Discovering signs: a study of cantilever neonsignage as a post-war urban vernacular heritage of Hong Kong

The emergence of Cantilever Neon Signage has accompanied with the grown-up of Hong Kong urban development after World War II. This enormous steel frame covered with bent neon lights has been erected onto the external wall over the streets of Hong Kong city in the past few decades. Its image has been firmly imprinted on every citizen’s memory by its multi-colored and eye-catching gesture. The signal itself embodies part of the social and urban development history of Hong Kong. However, its role in this city has been fading out following with the city’s renewal and advancement in information technology. It is afraid that the Cantilever Neon Signage will end up with a calamitous fate one day as all of them will be eradicated from our city. Throughout this dissertation, we tried to unveil some hidden stories behind this mysterious mask by unravelling the development history and exploring this fading industry in person throughout face-face site visits. The results were astonishing as less people would commit to this handicraft driven industry and it coupled with austere statutory controls which have inevitably halted further potential successors to enter into the industry.published_or_final_versionConservationMasterMaster of Science in Conservatio