Taipei, Taiwan -- (ASIA TODAY) -- Thinking of participating in the 2016 edition of Taiwan’s international Golden Pin Concept Design Award? Then you need to watch this video before entries close on June 15.
As the 2016 call for entries period draws to a close for the Golden Pin Concept Design Award–the world’s only award that celebrates conceptual design inspired by the philosophies and ideologies from huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities–the organizers have released a video that sheds light on what the design prizes's theme, zhongguan (中觀), means in a contemporary huaren (Chinese cultural) context.
In the opening scenes of the three minute video, five leading Taiwanese design professionals give their answers to the question “What do you think about when you hear the Chinese word zhongguan for the first time?” In the second half, the interviewed experts delve a little deeper to reveal their thoughts on the possible meanings behind and potential impact of this little-known but culturally important Chinese term.
“In the ancient Chinese dictionary, the Shouwen Jiezi, the word zhong (中) is originally depicted as a flag, or the process of a flag waving left and right,” says Jun-Liang Chen, Founder and General Manager of leading Taipei design studio, FREEiMAGE Design, as well as a scholar of Chinese philosophy in design. “This word holds great significance for Chinese culture.”
According to Chen, the term zhongguan is important in Chinese religion, where it represents, as he explains, “a core philosophy, a design or strategy perspective, that gives direction to Chinese culture.”
“Zhong actually refers to Chinese, or huaren, culture,” says Civi Cheng, an Assistant Professor of Applied Arts in Taipei and a member of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 Final Selection Jury. “It represents the huaren perspective, cultural view, thinking, and philosophy or values.”
“We can say that the German IP [intellectual property] is Bauhaus, Nordic design is minimalist, and Japan has Zen, but we haven’t heard of or developed an IP that uniquely belongs to huaren communities. So I believe the goal of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award is to stimulate this conversation and discovery,” says Mark Stocker, Managing Director of the Taipei based Direction Design Group (DDG) and an American design industry and business leader who has lived and worked in Taiwan for more than two decades.
The video also hears the thoughts of Kristy Chu, Assistant Professor and Director of the Institute of Fashion and Communications Design at Taipei’s Shih Chien University; and Bryan Leung, the Taiwanese winner of the Best Design trophy in the 2015 edition of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award.
Re-launched in 2015, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award is the third edition to a group of design awards run by the Taiwan Design Center under the Golden Pin banner. The annual award offers a total of NT$900,000 (more than US$27,000) in cash prizes. Entrants are encouraged to consider philosophies, ideologies, principles, or areas of thought attributable to huaren culture or lifestyles in their submitted concepts, as well as the Chinese concept of zhongguan (中觀).
The competition is open to submissions from students, professionals, and corporations from around the world, and accepts product and project design concepts in four design disciplines: Product Design, Visual Communication Design, Packaging Design, and Spatial Design. Concept designs must not be available in the market, nor may they be produced within the year of the award.
In 2016, entries will be assessed in three stages by a carefully selected international jury. All entrants that pass the second round of selections will be awarded a Golden Pin Concept Design Award Design Mark and a certificate. Best Design of the Year winners will receive one of three cash prizes awarded at a grand ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan in early December, each worth NT$300,000 (approx. US$9,800).
To enter, visit: http://www.goldenpin.org.tw/en/GPCDA.asp
Entry deadline: June 15, 2016
Entry fee: FREE
Preliminary Selection: early July 2016
Secondary Selection: mid-late August 2016
Final Selection: October 2016
Award Ceremony: early December 2016
The Golden Pin Concept Design Award is administered by the Taiwan Design Center and organized by the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs acts in an advisory capacity.
For the latest news on the Golden Pin Design Award, visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldenpinconcept
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenpindesign
Weibo: http://www.weibo.com/p/1006065181797743/home?from=page_100606&mod=TAB#place
WeChat: 金點設計獎
For more insight into what it means to the design for the huaren market, visit: http://designperspectives.org/.
Video
Watch and share the video online here: https://youtu.be/h8iebAS3QII.
To access a downloadable version of the video, visit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bcbi0wzhf4iuqow/AAAEfwYDHQuYyI3Pvkv65laza?dl=0.
Images & Caption Details
All images courtesy Taiwan Design Center.
Image, video, and press kit download link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bcbi0wzhf4iuqow/AAAEfwYDHQuYyI3Pvkv65laza?dl=0
1. Images of the speakers in the Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2016 call for entries video. Clockwise from top left: Civi Cheng - Assistant Professor of Applied Arts and Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 Final Selection Jury; Bryan Leung - Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 Best Design Recipient; Mark Stocker - DDG; Kristy Chu - Shih Chien University; Jun-Liang Chen - FREEiMAGE Design.
2. Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 Best Design recipients. Clockwise from top right: ‘Symbol’ by Junjie Qiu (Nanjing University of the Arts); ‘Memento’ by Bryan S.P. Leung (Shih Chien University); and ’gogobike’ by Yeh, Shih-Yu (Tunghai University).
3.-8. (Video Stills) Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 Best Design and Design Mark recipients.
9.-13. (Video Stills) Speakers in the Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2016 call for entries video.
Media Enquiries
Kate Nicholson
International Media Liaison, DDG
kate.nicholson@ddg.com.tw
+886 2 2772 5850 x 180
Entrant Enquiries
Zoe Chen
Golden Pin Concept Design Award Team
yiling_chen@tdc.org.tw
+886 2 27458199 x 337
- Distributed via ASIA TODAY http://www.AsiaToday.com
