CHINA – Media OutReach – 30 October 2020 – DFA Awards 2020 is pleased to announce its recipients for the year of 2020. Three design trendsetters have been recognised under the three individual awards, namely the DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (DFA LAA), the DFA Design Leadership Award (DFA DLA), and the DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFA WOCD).
In addition, 197 design projects have been recognised under the DFA Design for Asia Awards (DFA DFAA), and 16 young Hong Kong designers under the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA).
Organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as the lead sponsor, the DFA Awards aims to reinforcing the importance of designers within society. The awards also celebrates design leadership as well as exemplary designs and projects with Asia perspectives towards the globe, and since 2005 it has recognised the rising force of emerging Hong Kong designers.
Commenting on this year’s awards, Professor Eric C. Yim, JP, Chairman of the HKDC, said, “This year, we have found ourselves in a world facing global challenges that demand a unified global response. We at the Hong Kong Design Centre believe that design can provide a way of helping the world to navigate through the storms and better adapt to the new normal. This year’s awardees are all influencers in the design community. They have innovated to create humane designs that are able to solve problems, enhance our lives, connect our communities and sustain our cultures.”
DFA Awards 2020 Press Kit + High Res photos: http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/DFAAWARDS2020_PRESSKIT.zip
In awarding the DFA Awards’ highest and most prestigious design honours for the year, the judging panel recognised the extraordinary contributions to the design community of three design trendsetters:
DFA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020 (DFA LAA)
The DFA LAA signifies the high respect of the design community for individuals who have made life-long contributions to the field. Tim Brown championed a design led, human-centered approach and has helped to shape the face of contemporary design, creating a legacy that is acclaimed by design professionals across the world.
DFA Design Leadership Award 2020 (DFA DLA)
The DFA DLA recognises global business leaders who use strategic and innovative design to create successful and sustainable businesses. This year’s recipient is Frank Wang, founder of DJI, a world-leading manufacturer of civilian drone. He has successfully demonstrated the important relationship between strong corporate leadership and design excellence in his business.
DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer 2020 (DFA WOCD)
The DFA WOCD honours Chinese designers who have made outstanding design achievements and won international recognition for their work. The winner, Stanley Wong, is responsible for creating numerous impressive communication designs drawing on Hong Kong culture, and is devoted to promoting design through educational, institutional and social involvement.
Having joined the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 2004, he is a well-respected member of the international graphic design community and undoubtedly an important role model for young designers in Hong Kong and overseas alike.
Recognition of exceptional designs: DFA Design for Asia Awards
Being a part of the flagship programme of the HKDC, the DFA Design for Asia Awards continues to acknowledge outstanding design projects that embody Asian aesthetics and culture, and that have inspired wider Asian design trends. This year, DFA DFAA received more than 1,000 entries from 20 economies by open entry.
A total of 197 awardees were recognised, including 12 Grand Awards, 8 Grand Award with Special Mention and 177 category awards. These awards covered projects and practitioners from 23 categories in four major design disciplines: Apparel & Accessory Design, Communication Design, Environmental Design, and Product & Industrial Design. (Please refer to Appendix 2 for the complete list of winners.)
2020 is a year full of trials and the world is ready for some changes. In response to the unusual circumstances this year, innovative ideas have emerged for rebuilding people’s relationship with the natural world, connecting the community, and fostering cultural sustainability. Some of the awarded projects promote the reconnection with nature through communication and environmental designs.
Some stay on track with design thinking, providing designs and solutions for social problems, medical needs, industrial needs and more. Some praise the uniqueness of cultures and try to remind people the importance of cultural conservation through cross-media presentations. This year’s awardees come from professional designing firms all around the world with projects in Asia.
Japan was the biggest winner by economy, taking away 61 awards, followed by Mainland China and Hong Kong with 48 and 21 awards respectively. Other winning company locations included Denmark, Korea, Lithuania, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and more.
Fostering young creative talent: DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award
Since 2005, the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award has nurtured the development of emerging Hong Kong designers by providing them with valuable opportunities to gain overseas experience. The 16 awardees for 2020 are all Hong Kong design practitioners or graduates of 35 years old or under who have made refreshing contributions to Hong Kong’s creative industries across a range of disciplines.
The awarded apparel and accessory designers are the emerging new players on the global stage who bring in insights from overseas to Hong Kong’s fashion industry. Communication designers create works with in-depth exploration on typography, visual identity, graphic designs, and also new design concepts such as story design, that have contributed to the society and the commercial world.
Environmental designers have clear visions on achieving environmental sustainability, engaging social involvement on architectural projects, sustaining traditional cultures and values through innovative design ideas.
This year, 13 of them will receive a financial sponsorship amount up to HK$5,000,000 in total to undertake 6 to 12-month work experiences or 6 to 18-month study experiences abroad. Sponsored by CreateHK, the Hong Kong Design Institute and the School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, these young designers will have the opportunity to gain unique experience at world-renowned design firms or institutions.
Over the years, the DFA HKYDTA has provided sponsorships to over 100 young talents, helping them to gain insights into the global design industry and return to Hong Kong as experienced design leaders for the city’s creative businesses. (Please refer to Appendix 3 for the list of winners.)
About DFA Awards (www.dfaawards.com)
In 2003, the Hong Kong Design Centre has launched the DFA Awards to underpin the role of designers in society, to celebrate design leadership and exemplary designs and projects with commercial success or impact in Asia, as well as to recognise the rising force of emerging Hong Kong designers since 2005.
The DFA Awards, through its five major award programmes, has grown in its international influence in Asia. The five award programmes include DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award, DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer, DFA Design for Asia Awards and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award.
About Hong Kong Design Centre (www.hkdesigncentre.org)
Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is a non-governmental organisation, and was founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as an international centre of design excellence in Asia. Our public mission is to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking to create business value and improve societal well-being, with the aim of advancing Hong Kong as an international design centre in Asia.
HKDC’s flagship programmes include Business of Design Week (BODW; since 2002) — Asia’s leading annual event on design, innovation and brands; DFA Awards (since 2003) — a well-recognised annual awards that celebrate outstanding designs with Asian perspectives; and Knowledge of Design Week (KODW; since 2006) — an annual thematic programme that gathers the global design community to explore how design can solve complex challenges of our society.
We also manage a Design Incubation Programme and Fashion Incubation Programme (since 2012 and 2016) — 2-year programmes to nurture future design and fashion entrepreneurs; and launched FASHION ASIA HONG KONG (since 2016) — an initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to position the city as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development.
About Create Hong Kong (www.createhk.gov.hk)
Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated agency set up by the HKSAR Government in June 2009. It is under the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and dedicated to spearheading the development of creative industries in Hong Kong.
Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. CreateHK sponsors the DFA Design for Asia Awards since 2011 and the flagship programmes organised by Hong Kong Design Centre, among other projects to promote Hong Kong design.
Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organizers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.
