Left to right: Mickey Huang, Melody Liu
Co-hosted by the famous TV anchor and MC Mickey Huang and the entertainer Melody Liu, the ceremony will mark the first collaboration between the duo. Additional performers to be featured at the ceremony include rising singer-songwriters YELLOW and Chih Siou, as well as famous jazz pianist Hsu Yu-ying. With a scale greater than ever before, this year’s ceremony will take place at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, where the top honors, including Best Design and Special Annual Awards, will be named. The ceremony will be streamed live on Golden Pin Design Award’s official YouTube channel in both Mandarin Chinese and English, so stay tuned!
The Theme and Key Visual
Last year, the award organizer invited Mandarin pop record producer Isaac Chen to produce the ceremony for the first time, and he worked with the top-notch producing team behind multiple Golden Melody Awards and A-Mei concerts to create a grand celebration of design. As a continuation to last year’s concept of virtual immersion—“UPLOAD,” which is the single most important step required of designers who wish to submit their works for consideration, this year’s theme “Thumb-Stopping Creative” is an observation and reflection on modern culture.
According to Chen, in an era of information explosion, designers and creators all hope that people will “stop their fingers” for their works. In a similar vein to the goal of “thumb-stopping creative” proposed by Facebook, this year’s theme symbolizes how good aesthetics and moving designs can stop people from scrolling, focus on designers’ thoughtful creativity, and truly immerse themselves in their thoughts and feelings.
Chen mentioned that the convenience of today’s technology allows us to browse and appreciate designs on our computers, smartphones, and other devices whenever we like, but we are also gradually getting used to passively receiving information instead of actively searching for and learning new things. In fact, much of what we see today is determined by big data analysis and AI algorithms. Therefore, this theme contains another layer of significance—the longing that people will put an end to fast-food aesthetics and “take matters into their own hands” in order to cherish and embrace the beauty around them, observe and listen with their heart, and start creating things themselves.
For the key visual, Chen once again joined hands with high-profile emerging Taiwanese designer Yang Shi-ching to concretize the seemingly abstract theme. Starting from the concept of “fingers” in the theme, Yang based his creation on the fingerprints left by touching the screen and boldly used only a few fingerprints, together with the classic symbol of a golden pin to create the key visual and playful characters which, when turned upside down, reveal images of palm prints. In stark contrast to last year’s somewhat distant techno atmosphere, this time around, he used the simplest and most original materials with hand-painted words to create an imaginative mosaic collage to echo the theme of hands-on creation, and a series of exciting aesthetic reactions follow.
Block Studio, a Golden Pin Design Award winner for its dynamic web design projects, was tasked with creating an exclusive, limited-time-only, interactive website for the ceremony (https://gpda2022.com). They took the concept of “fingerprint” of the theme and developed the website with “drawing and identification” as keywords. This website allows the finalists and guests to design their own invitations by using mouse or touch interface. The general public is also invited to create images on the website for a chance to be featured in the dynamic visuals of the ceremony.
Chen revealed that in terms of vision, stage design, and overall experience, this year’s ceremony will bring the audience an unusually lively and engaging award show experience, thanks to the help from a group of outstanding Taiwanese designers, such as Li Shih-chi, the stage designer for superstars such as Jody Jiang and Jolin Tsai, as well as Chiu Huan-sheng, a director with rich experience in concert visual design and the head of Serendipity Visual Studio. Indeed, the 2022 Golden Pin Design Award ceremony will take on an exciting new style worth looking forward to.
The Host and the Performing Artists
Of course, the hosts and performers this year have a lot to offer as well. Mickey Huang, a firm supporter of the design circle, will once again take on the heavy duty of hosting. This will mark his first time working with his co-host Melody, which is something to keep an eye out for. Having seen great success in her hosting and variety show career in recent years, Melody is now one of the most celebrated podcasters thanks to her very popular podcast Sister Talk Talk Show. In fact, the 2022 Golden Pin Design Award will be her very first large-scale ceremony hosting gig.
From left to right: YELLOW, Chih Siou, Hsu Yu-ying
In terms of musical performances, three heavyweight musicians will put on a great show for the audience, including YELLOW, a musical genius who shines with his unique stage charm; Chih Siou, the rising star who won Best New Artist at the 31st Golden Melody Awards; and Hsu Yu-ying, a world-renowned jazz pianist from Taiwan.
To add an element of mystique and surprise to the ceremony, the award organizer also extended invitations to artists and celebrities who love design and support designers to make guest appearances. The award organizer will announce additional guests at a later date.
Golden Pin Design Award & Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2022
The 2022 Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award received nearly 8,000 entries, and after the fiercely competitive three-stage process of the preliminary, secondary, and final selections, the panel of judges finally nominated 118 entries for the Best of Golden Pin Design Award and eight entries for the Best of Golden Pin Concept Design Award. The grand prize winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on the night of December 2nd.
The ceremony will also be streamed live in both Mandarin Chinese and English on the official YouTube channel. Be sure to tune in to find out who receives the top honor! For the latest news on the two Awards, please visit the official website (https://www.goldenpin.org.tw/en/) and follow us on social media.
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 Chinese-speaking communities, offering entrants an unprecedented opportunity to prove their prowess in the world’s largest market.
The Golden Pin Design Award Group is executed by the Taiwan Design Research Institute and organized by the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs acts in an advisory capacity.
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International Media Enquiries
Golden Pin Design Award Team | Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI)
Annta Su, Press Coordinator
press.gpaward@tdri.org.tw