The 2023 Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award have unveiled the finalists for the Best Design Awards today (October 13^th). Following the final selection in September, 72 entries have made it to the shortlist for the Golden Pin Design Award, while the Golden Pin Concept Design Award features 5 standout entries. These exceptional design works, hailing from Taiwan, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, will compete for the highest honors at the award ceremony scheduled for December 1^st at the Taipei Performing Arts Center. The prestigious winners will be officially revealed during the event.

Golden Pin Design Award 2023

The Golden Pin Design Award for this year conducted the secondary and final selections in September, marking the return to offline selections after the pandemic. The international jury panel featured renowned experts in design, including Vietnamese architect Võ Trọng Nghĩa, celebrated Japanese designer Kazushige Miyake, known for his work with brands like MUJI and Plus Minus Zero, Thomas Garvey, the President-Elect of the World Design Organization (WDO), as well as Robert Greenwood, Partner & Director for Asia Pacific at the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. These experts all came to Taiwan in person to participate in the judging, allowing them to closely assess the entries.

During the Golden Pin Design Award's final selection, a panel of 15 distinguished designers and industry experts from both domestic and international backgrounds reviewed the 552 Design Mark recipients and selected exceptional works in various categories, conferring upon them the titles of "Best Design Award" or "Special Annual Award," aiming to set a benchmark for the design industry by showcasing these representative designs.

GPDA 2023 Final Selection Jury’s Comments

International jurors participating in this year's final selection, such as Thomas Garvey, Kazushige Miyake, and Võ Trọng Nghĩa, highly praised the quality of entries in the Golden Pin Design Award. They also expressed their enjoyment of the interdisciplinary and intercultural exchange of ideas during the selection process. Grace Wang, the President of QUE SERA SERA, who has served as a juror for many years, observed that each year, the entries for the Golden Pin Design Award showcase distinct highlights. She pointed out that in recent years, there has been outstanding representation of works related to sustainable development and circular design, aligning with global trends, and she is delighted to see more and more businesses engage in innovative ESG practices.

When discussing the judging criteria, Johnason Lo, the founder of JL Design, emphasized that design is not only about aesthetics but should also take into account its commercial and societal value and how to maximize its impact. Therefore, the potential for change through design is highly valued by the jury panel. He also highlighted that even with limited budgets, small-scale design initiatives can still have a significant and far-reaching impact. This year's entries include many outstanding works, and it is hoped that the Golden Pin Design Award will inspire more of such designs in the future.

GPDA 2023 Featured Finalists for the Best Design

1.    Your Daily Keepsake Storage Box

-        Category: Product Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Business Owner: Nestlé Taiwan Ltd., Nespresso Branch (Taiwan)

-        Design Company: YSTUDIO (Taiwan)

The globally renowned coffee brand, Nespresso, which promotes coffee capsule recycling programs around the world, has partnered with the Taiwanese design company YSTUDIO to develop sustainable aluminum applications. They have introduced the "Your Daily Keepsake Storage Box," crafted from locally recycled capsules, to highlight Taiwan's innovative sustainability and design prowess amidst the global ESG movement. The unique angled edge of the box cover and the curved interface of the internal partitions extend the clean lines of minimalist architecture, paying homage to the modern design trends that have originated in Switzerland since the 1920s.

2.    TENOR TWS OTC-HA Earbuds

-        Category: Product Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Business Owner: PEGATRON Corporation (Taiwan)

-        Design Company: PEGA Design (Taiwan)

TENOR is an AI-powered assistive hearing headphone equipped with features like active noise cancellation, intelligent detection, and recording analysis. It continually learns through AI neural networks to improve hearing assistance effectiveness and context awareness, ensuring a premium auditory experience. Its neutral and understated design also helps improve the willingness of individuals with hearing impairments to wear the device comfortably, thereby enhancing their quality of life.

3.    Morus Capsule 2

-        Category: Product Design

-        Country / Region: China

-        Business Owner / Design Company: Morus Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (China)

A compact and versatile home clothes dryer, inspired by outer space, features a unique, sleek, streamlined design suitable for various home decor styles. It incorporates innovative patented vacuum negative pressure drying technology, enabling rapid drying of clothes while also providing professional care functions like complete deodorization, degerming, hair removal, and wrinkle removal.

