The 2018 Golden Pin Concept Design Awards Hosts Crowdfunding Seminar with Backer-Founder

How does a great design idea move from concept to realization? The key first steps are the proposal and communication. On September 7, the organizers of this year’s Golden Pin Concept Design Award held a special seminar on the subject for the forty-five Design Mark Winners. Mr. Tahan Lin, founder and CEO of crowdfunding consultancy Backer-Founder, was invited to speak at the event. Lin talked about current trends of crowdfunding and other related topics and spoke at length about how a designer should pitch their idea and how to accurately communicate a design concept through the preparation, implementation, and marketing and promotional strategies of a crowdfunding campaign. Through this tailor-made course, the organizers hope to help the Design Mark Winners show themselves to their best advantage in their presentation for the Final Selection on September 21, and also prepare them for the next step in their design careers.

Crowdfunding, which has been a catalyst for the realization of innovative proposals in a variety of fields in recent years, is a great way for young designers and startups to put their concept designs on the market, but it is also a real test of their insights into market demand and their communication skills. At the beginning of the seminar, Lin mentioned that despite the fact that not all design suits the crowdfunding approach, the course’s introduction to some rules of thumb on branding and marketing through crowdfunding can effectively help designers review their ideas and determine whether they are suitable for crowdfunding, clarify the purpose and unique features of their designs, observe market demand, and eventually learn to communicate, market, and promote their ideas to a range of potential supporters.

The design team behind Printing on the Tiny, one of the Design Mark Winners attending the course, said that they have planned for crowdfunding and a market launch, and that they learned a lot from the course, noting that “when we were developing the concept for our work, we mostly relied on our own preferences and imagination, but the course offered a great deal of practical advice that helped us review our work and consider whether there is a market demand for it. It also helped us clarify our thinking and made us realize that there are still a lot of improvements we can make.” Another winner of the Golden Pin design mark, the design team for microflora, said, “We had learned a lot about design methodologies, but had never touched on the concept of marketing and promotion. The course was an eye-opener and has taught us a lot.”

Li Chung Wei, the designer of n/Dynamic furniture, thought the course provided many strategies and methods of logical thinking and helped him clarify key points in communication. Li thinks this will be very helpful in his preparation for the presentations. Liou Sian-Long, the designer of the Taiwan Road Font Project said that whether or not a design is suitable for crowdfunding, the course can help designers improve their project communications to get better results. He believes that the marketing and promotional strategies mentioned in the course are not only useful for crowdfunding projects, but to projects of every type.

To encourage innovative design proposals, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award increased this year’s quota for Design Mark Winners and raised the prize money for the Best Design Award to NT$400,000. We also worked with crowdfunding consultancy Backer-Founder to hold a crowdfunding seminar that was tailored to the needs of the Design Mark Winners, helping them understand what makes a great proposal and giving them the knowledge they need to handle all the stages of crowdfunding. Furthermore, the winners of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award’s Best Design Award shall receive complete one-on-one crowdfunding consultation to guide them on their path to turning their ideas into reality.

The third and final stage of selection for the Golden Pin Design Concept Award will take place in Taipei on September 21, and the award ceremony will be held jointly with the Golden Pin Design Award on November 29, when the winners of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award’s Best Design Award, which signifies the highest honor in design, will be announced. The three winners shall each receive NT$400,000 in prize money, a certificate, and a trophy. Follow our official website and social media pages for the latest information.

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