DFA Design for Asia Awards 2019

Open for Global Submission from 1st April

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 26 March 2019 - Design is a solution driven mindset that enables innovative, user-centric and sustainable solutions for tackling the myriad of challenges faced by our societies today, while also improving our overall well-being. Constant and disruptive social, environmental and technological forces are making the world we live in more complex and volatile than ever before. This is especially true in Asia, whose condensed urban problems and growing international influence are giving rise to a new era of challenges that only human-centred design can solve.

The DFA Design for Asia Awards, launched by Hong Kong Design Centre and funded by Create Hong Kong, is a unique international platform that celebrates Asian design excellence and recognises outstanding designs in Asia, for Asia. The award, covering 4 major design disciplines, has been launched in 2003 to propagate Asian values and perspectives in the sphere of innovation and design globally. The 2019 edition of the Awards is open for global submission starting 1 April.

Award entry details

DFA Design for Asia Awards 2019 covers 4 major design disciplines in 26 categories:

Award types

Category Award

Confer to entry by open submission: Gold, Silver, Bronze & Merit award.

Grand Awards

Gold Award winners of each Category Award and nominated outstanding design projects will be considered for the Grand Awards. Design projects that have made the most extraordinary contributions will be conferred: Grand Awards, Grand Award for Culture, Grand Award for Sustainability, Grand Award for Technology, and Grand Award with Special Mention.

Entry requirements

Design projects, launched in one or more Asian markets* between 1 January 2017 and 31 May 2019, are eligible for Awards submission by the design's owner or client, the brand's owner, designer or design consultancy.

*Asian markets include:

Afghanistan / Bangladesh / Bhutan / Brunei Darussalam / Cambodia / Hong Kong / India / Indonesia / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Japan / Kazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan / Lao People's Dem. Republic / Macau / Mainland China / Malaysia / Maldives /Mongolia / Myanmar / Nepal / North Korea / Pakistan / Philippines / Singapore / South Korea / Sri Lanka / Taiwan / Tajikistan / Thailand / Timor-Leste / Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan / Vietnam

Judging criteria

A judging panel composed of world-renowned design industry experts and professionals will assess each entry, according to 4 criteria:

(1) Impact in Asia

(2) Overall excellence

(3) Use of technology

(4) Commercial and societal success

Winners' Package**:

• Award Trophy & Certificate (Merit Award winners will receive certificates only);
• Awards Publication:

Each winner will receive a complimentary publication which includes introduction of all winning projects and the project teams behind. The publication will be distributed globally to different industry leaders to enhance the winners' exposure

• Exhibition showcase:

All winning projects will be showcased in the annual DesignInspire exhibition, and selectively in DFA Awards roving exhibitions in Asia

• Event attendance:

Invitation to the DFA Awards Presentation Ceremony and Business of Design Week (BODW) in Dec 2019 to engage in networking with designers and business leaders around the world. Selected winners will also be invited to deliver design thinking at global and regional events, talks and forums to further extend the global reach

• Awards Endorsement Mark:

Authorisation to use the globally recognised Endorsement Mark for self-promotion

** A mandatory Publication and Promotion Fee applies to all winners

Call for entry starts from 1 Apr

Grand Award winners in 2018

More photos and information of 2018 Awards winners:

http://www.hkdc.hk/download/awards/DFA_Awards_2018.zip

About DFA Design for Asia Awards (http://dfaa.dfaawards.com)

Since 2003, the DFA Design for Asia Awards honours and acknowledges 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 region. Organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and as one of the five programmes of DFA Awards, the DFA Design for Asia Awards aims to celebrate design excellence and acknowledge outstanding designs with Asian perspectives, and has been a platform for design talents and corporates to showcase their design projects internationally.

About Hong Kong Design Centre (www.hkdesigncentre.org)

Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is founded in 2001 as a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as centre of design excellence in Asia. HKDC pursues its public mission in using design and innovation to drive the value creation of business development and improve the well-being of society through the provision of diverse innovation-oriented knowledge sharing and by providing diverse exchange platforms, anchored by five major work directions: CONNECT, CELEBRATE, NURTURE, ADVANCE and ENGAGE.

HKDC's flagship programmes include Business of Design Week (since 2002) -- Asia's leading annual conference and event on Design, Innovation and Brands; DFA Awards (since 2003) -- the most recognised design awards from an Asian perspective; Design Incubation Programme (since 2012) and Fashion Incubation Programme (since 2016) --two-year incubation programmes to nurture future design and fashion entrepreneurs; Fashion Asia Hong Kong (since 2016) -- a new initiative combining conversations, interactions and cultural exchanges to energise the city's image, and positioning it as an Asian hub for fashion trade and business development; and Knowledge of Design Week (since 2006) -- an annual thematic design knowledge sharing platform on how design can solve complex challenges of our society.