The annual Golden Pin Design Award, Taiwan’s longest running international design award that celebrates products and projects created for and within the huaren (Chinese-speaking) communities, has crowned Best Design winners at a glitzy grand ceremony in the Eslite Spectrum Performance Hall last Thursday, 7 December 2017.

The 37^th edition of the award recognised 23 Best Design winners from five countries across four categories. Taiwan took home most awards with 16 wins, followed by three from Japan, two from China, one from Hong Kong and one from Germany.

The Product Design category yielded the most winners with ten Best Design winners. They are the cable-free GS1 Projector from BenQ, Yi-Chang-Ming-Pien Portable Printing Press by 11 Architecture, super lightweight bike MR1s DB S8E by Dare-Bikes, 727 Magnetic Clutch Carbon Wheel Set by Joy Industrial, scissor and penknife combo HMM Scissors by Kiwico Corporation, eco-friendly Fibrewood Objects Dessert Plate by Studio Lim, professional-grade optical equipment Universal Trial Frame UB6 by KOOP Industrial design for Oculus, handcrafted small plate series from Toyama Design Centre, Karai – Opal Glass Taisho Romance Glass Series by Shigeichiro Studio for Hirota Glass, and Katakuchi and Guinomi Swing Series bowl and sake cup set by kisen with Hideaki Kubo.

The Visual Communication Design category followed with seven Best Design winners. They are reimagined Chinese typeface Heart by TungFang Design University – Design Cooperation Centre, The Mystery of Victim Blaming awareness campaign by SimpleInfo Design, Endless Story animation by Grass Jelly Studio, the opening memorial poster of Yizhen Traditional Folk Belief Museum by Timonium Lake Design, Motion Type Project exhibition by Studio 411, poetry book Wen Aiyi’s Love Poems by XXL Studio, and promotional campaign of the Jiangsu Centre For The Performing Arts by Nanjing Han Qing Tang Design.

The Spatial design category yielded five Best Design winners. They are the Up to 3746 | Top of The Ridge exhibition by InFormat Design Curating (a double winner who also won the same accolade for their 2017 Creative Expo Pavilion themed Cultural Explosion), the colourful community centre Xiafu Activity Centre by IMO Architecture & Design and JC Cheng & Associates, Architects & Planners, guerrilla-style urban playground ParkUp by Plan b, and the photogenic Guangzhou Jinyi Cinemas by One Plus Partnership.

The last Best Design winner came from the Packaging Design category, awarded to Chosen Tea 1869 packaging design by Dot Design. Shaped after the mountain where tea is grown, the packaging of Chosen Tea 1869’s Taiwanese Tea Series is made from pressed and recycled cardboard.

These winning designs are currently on display at the Golden Pin Design Award 2017 at the Taiwan Design Museum. Taking the theme of ‘Hui’ (convergence), the exhibition is curated by SKID, Creative Director of Taipei-based creative studio An Branding.

“The exhibition begins with the Golden Pin Design Award 2017 Best Design trophy. Then, through the convergence of translucent tubing that encircles the space with a range of flowing channels, people are lead to the design exhibits,” says SKID. He adds, “People are the medium, connecting the now and the future of design and lifestyle. I designed the exhibition space to create a nonstop present tense experience, communicating the concept of convergence between people and design. All design works in the exhibition are about real people and real life happenings.”

The Golden Pin Design Award 2017 Exhibition will be open to the public until February 25th. Tickets for the Taiwan Design Museum can be purchased at the Pin Store.