaffolding, but again, this is an iconic part of urban Hong Kong that will appear across my repeats. Bamboo scaffolding actually encompasses the entire project - a natural form being used within an urban context, perfectly bridging the gap between nature and buildings.
There are numerous other areas I can draw inspiration from, for example transport. I have mentioned taxis already, but Hong Kong is also home to trams or Ding Dings, Minibuses, and ferries such as the star ferry connecting Kowloon. Whilst in Hong Kong, I also noticed a number of sports and supercars, very cool if you are into that kind of culture but I don’t think they really fit the theme. Furthermore, looking now at road signage, this may be another area I draw inspiration from in my repeats. This however may feel a little too generic.
High-rise density is the last area that I will draw from in my repeats. I will do this by not necessarily illustrating skyline motifs, but the stacking and overlapping dense structures is something that should inform the composition of the urban repeats.
Overall, the urban aspects of Hong Kong offer an abundance of inspiration. Overhead infrastructure such as hanging signs, air-cons and wires are a huge source of visual material and will feature heavily in my denser repeats. However, looking at other places outside of more built up areas such as Kowloon and Central, there are other aspects to look at. For example, Tai O, where the egrets were found to be breeding, features stilt houses or pang uk built above waterways and form the village’s most distinctive architectural features.
Looking up Wing Kut Street, Central
Stilt Houses/Pang uk, Lantau Island
M O T I F
D E V E L O P M E N T
With research and colour established, I began translating the visual identity of Hong Kong into a collection of illustrated motifs that can be layered, reworked and used across the collection to keep everything cohesive.