4.    Infinite Fretless Drop Electric Guitar

-        Category: Product Design

-        Country / Region: Lithuania

-        Business Owner: Lava Drops Guitars (Lithuania)

-        Design Company: Lava Drops (Lithuania)

An innovative fretless electric guitar crafted from a blend of Sapele and Maple hardwoods with aircraft-grade aluminum resonance modules. These valuable materials connect the past and the future and creates unimaginable resonance and fascinating sustain. Its design takes inspiration from the organic form of droplets, ensuring the best ergonomic experience for players whether seated or standing. The fretless fingerboard, as a free and spontaneous source of musical creativity, allows the player's fingers to smoothly glide from one side of the ebony fingerboard to another, exploring microtonal nuances.

5.    Sustainability is a Pain in the *

-        Category: Communication Design

-        Country / Region: Malaysia

-        Business Owner / Design Company: Where's Gut Studio (Malaysia)

A publication design addressing sustainability issues that showcases different sustainability approaches through thought-provoking case studies, curated global news, and interviews with local businesses. The design employs various techniques for conveying information and visual layouts, in line with the goal of illustrating that individuals can pursue sustainability goals in diverse ways.

6.    COCOLOCO

-        Category: Communication Design

-        Country / Region: Singapore

-        Business Owner: Coconut & Co (Singapore)

-        Design Company: Roots (Singapore)

COCOLOCO is a 100% natural coconut water. The newly introduced tetrapak design continues the brand's ethos in purity and honest expression. By eschewing the clichéd coconut imagery and opting for purposeful brand graphics, a restrained color scheme, and thoughtful typography, all without over-packaging, it effectively distinguishes itself from competitors on store shelves.

7.    Athita Hidden Court Chiang Saen Boutique Hotel

-        Category: Spatial Design

-        Country / Region: Thailand

-        Business Owner: Athita Hidden Court Chiang Saen (Thailand)

-        Design Company: Studio Miti (Thailand)

This hotel is a testament to the concept of preserving Chiang Saen's rich cultural heritage while fostering its development. Located adjacent to the abandoned temple, which once served as a vibrant religious hub in the 700-year-old city of Chiang Saen in northern Thailand, the hotel seamlessly blends modern design elements and functionality with traditional architectural ambiance.

The architectural layout cleverly establishes buffer space between the old temple and the new hotel, ensuring that the beauty of the temple remains on display. Wood and brick, readily available local materials, were selected to harmonize with Chiang Saen's distinctive context. Through the Athita, the architects hope to provide visitors with a tangible experience that encapsulates the essence of the local architectural heritage.

8.    Gushan Fish Market

-        Category: Spatial Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Business Owner: Marine Bureau Kaohsiung City Government (Taiwan)

-        Design Company: C.M. Chao Architect & Planners, Motif Planning & Design Consultants (Taiwan)

The building is designed around the idea of a "transparent box," using translucent materials to create bright interior spaces that are illuminated by changing natural light throughout the day and night. The section within the double-layered glass not only conserves energy but also incorporates fused glass on the exterior walls to create a distinctive bubble-like appearance.

This project aims to revitalize the local traditional fish market by renovating the existing old structure. Furthermore, it seeks to connect with other nearby attractions, forming a waterfront tourism corridor in Kaohsiung. This initiative serves to enhance urban tourism and breathe new life into the city.

9.    A New Newspaper in Education: The Anne Times

-        Category: Integration Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Business Owner: Ministry of Education, Taiwan

-        Design Company: Curriculum Reform Initiative Taskforce, Agenda for Art and Design Education (Taiwan)

"The Anne Times" is a newspaper designed for students' independent reading, teacher instruction, and parent-child reading. It aims to develop a sensory reading medium that incorporates diverse intelligences, holistic education, and immersive reading experiences. This publication aims to break the limits of established curriculum systems and covers various knowledge issues, balancing Taiwan's local culture with an international perspective. It emphasizes design and graphic quality, with full-page covers and cross-page interactive games as visual highlights.

Moreover, an interactive website and teaching case database were established to create a sustainable and shared aesthetic learning resource. Through collaboration with teachers in schools, interdisciplinary themed courses have been developed, reaching schools at all levels nationwide.

