Deputy CEO of Taiwan Design Center, Nina Ay led today’s exhibition preview event. The Chairman of Taiwan Design Center, Chi-Yi Chang gave the opening speech followed by the exhibition curator Keng-Ming Liu, Founder and Creative Director of Bito, Taiwan’s leading motion design studio. Also at the event were many of this year’s winning designers, including Pili Wu of PiliWu-Design, Joe Fang of Joe Fang Studio, Tieh-chih Chang (Chief Editor of Fountain magazine), and Fines Lee (Founder of The Affairs newspaper).
“This year we have over 7000 outstanding projects and we invited 76 judges from around the world,” says Chi-Yi Chang, Chairman of Taiwan Design Center. “This is the most judges we have ever had. We will announce the Best Design winners on November 29. Today, we have a lot of finalist designers at our press conference. We hope that designers will keep competing to win the award and push our design industry forward.”
“The concept Nature Knows focuses on natural cycles and sustainability,” says Keng-Ming Liu, the lead curator of the exhibition. “We use bamboo in the exhibition. On the one hand, it’s related to nature and sustainability, and on the other hand we want to create an Wulin (martial arts competition) -like environment. We want to communicate that entering a design award is not just about competing with other designers, but also about bettering one’s self.”
The Exhibition Curators
Liu curated the exhibition to echo the concept of the award ceremony “Nature Knows”, inspired by cycles in nature along with the importance of design for sustainability. His co-curators are architect Bird Hsu, and artists Lee Ming Teh and Tzu-Hung Yang. Together, they have transformed the interior of Taiwan Design Museum into a bamboo labyrinth, integrating the exhibits with nature, while communicating the relationship between people and the environment. Bamboo is considered a sustainable material due to its rapid growth and decomposition. Specifically in East Asian culture, bamboo symbolizes moral integrity due to its qualities of straightness and strength. During the two-month exhibition period, the bamboo will gradually decompose, turning from green to yellow, further emphasizing the role of the natural cycle and sustainability in design.
To either side of the exhibition space, Bito’s video art is displayed across both walls, illustrating the changes between four seasons; another reference to natural cycles. In between the video art, more than 100 of this year’s award-winning designs from the Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award are on display, ranging from lifestyle and technology products to graphic design and architectural plans. The exhibits are curated according to the four Chinese characters in the concept “Nature Knows”, pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien as 自 (Tsū) 然 (Then) 知 (ti) 道 (DAU). The section of “Tsū” features bionic design that imitates nature; the section of “Then” is for design of reused or recycled materials; the section of “ti” is for design that demonstrates analysis of a space, object, or the environment; and the section of “DAU” is for technology.
The exhibition opens on November 17 and closes on January 13, 2019. This heads up a series of events situated around the award’s Grand Ceremony on November 29, and the highly anticipated announcement of this year’s Best Design winners. Spectators can tune in to watch the live stream of the ceremony via the official Golden Pin Design Award Facebook page, and Tencent Home in China. In addition, design professionals, students, and enthusiasts will congregate on the morning of the ceremony to hear from global design experts at the annual forum, discussing design and social responsibility. Tickets to the forum are still available online.
Golden Pin Design Award 2018 Winners’ Exhibition
WHERE: Taiwan Design Museum (01-03) in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (133 Guangfu South Road, Xinyi District, Taipei)
WHEN: Opens daily (except Mondays) from 9.30am to 5.30pm, November 17, 2018 – January 13, 2019
*The ticket price is NT$150 (general) or NT$130 (students and concessions).
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 Design 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
For the latest news on the Golden Pin Concept Design Award, visit:
Official Website: GoldenPin.org.tw/en/
Facebook: facebook.com/GoldenPinConcept/
Instagram: instagram.com/GoldenPinConcept/
Weibo: weibo.com/GoldenPinDesign
WeChat: 金点设计奖