Organised by Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), the Design for Asia (DFA) Awards 2014 is all set for the judging in July 2014. Lauded by the design industry and the business community as one of the top design awards in Asia, DFA Awards 2014 has received around 1,000 international entries from 24 countries and regions. 

The DFA Awards judging will take place at the InnoCentre at Kowloon Tong, with the Category Awards judging for selecting Gold, Silver, Bronze awards and Merit Recognition on 23 and 24 July, as well as the Grand and Special Awards judging on 28 and 29 July.  

Since its launch in 2003, the DFA Awards has entered into its 12th year on a high note, and has become an annual design event attracting hundreds of design talents and corporations to participate, with its continued success to have strengthened Hong Kong’s role as an international design hub in the region.

Funded by Create Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, this international Awards is to honour and acknowledge 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 Asian region.

The main objective of the DFA Awards is to provide developmental directions for Asian designers and enterprises to understand Asia’s unique cultural identities and values directly, and encourage them to solve various problems in Asia through design.

Design projects are submitted in 18 categories under four key design disciplines including Apparel and Accessory Design, Communication Design, Product and Industrial Design, as well as Environmental Design. The authoritative international judging panel deliberates the submissions based on four perspectives namely overall excellence, use of technology, impact in Asia, as well as commercial and societal success.

This year Award’s international judging panel consists of over 20 world-renowned design professionals from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, UK and US, including Ms. Shashi CAAN (Founding Principal, The Collective US/UK), Mr. CHANG Don Ryun (Dean, Graduate School of Advertising & Public Relations at Hongik University from Korea), Mr. Tetsuyuki HIRANO (President, Hirano & Associates, Inc. from Japan), Mr. Dorian HO (CEO & Creative Director, Doriano International Ltd. from Hong Kong), Mr. LIU Xiao Du (Principal, Urbanus Architecture & Design Inc. from Mainland China), Mr. Paul PRIESTMAN (Founding Director, Priestman Goode Ltd. from UK), Mr. WANG Shao Qiang (Chief Editor, Design 360° Magazine from Mainland China), Mr. William Harald WONG (Principal and Design Director, William Harald-Wong & Associates Sdn Bhd), Mr. YAO Ying Jia, (Vice President and Chief Designer, Lenovo from Mainland China), and many other established design experts and luminaries.

The winning entries in 2013 are very outstanding projects, including: 

West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre 2013 (Hong Kong)

(Grand Award & Special Award for Culture)

Rekindles public interest in the traditional cultural art form and gets the younger generation up close and personal with ancestral traditions.

Ong Shunmugam (Singapore)

(Grand Award)

Embraces “layers of aesthetic, textile and sartorial history” and re-interprets a new ethnic origin & Asian identity.

OSORO (Japan)

(Grand Award)

Revitalizes traditional brand with multi-functional design to reduce food wastage and increase sales.

Tea Party: Slow & Flow (Taiwan)

(Gold Award)

Brings tea culture into modern age with fresh vision to create popularity in Greater China & Europe.

Media are welcome to attend the judging process and interviews with the judging panel can be arranged.

Design for Asia Awards 2014 Judging Sessions:

Venue:

Chambers 1-3, Ground Floor, InnoCentre, 72 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong

Dates: 

• 23 and 24 July (9:00 am to 6:00 pm) 

Judging session for Gold, Silver, Bronze Awards and Merit Recognition of Design for Asia Awards 

• 28 and 29 July (9:00 am to 6:00 pm) 

Judging session for Grand and Special Awards of Design for Asia Awards

For media enquiry, please contact:

Hong Kong Design Centre

• Zoe Yao

Tel: (852) 3793 8443

Email: zoe.yao@hkdesigncentre.org

• Ivan Kwok

Tel: (852) 3793 8445

Email: ivan.kwok@hkdesigncentre.org

Hong Kong Design Centre

Design for Society is the major undertaking of Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC). HKDC is a non-profit organisation and a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in developing Hong Kong as an international design hub in Asia. Since 2002, HKDC has been on a public mission to (i) champion strategic and wider use of design for creating business value and community benefits; (ii) promote and celebrate design excellence; and (iii) educate the professions and the community to be resourceful champions for sustained developments through design and innovation.

Design for Asia Awards (DFA Awards)

The DFA Awards is a prominent international annual event in Asia organised by HKDC and dedicated to design, innovation and brands. Since 2003, outstanding recent examples of creative genius in the region have been identified by distinguished Asian design gurus for Grand Award and Special Award. It honours and acknowledges new design projects that have the potential to increase the quality and vibrancy of life in Asia, and create globally sustainable ideas. Furthermore, the DFA Awards offers its participants a platform to share their experience and expand Asia’s lively design scene.

Design for Asia Awards 2014 - Category Awards : International Judging Panel (23-24 July)

1. Patrick BRUCE (Hong Kong)

Director, The Oval Partnership Ltd

2. Antony CHAN (Hong Kong)

Chairman, Hong Kong Interior Design Association

Creative Director, Cream

3. Lu Lu CHEUNG (Hong Kong)

Creative Director, Rolls Group Ltd.

4. Murata CHIAKI (Japan)

President, Hers Experimental Design Laboratory Inc.

5. Simon DAVIES (Hong Kong)

Director of Product Planning & Design, GP Acoustics International Ltd.

6. DUAN Yan Ling (Mainland China)

CEO, Dui'A COMmunication 

7. Dorian HO (Hong Kong)

CEO & Creative Director, Doriano International Ltd.

8. LEE Chi Wing (Hong Kong)

Director, Milk Design Limited

9. LIU Xiao Du (Mainland China)

Principal, Urbanus Architecture & Design Inc. 

10. Judy MANN (Hong Kong)

Managing Director, Chief Consultant and Designer

Cheetah Management Co. Ltd.

11. WANG Shao Qiang  (Mainland China)

Chief Editor, Design 360° Magazine

12. William Harald WONG (Malaysia)

Principal & Design Director, William Harald-Wong & Associates Sdn Bhd

Design for Asia Awards 2014 - Grand and Special Awards: International Judging Panel (28-29 July)

1. Shashi CAAN (USA)

Founding Principal, The Collective US/UK

President, The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers 2009-2014

2. Dennis CHAN (Hong Kong)

Founder & Creative Director, Qeelin 

3. Eric CHAN (USA)

CEO, ECCO Design Inc.

4. CHANG Don Ryun (Korea)

Dean, Graduate School of Advertising & Public Relations, Hongik University

5. Tetsuyuki HIRANO (Japan)

President, Hirano & Associates, Inc.

6. Freeman LAU (Hong Kong)

Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Design Centre

7. Victor LO (Hong Kong)

Chairman, Board of Directors, Hong Kong Design Centre

8. Paul PRIESTMAN (UK)

Founding Director, Priestman Goode Ltd

9. YAO Ying Jia (Mainland China)

Vice President & Chief Designer, Lenovo