203 Local and International Awardees Recognised for the Best of Design Excellence in Asia

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach^[1] - 23 October 2018 - The 2018 edition of the DFA Awards continues to celebrate impactful and outstanding design from the Asian perspective. This year DFA Design for Asia Awards recognised 187 projects and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award bestowed 13 out of 16 winners with substantial financial sponsorships to further their practices.

Founded in 2003, the DFA Awards are widely known in the industry as one of the most important and prestigious honours stemming from the region. Identifying design excellence that delivers positive impact on society, the Awards encompasses five-major programmes, the awardees of two of which were announced today. Individual awardees of the DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award and DFA World's Outstanding Chinese Designer will be announced in early November 2018.

Professor Eric C. Yim, JP, Chairman, Hong Kong Design Centre stated that "As the axis of the world turns towards Asia, we are in an age of unprecedented influence and global interest in the region. The ever-changing design landscape has also reflected this change and growing influence of the Asian perspective and market. Resonating this evolution, the DFA Awards has entered a period of maturity and is now internationally recognised as one of the most prominent and sought-after industry awards. This is also shown through the number and quality of submissions to the DFA Design for Asia Awards and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award and is a testament to the innovation and strength of design in the region."

DFA Design for Asia Awards received overwhelming response this year, with over 1,000 entries from 18 economies submitting design projects for consideration, the highest number to date. The judging panel selected 187 design projects, all of which launched available in Asian markets, and that demonstrate how design has contributed to social, cultural and economic progress, covering four major design disciplines including apparel & accessory, communication, environmental and product & industrial designs. A total of 10 Grand Awards, 3 Grand Awards for Culture, Sustainability, and Technology, 10 Grand Awards for Special Mention, and 164 winners from the Category Award are conferred, altogether demonstrating the power of design solutions to enhance and improve the quality of life in Asian regions and as well for the global populations. Among the winners, design projects from Japan and Hong Kong stand at the top of leaderboard, each with 55 winning projects, followed by Mainland China with 40 winning projects.

DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award fosters the development emerging design practitioners or graduates of 35 years old or under from Hong Kong. In 2018, 13 out of 16 winners were awarded up to HK$ 5 million in total in grants for overseas attachments to incubate visions and provide opportunities for cross-cultural exchange projects. The programme seeks to cultivate the next generation of home-grown design to broaden exposure tothe global design landscape. Through overseas work experiences or educational initiatives, the next generation can continue to fuel the creative economy, with the vision to further build Hong Kong's competitive offerings.

For details of awardee list and project photos, please visit the following download links:

DFA Design for Asia Awards 2018: http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/DFAA_2018_results_Appendix.zip^[2]

DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2018:http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/YDTA_2018_results_Appendix.zip^[3]

In celebration of DFA Awardees a series of events will be held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in December 2018:

About DFA Design for Asia Awards

dfaa.dfaawards.com^[4]

Since 2003, the DFA Design for Asia Awards honours and acknowledges user-centric design projects and solutions that embrace cultural values unique in Asian societies, with concerns for sustainable development and use of technology to enhance and improve the quality of life for people in the region. Organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and as one of the flagship programmes of DFA Awards, the DFA Design for Asia Awards aims to celebrate design excellence and acknowledge outstanding designs with Asian perspectives, and has been a platform for design talents and corporates to showcase their design projects internationally.

About DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award

ydta.dfaawards.com^[5]

Established in 2005, DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA) as one of the programmes of DFA Awards organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), aims to support and cultivate local up-and-coming designers and design graduates aged 35 or below. Awardees may receive sponsorship to undergo overseas work attachment in renowned design companies or study in overseas institutes to unleash their potential and contribute to Hong Kong's design and creative industry development upon their return.

About Hong Kong Design Centre

hkdesigncentre.org^[6]

Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) was founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as centre of design excellence in Asia. HKDC continues its public mission to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking to create business value and improve societal well-being. Our initiatives are anchored by five major work directions: CONNECT, CELEBRATE, NURTURE, ADVANCE and ENGAGE.

HKDC's flagship programmes include Business of Design Week (since 2002) -- Asia's leading annual conference and event on Design, Innovation and Brands; DFA Awards (since 2003) -- a widely recognised design awards that celebrates outstanding designs with Asian perspectives; Design Incubation Programme (since 2012) and Fashion Incubation Programme (since 2016) -- 2-year incubation programmes to nurture future design and fashion entrepreneurs; Fashion Asia Hong Kong (since 2016) -- a new initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to energise the city's image, and position it as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development; Knowledge of Design Week (since 2006) -- an annual thematic design knowledge sharing platform that explores how design can solve complex challenges of our society.

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/DFAA_2018_results_Appendix.zip (www.hkdc.hk)
3. ^{^} http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/YDTA_2018_results_Appendix.zip (www.hkdc.hk)
4. ^{^} dfaa.dfaawards.com (dfaa.dfaawards.com)
5. ^{^} ydta.dfaawards.com (ydta.dfaawards.com)
6. ^{^} hkdesigncentre.org (hkdesigncentre.org)