Awards
DFA Design for Asia Awards 2015
The programme is comprised of five major awards: Grand Award, Culture Award, Sustainability Award, Technology Award and Category Award. Entries to the Category Award are recruited by open submission, while entries to the other four are by nomination. For the Category Award, entrants submit design projects in one of 18 categories under four key design disciplines, namely Apparel & Accessory Design, Communication Design, Environmental Design and Product & Industrial Design. Gold, Silver, Bronze Awards and Merit are presented to winners in each category.
In 2015, 765 entries were received from 24 countries or regions in Asia and beyond. This year, the judging panel consists of 20 world-renowned design professionals from different corners of the world. A total of 186 awardees were honoured for their design excellence this year, including 10 Grand Awards, one Culture Award, one Sustainability Award, one Technology Award, 15 Finalists, 15 Gold Awards, 27 Silver Awards, 47 Bronze Awards and 69 Merits. Ms Benedetta TAGLIABUE – Co-founder & CEO, Miralles Tagliabue EMBT and Founder & CEO, Enric Miralles Foundation conferred the DFA Design for Asia Awards 2015 – Grand Awards at the Presentation Ceremony on 2 December upon the recipients in recognition of their outstanding design accomplishments. Some of the award winners are also invited to speak at the Business of Design Week.
DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2015
Established in 2005, the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA) aims to nurture up-and-coming design practitioners and design graduates aged 35 or below, and provides a financial support for their work attachment or study overseas. This important platform recognises promising young design talents based in Hong Kong, serving to maintain the city’s competitiveness and consolidate its role as an Asian design hub.
An overwhelming 218 entries were received this year, the highest number since the DFAHKYDTA began. Among them, 17 young talents will be awarded with 14 receiving a financial sponsorship up to HKD 5000000 in total. The Award this year comprises the CreateSmart Young Design Talent Award (six awardees) and CreateSmart Young Design Talent Special Award (six awardees), with each awardee entitling a sponsorship of up to HKD 500000 or HKD 250000 respectively. Sponsored by Hong Kong Design Institute and School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University respectively, the HKDI Young Design Talent Award, as well as the PolyU School of Design Young Design Talent Award offer a financial sponsorship worth up to HKD 250,000 each. Three candidates will receive the Young Design Talent Special Mention Award recognising their achievements.
DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award and the DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer
At the BODW Gala Dinner on December 4, 2015, the DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (DFALAA), DFA Design Leadership Award (DFADLA) and the DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFAWOCD) were presented to winners by the Guest of Honour, Ms Susie HO, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Creative Industries), the Government of the HKSAR.
This year, the DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (DFALAA) went to award-winning automotive designer Mr. Pinky LAI. Widely recognised as the first Chinese designer in the car design profession, Lai was formerly Chief Designer with Porsche A.G. and is the Founder and Design Director of the Brainchild Design Group and Brainchild Design Consultants, Ltd. Lai’s groundbreaking work in auto design spans four impressive decades, and was recently the subject of a sketch exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2015.
The DFA Design Leadership Award (DFADLA) was bestowed to global business leader Mr Taha BOUQDIB, President, CEO and Co-Founder of TWG Tea. In creating one of the fastest growing luxury tea brands in the world, Bouqdib strategically positioned TWG Tea as a luxury lifestyle concept and set up headquarters in Singapore to conduct business with plantations across Asia. Today, TWG Tea incorporates retail outlets, tea rooms and an international distribution network in 40 countries around the world.
Mr Chi Wing LO, founder of furniture studio DIMENSIONE CHI WING LO® and design studio 1ness, was named the DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFAWOCD). With works spanning architecture, sculpture, interior, furniture and object design, Lo’s prolific design work has been recognised in and beyond the eminent circle of contemporary Italian designs, by his evocativeness in thought, gracefulness in form and meticulousness in every detail.
DFA Awards Exhibition 2015
The DFA Awards Exhibition, a part of the InnoDesignTech Expo, was held from 3 to 5 December. The winning projects of the DFA Design for Asia Awards, as well as the portfolios of DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award, DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award were showcased at this exhibition.
The Awards Publication: Design for Asia – DFA Awards 2015
This Awards Publication celebrates the 2015 DFA Awards winning entries and their design teams. The international panel of judges from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, India, Malaysia, Australia, Serbia, The Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States also discuss the role of design in their regions and share their views on the future of ‘Design for Asia’ – the trends and the values it pursues.
Design for Society is a major undertaking of the HKDC – a publicly-funded, non-profit organisation, established in 2002, with the support of the design industry in promoting and celebrating design excellence; championing strategic and wider use of design for creating business value and community benefits; and educating professions, and the community to be resourceful champions for sustained developments through design and innovation.
The DFA Awards, through its five major award programmes, has grown in its international influence in Asia. The DFA Lifetime Achievement Award signifies the design community’s respect for individuals who have made life-long contributions to the profession and the society. The DFA Design Leadership Award recognises business leaders who create sustainable business success through strategic and innovative use of design. The DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer is a major accolade for designers of Chinese origin with significant design achievement and international recognition. The DFA Design for Asia Awards covers a wide range of design that embodies Asian aesthetics and culture and influences the design trends in Asia and for Asia. The DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award nurtures the development of emerging designers and provides sponsorship for them to undertake work or study overseas.