12 must-see design entries from 9 countries and regions, including USA, Singapore, and Japan, ft. The Artmap by McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong & Cathay Pacific Airways
The Golden Pin Design Award is an international event held annually by the Taiwan Design Center in Taipei that is raising global awareness about design created for and within huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities.
After heated Secondary Selection rounds that took place in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Taipei, a total of 410 entries have been selected to receive a coveted Design Mark. These entries are now in the running for the Best Design trophy, to be announced on December 7, 2017.
There is a myriad of global talent from 9 countries and regions — China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and USA — is represented in this year’s Golden Pin Design Mark recipient list. The competition has 4 award categories: Packaging Design, Product Design, Spatial Design, and Visual Communication Design. The Design Mark recipients were chosen by the Secondary Selection jury, composed of 15 reputable designers from Taiwan and China.
12 must-see design entries from 9 countries and regions, including USA, Singapore, and Japan, ft. The Artmap by McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong & Cathay Pacific Airways
Amongst the selection is a Visual Communication campaign from advertising giant McCann Worldgroup, The Artmap for Cathay Pacific Airways. The Artmap utilizes a bespoke algorithm to extract travel data from over 600 million annual flights, then animates a Chinese calligraphy painting by mapping that data. The digital gift is sent to each of Cathay’s 1,089,365 Marco Polo Club members, detailing their individual travels.
Violet Oon’s National Kitchen at Singapore National Gallery, designed by Laank Pte, features in the Spatial Design category. The restaurant’s identity is molded around the building’s iconic and original early 20th century Peranakan tiled floor. Each tile is intricately hand painted with hues of deep emerald green and crystal chandeliers adorn the main dining hall, adding a sparkle of luxury.
From China, One Take Architects exhibit an entrancing architectural installation called The Mirrored Sight Shelter. The installation was created for Longli New Media Art Festival and set by the north bank of Longxi River in southeast Guizhou, outside the old village of Longli. In designing the Shelter, architects articulated the isolation and tension of the Longli people and the vernacular community. The shelter itself has become a new regional landmark and a place for people to rest and have fun.
In the Product Design category, Sha Design (USA) showcases Eatwell — universal tableware, inspired by the designer’s grandmother who suffers from dementia. The dinner table is the nexus of any traditional Chinese family, where all generations get together and bond, so Sha Yao set out to resolve her grandmother’s eating difficulties. Eatwell has already won several awards during its research and development, including the 2014 Stanford Design Challenge.
Also in the Product design category, Oreo Vinyl is literally an Oreo cookie that plays music like a vinyl record. The designers at Dimension Plus in Hong Kong thought of everything, from producing original music that is printed onto the surface of the Oreo to designing a mini cardboard record player that is built into the packaging. You really have to see it to believe it!
These 12 Design Mark recipients are selected from a total of 410 successful entries
Packaging Design
Taiwan-Dot Design (Taiwan) Chosen Tea 1869 - Taiwanese Tea Series — gift boxes made from recycled materials and commemorating 1869, the most prosperous year of the Taiwanese tea industry.
Product Design
Sha Design (USA) Eatwell — assistive tableware designed to benefit those with cognitive (Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease), motor (Parkinson's disease and Sclerosis), and physical (injury, infirmity) impairments.
Toyama Design Center (Japan) Etchu Toyama craftsmanship sharing plate — five artists collaborated to design and craft 23 small plates based on Toyama’s traditional “osusouwake” (sharing plate) wedding gift custom.
UID Create (Taiwan) 2017 Universiade Torch — traditional, hexagonal bamboo weaving craft sculpted using a modern 5-axis laser; “upholding tradition, boldly innovating” is the concept behind the opening ceremony torch.
Micro-Star International (Taiwan) VR One — a powerful, wearable computer, ergonomically designed to disperse heat; works with a head-mounted display for VR applications, particularly in gaming and real estate.
Spatial Design
Laank Pte (Singapore) National Kitchen — part of the Singapore National Gallery, Violet Oon’s restaurant identity is molded around the building’s iconic and original early 20th century Peranakan tiled floor.
One Take Architects (China) The Mirrored Sight Shelter — set by the north bank of Longxi River in southeast Guizhou, outside the old village of Longli, this architectural installation has become a new regional landmark.
IMO Architecture & Design (Taiwan) Xiafu Activity Center — adjacent to Hongfu Gong temple in Xiafu, the cultural activity center reimagines the bright colors of the ornate temple roof as striking verticals.
Visual Communication Design
McCann Worldgroup (Hong Kong) The Artmap — a bespoke algorithm extracts travel data from over 600 million annual flights and creates beautiful Chinese calligraphy artwork as a gift to individual frequent fliers.
Dimension Plus (Hong Kong) Oreo Vinyl — an Oreo that plays music like a vinyl record, with grooves on the cookies surface, and a mini cardboard record player built into the packaging.
Kongsi Design (Malaysia) Za Luan You Zhang Book Design — a book of 8 essays by Zhou Ruo Peng, which is bound in an ingenious way to alternately conceal and reveal two opposing perspectives on a series of topics.
Wwave Design (Macau) Uini Soap Branding — a cute and well-presented natural cosmetic brand from Macau, which exhibits an original triangular design as well as sophisticated typography.
“Being a designer is a pretty dangerous occupation…”
Jury Chair for this year’s Golden Pin Design Award is Shikuan Chen, one of Taiwan’s most recognized technology product designers and a disciple to the idea of cultural difference in design. At the Secondary Selection, he told media that he is pleased with this year’s entries and commented that it is a positive trend for award itself.
“Being a designer is a pretty dangerous occupation because whatever you do, whether you succeed or you fail, that multiplies in the millions. It’s very dangerous work if you don’t have enough knowledge, so you must be very ethics-driven, really know your profession well, and be responsible for what you add to our planet.”
About the Golden Pin Design Award
The annual Golden Pin Design Award is the longest-running international design award that celebrates products or projects expressly created for huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities, offering entrants an unprecedented opportunity to prove their prowess in the world’s largest market.
Entered products and projects are assessed in three stages by an expert panel of international judges. Entrants who pass the Secondary Selection receive a coveted Golden Pin Design Award Mark — an indicator of innovation that they can use to market their product or design project.
The Golden Pin Award Group is comprised of two international awards — the Golden Pin Design Award, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award — and the Young Pin Design Award for students in Taiwan. The Golden Pin Design Award Group 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:
Official Website:http://www.goldenpin.org.tw/en/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/GoldenPinDesign/
Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/goldenpindesign
Weibo:http://www.weibo.com/GoldenPinDesign
WeChat: 金點設計獎
For more insight into what it means to design for huaren communities, visit:http://designperspectives.org/
Media Enquiries
Kate Nicholson
International Media Liaison, DDG kate.nicholson@ddg.com.tw
+886 2 23117007 x 402
