The Golden Pin Concept Design Award–known until this year as the Taiwan International Design Competition, which has been running since 2002–is an annual award that offers a total of NT$1 million (approx. US$33,000) in cash prizes to innovative design works inspired by huaren ideology and philosophy. It is open to students, professionals, and corporations from around the world, and accepts product and project design concepts from all design disciplines.
In 2015, the award is guided by the Chinese phrase zhong guan. The theme was crafted by famed Taiwanese designer Chen Jun-Liang, Founder and General Manager of Freeimage Design, who was commissioned to the task by the award executive, the Taiwan Design Center. According to the award organisers, while separately the words mean ‘center’ or ‘middle’ (zhong) and ‘to observe’ or ‘to watch’ (guan), the meaning of the combined phrase is much deeper; in English, the meaning of the phrase is something akin to “mastery gained from the perspective afforded those at the center of things.”
Wenlong Chen, CEO of the Taiwan Design Center, elaborates: “The Golden Pin Concept Design Award, along with its parent award, the Golden Pin Design Award, seeks to deepen awareness of and appreciation for design inspired by huaren ideology and philosophy. By bringing individuals from around the world together in the exploration of the role of huaren thought in the design of both products and projects, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award hopes to contribute to greater perspective, and ultimately, to raise the capacity of designers to incorporate these concepts into tomorrow’s most influential products and projects.”
The Golden Pin Concept Design Award is the third addition to a group of design awards run by the Taiwan Design Center that sit under the Golden Pin banner: the premier award, the international Golden Pin Design Award (facebook.com/GoldenPinDesign), which is open to huaren products and projects available in the market; the Golden Pin Concept Design Award (facebook.com/goldenpinconcept); and local graduate student design award, the Young Pin Design Award (facebook.com/YoungPinDesign). All awards celebrate innovative products and projects expressly created for and within huaren (Chinese-speaking) markets and communities.
The Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2015 is open to international participants in any design discipline and there is no entry fee. Entries from individuals, groups, and companies are accepted, and entrants are strongly encouraged to consider one or more philosophies, ideologies, principles, or areas of thought attributable to huaren culture or lifestyles in their submitted concepts. Concept designs must not be available in the market, nor may they be produced within the year of the award.
Entries will be assessed in two stages by an expert jury, and winners receive one of 13 cash prizes awarded at a lavish ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan in November: three Best Design of the Year Awards, each worth NT$300,000 (approx. US$9,800); and ten Golden Pin Concept Design Awards, each worth NT$10,000 (approx. US$330). All winners receive additional benefits in the form of promotional and exhibition opportunities offered by the Golden Pin Concept Design Award team.
Entry Details and Timeline
The below dates may be subject to change.
To enter, visit: http://www.goldenpin.org.tw/.
Entry deadline: July 31, 2015
Entry fee: FREE
Preliminary Selection: mid-August 2015
Announcement of Finalists: end of August 2015
Submission of Prototype: mid-September 2015
Final Selection: early October 2015
Award Ceremony: end of November 2015
The Golden Pin Concept Design Award is executed by the Taiwan Design Center and organised by the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs acts in an advisory capacity, and the award is sponsored by Canmeg AVEDA.
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For the latest news on the Golden Pin Design Award, visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldenpinconcept
Weibo: http://www.weibo.com/p/1006065181797743/home?from=page_100606&mod=TAB#place
For more insight into what it means to the design for the huaren market, visit: http://designperspectives.org/.
