International designers, companies dominate Golden Pin Design Award for the very first time in 2015

KL&K Design (Hong Kong), ONG&ONG (Singapore), Han Jiaying Design & Associates Co. Ltd (China), Shine Visual Lab (Malaysia), and Sitpack (Denmark) among the many leading international design firms now in the running to win a coveted Design Mark or Best Design honor

In a surprising reversal of the Golden Pin Design Award 2014 entry results, the majority of entries received in 2015 came from outside of Taiwan.

Entries from China made up 53% of the total entries, marginally outweighing entries from Taiwan at 42%. Entries from Hong Kong and Macau (3%) and other regional and international countries (2%) made up the remainder bringing the total number of entries to 2360 in 2015, up 24% from the 1901 entries received in 2014.

New countries spotted on the entry list in 2015 include Thailand, Germany, Denmark, and New Zealand. Regional countries represented in 2014–Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore–saw a significant jump in their representation in 2015.

While most entries were received in the Product Design Category, as was the case in 2014, the number of entries submitted into the Spatial Design Category (previously the Interior Design Category) rose by an astonishing 187%. There was also a notable increase of entries (42%) in the Visual Communication Design Category, while the Packaging Design Category remained more-or-less stable.

The region’s leading technology and manufacturing companies were well represented, with entries received from TCL, Sampo, ASUS, Acer, ZTE Corp., Delta, and SANY, among many others. Other leading companies and design firms from around the world entered highly innovative, huaren culture- and lifestyle-inspired products and projects into the award.

From China comes Shanghai Moma Industrial Product Design Co. Ltd’s PRONA Intelligent Lighting Streetlight Series, a new-era public lighting system that combines LED lights, a CCTV camera, a self-charging power source, and multimedia interactivity panel. Han Jiaying Design & Associates Co. Ltd submitted their Celebrate our Planet poster, which references Chinese ink painting traditions and the shape of the Chinese word xiang (embrace everything in English) to reinforce a concept of global coexistence. UUP’s packaging design for a series of hand-held fans by famed Jing Fan Brand seeks to emphasize both the contemporary fashion and traditional craft aspects of these useful yet culturally significant products.

From Taiwan, the home of the Golden Pin Design Award, comes SIL ZENCE Man, a range of men’s clothing designed by famed designer Jun-Liang Chen, founder of FREEiMAGE, who was inspired by elements from Chinese philosophy and culture. Leading firm EHS ArchiLab submitted their work on the contemporary-traditional fusion style interior for the Toyo Ito-designed Eslite Hotel, an ambitious project located next to Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Center.

From Hong Kong and Macau comes KL&K Design’s Reading Mi, a beautifully minimalist identity design for yoyibook’s new “experience bookstore,” Mi, which is described as a living cultural space thousands of square meters large where reading, creative products, coffee, and learning takes place simultaneously. Macau was represented by, among other companies, Hylé Design Macau, who submitted SIMPLE 90° RULER, an intelligent reinterpretation of a classic, ubiquitous stationery product.

From Southeast Asia comes, among many other projects, ONG&ONG’s China Place, a revitalization of a retail complex near Singapore’s Chinatown; Roots systems14, an exhibition poster that links the evolution of Chinese character logograms to the systematic and rigorous form reduction approach of Braun Design (Singapore); and Shine Visual Lab Sdn Bhd’s Takeo Calendar & Diary 2015 – 'Baa Baa Black Sheep’, a Chinese New Year client gift for leading Japanese paper company, Takeo (Malaysia).

Outside the Asia region, products and projects poured in from a number of international design hubs. From Denmark, for example, comes Sitpack, a foldable stool that, almost unbelievably, fits into one’s pocket; and from Germany comes a number of high-level entries of leather goods including gloves, bags, and purses from the multi-award winning, internationally renowned design companies Gretchen and Otto Kessler.

Says Chen Wenlong, CEO of the Taiwan Design Center, of the increasing international attention the award is receiving: “We’re very excited to reveal that Taiwan’s Golden Pin Design Award can truly call itself an international design award in 2015. We have seen a staggering response from both the regional and international design community this year, and we are thrilled to see so many products and projects entered in the 2015 edition of the award that are taking the specific wants, needs, and demands of huaren around the world into consideration in their designs.”
The Golden Pin Design Award is an annual award, administered by the Taiwan Design Center in Taipei, that seeks to raise global awareness for huaren design by recognizing innovative products and projects that cater to the expectations, desires, and needs of huaren consumers. The Award welcomes entries from individuals and corporations anywhere in the world that are selling, manufacturing, or designing products for or in Chinese-speaking (huaren) communities. The award, now in its 34th year, accepts product design, visual communication, packaging, and spatial design works.

2015 Award Timeline

Entered products and projects are assessed in three stages by an expert international jury. Second stage winners receive a Golden Pin Design Mark. Of these winners, just 15 to 20 receive a Best Design Award.

For the latest news on the Golden Pin Design Award, visit:

Official Website: 　http://www.goldenpin.org.tw
Facebook: 　https://www.facebook.com/GoldenPinDesign
Weibo: 　http://www.weibo.com/p/1006065181797743/home?from=page_100606&mod=TAB#place
For more insight into huaren design, visit: 　http://designperspectives.org.

Media Enquiries

Kate Nicholson
International Media Liaison
DDG
kate.nicholson@ddg.com.tw
+886 2 2772 5850 x 180

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