Big names in the running for this year’s Golden Pin Design Award include Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), which has been ranked by Forbes at number nine in its list of the world’s twenty-five biggest tech companies in 2017. Additionally, there are client projects for Xiaomi, EVA Airways Corp., and Apujan. These entrants represent the Golden Pin Design Award’s prestige among the global design community.
Queen2
Entered by HON HAI Technology Group
Designed by Shanghai Fusharp Sales Co.,Ltd.
Client: Sharp
Category: Product Design
Sharp’s Queen2 air purifier is integrated with new and existing technology. It features a brand new, curved glass control panel for fashion and functionality. The curved glass imbues Queen2 with a sense of freshness and cleanness. The curved body of the device finishes at a hidden air outlet, designed to evoke the closure of a flower. The design of Queen2 is for all five senses, it not only puts the finishing touches to the sense of sight, but also enriches the user experience with ‘tranquility, cleanness, and comfort’. Additionally, an intelligent smart home app further enhances the user experience.
Xiaomi Flagship Store in Shenzhen
Designed by Eight Inc.
Client: Xiaomi
Category: Spatial Design
Xiaomi aims to differentiate its customers’ retail experience by simplifying its current store design language. In doing so, it aims to create engaging customer journeys, and elevate general recognition of the Xiaomi brand. Eight Inc. designed a store that performs as a portal to the wide range of Xiaomi offerings both online and offline, as well as a place for the community of 50 million Xiaomi users.
EVA Air menu designs for inflight dining
Designed by JL Design
Client: EVA Airways Corp.
Category: Communication Design
The EVA Air menu designs for inflight dining are based on aerial landscapes of Taiwan. The idea of looking at Taiwan from a bird’s-eye view is related to the inflight experience. The aerial photographs focus on all the Taiwanese seasonal vegetables that are offered on the menu. From great heights we can take in the beautiful, agricultural fields of Taiwan, and the variety of colors from season to season, harvested from an abundant land.
APUJAN Chongqing
Designed by Architchen
Client: Apujan
Category: Spatial Design
In 2017, Architchen completed the APUJAN concept store in Chongqing, China. This store was composed of over 1000 white aluminum pipes, hanging from the ceiling, and 1300 light grey ceramics tiles on the display island. The whole concept creates a pure interior experience, which allows the clothes and accessories to stand out vividly.
So far this year, the Golden Pin Design Award has received a number of entries that blur the border between art and design, following the trend of Artketing in the marketing industry, and the emerging role of curation in the designer’s profession. They are entered into the new Integration Design and Communication Design categories, along with the long established Spatial Design category. These impressionable projects are designed to capture the imagination of consumers in a time of fickle consumer spending around the globe.
“To Love” Chocolate
Designed by Ogilvy Taiwan
Client: DynaComware Taiwan Inc.
Category: Communication Design
The written word has long been with us, but today people are infatuated with images and symbols. DynaFont decided to shine a spotlight on the irresistible power and passion that words still possess. With Ogilvy Taiwan, they created a new font based on handwritten love letters called “To Love”. On the eve of Chinese Lovers’ Day, they introduced chocolate blocks baring the “To Love” typeface, which people could piece together to form a love letter of their own. This project aims to awaken people to the power of words and the presence of DynaFont.
Prismverse
Designed by XEX / XCEED
Client: Dr.Jart+
Category: Integration Design
Prismverse is an installation inspired by the kaleidoscopic effect of light refracting off cut diamonds. Made from a 10-meter-wide LED floor, and a complex geometrically tessellated mirror wall, the luminous interior is a metaphor for the effect of the skin-brightening product. Every mirror inside Prismverse is precisely aligned so that no matter where the visitors go, light reflections brighten up their faces. The installation is equipped with a sophisticated omnidirectional audio system by Japanese sonihouse, which creates an ambient soundscape, resulting in a highly immersive experience for the visitors.
Sanctuaire
Designed by Martin Leveque
Venue: Salón Acme Mexico
Category: Spatial Design
Martin Leveque’s Sanctuaire plays with light, water and mirror reflections to create a paradoxical experience and momentarily alter the reality of the spectator. The analog installation comprises a 45-degree mirror, cut in an anamorphic way to appear as a perfect circle of floating water from the viewer’s perspective. First presented during Mutek MX Festival, the installation reflects Martin Leveque’s relationship with Mexico City, a place of chaotic and powerful energy that acts as a never ending source of inspiration for the artist.
Mist Encounter
Designed by Serendipity Studio & Kuan-Wei Chen Architects
Venue: Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Category: Spatial Design
Mist Encounter is an art installation and manmade microclimate, raising awareness about the air conditioning renovations at Taipei Fine Arts Museum. An indistinct mist rises from the outer square drawing visitors to come closer. Meanwhile, a hazy breeze drifts through the scaffolding and mesh structure, animating the space within the inner square. As visitors walk from the outer square to the inner square, they are gradually blanketed in mist. Visitors feel as if they are adventuring through a mystical forest.
Call for Entries
Registration deadline: June 28, 2018, 5pm (Taipei, GMT+8)
Registration fee: US$70
To enter, visit: member.goldenpin.org.tw/GoldenPin/
Categories: Product Design, Communication Design, Spatial Design, and Integration Design
Follow this link for entry guidelines: goldenpin.org.tw/en/pgpnyg1.asp
2018 Timeline
• Preliminary Selection: Mid-July 2018 (online selection).
• Secondary Selection:
- Overseas event: Mid- August 2018.
- Taiwan event: Early-September 2018.
• Final Selection: Late-September 2018.
• Best Design Award Ceremony: November 2018.
About the Golden Pin Design Award Group
The annual Golden Pin Design Award is the longest-running international design award that celebrates products or projects expressly created for and within huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities, offering entrants an unprecedented opportunity to prove their prowess in the world’s largest market.
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 executed 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 more insight into what it means to design for huaren communities, visit: designperspectives.org/
For the latest news on the Golden Pin Design Award, visit:
Official Website: goldenpin.org.tw/en/
Facebook: facebook.com/GoldenPinDesign/
Instagram: instagram.com/goldenpindesign
Weibo: weibo.com/GoldenPinDesign
WeChat: 金点设计奖