10. Taitung City Branding Project: Incorporating Design into Public Policies

-        Category: Integration Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Business Owner: Taitung County Government (Taiwan)

-        Design Company: PiliWu-Design (Taiwan)

The design team of Taitung Design Center, led by Pili Wu, has been working closely with departments and officials of the Taitung County Government to discuss critical public policies. They have introduced design thinking to develop a series of projects, including the Spine-Protection Aesthetic Backpack for Taitung First-Graders, the redesign of tourism attraction signboards, the rebranding of Taitung's visual identity, etc. The goal is to create opportunities for change in local urban governance.

Golden Pin Concept Design Award 2023

In the secondary selection of this year's Golden Pin Concept Design Award, a total of 38 works from various categories were awarded the Design Mark. Among them, 16 have advanced to the final selection, where they can present their works to the jury in person to compete for the prestigious "Best Design Award." The top three winners will each receive a cash prize of NT$400,000. After the final selection, a total of 5 entries were chosen as finalists for the “Best Design” trophy, each featuring unique design concepts.

GPCDA 2023 Final Selection Jury Comments

Examining the entries advanced to the final round, Juror Robert Greenwood pointed out that each entry boasts unique characteristics, infusing the selection process with both challenges and intrigue. He highlighted that the determining factor for the ultimate winner extends beyond common evaluation criteria like aesthetics, completeness, or maturity. Instead, it hinges on whether the concept behind the work is robust enough to ignite people's imagination about the future. Juror Weijie Kang, co-founder of OCD & Oracle Creative Design, also conveyed his conviction that exemplary design should encompass imagination, aesthetics, a sense of humanity, and effective message conveyance. He emphasized that during this selection process, he came to profoundly understand that truly exceptional designs possess the invaluable ability to move hearts and stir emotions. Juror Kazushige Miyake offered encouragement to young designers, emphasizing that a strong design concept should not cater to a select few but should aspire to secure understanding and recognition from a wider audience. He also mentioned that an in-depth understanding of specific domains and the needs of relevant stakeholders stands as a fundamental requirement for designs, enabling designers to better respond to market and societal demands.

GPCDA 2023 Featured Finalists for the Best Design

1.    FLIPCARE

-        Category: Product Design

-        Country / Region: China

-        Design Company: Shenzhen Suosi Design Co., Ltd. (China)

This innovative lumbar pillow assists the elderly in turning, relieving back and hip pressure and preventing bed sores through an internal airbag structure. By inflating and deflating the airbags, the support panels are controlled for regular assisted turning. The customizable control panel offers different modes and turning frequencies to meet users' specific needs. With an ergonomic design that conforms closely to the curved surface of the human back, complemented by a surface mesh and internal latex material, the product achieves a balance of softness and support.

2.    Sample Mt.

-        Category: Communication Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Designer(s): Ciao-Yun Hong & Fang-Hsi Lin (Taiwan)

"Sample Mt." is a dessert series that captures the diverse aspects of Taiwan's five major mountain ranges. Imagining themselves as researchers, the designers employed a sampling concept to deconstruct these landscapes into distinct components, extracting their natural essence. Furthermore, they carefully chosen local ingredients linked to these mountain ranges, using different "flavors" to encapsulate the memories of the land. This enhances the emotional connection to the landscape while enjoying the dessert and offers an opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation of Taiwan's mountainous beauty.

3.    City Narrator

-        Category: Spatial Design

-        Country / Region: Taiwan

-        Designer(s): Hsiao-Chi Chiu & Hung-Sheng Chen (Taiwan)

This project reimagines the vacant space of the former Taiping Elementary School in Keelung after its closure. By breaking away from the linear structure of the building, it utilizes innovative spatial modules and semi-outdoor platforms to plan for a multi-functional facility, including a library and spaces for artists. The goal is to create a vibrant hub for community interaction, aiming to give back to the community, preserve local stories, and promote urban development.

Who will be the winners? Find out at the awards ceremony in December!

The 2023 Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award have completed three rounds of judging. The winners of the prestigious "Best Design Award," the highest honor, will be officially revealed at the awards ceremony on December 1^st in Taipei. Stay tuned for more information about the ceremony, and keep updated by following the Golden Pin Design Award official website (www.goldenpin.org.tw/en) and social media.

Follow this link for the full list of the 2023 Finalists: https://www.goldenpin.org.tw/en/download/