ASIATODAY.ID, SINGAPORE – Back for the 14th year, the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) organised by Nippon Paint continues its mission to empower and encourage young, budding designers to create positive impact through design within their communities. Themed “Forward: Human-Centred Design” this year, the competition aims to challenge student participants to provide practical and socially conscious design solutions for a globalised world.
Being the largest and longest-running student design competition in Asia since 2008, AYDA has gained global attention – garnering more than 41,000 entries from more than 1,200 tertiary educational institutions across 16 geographical locations. This year, the competition received submissions from 13 locations namely China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The participants from each location will go through a rigorous local selection process and be judged by some of the biggest names in the industry to compete for the grand title of Asia Young Designer of the Year 2020/21. They will also be offered many networking and learning opportunities with respected and renowned industry professionals as they progress in the competition.
Creating human-centric designs for the growing needs of the population
The theme was selected to inspire forward-looking, innovative solutions that warrant a more long-lasting and human-centered design to keep cities and communities sustainable for the decades to come. This is especially critical for Asia, one of the largest and quickest developing economies in the world, and also home to more than half of the world’s population.
“AYDA is part of Nippon Paint’s inclusive business and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to realise sustainable cities and communities through design. Over the years, we have seen some of the most extraordinary architects and interior designers across Asia. Despite the various restrictions in place to battle the pandemic, we expect a high number of submissions this year,” said Wee Siew Kim, Group CEO of Nippon Paint Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd.
“Human-centred design is about creating a space that can serve different emotional, social and economic needs of the users – while taking into account the rapid disruptions of new technological advancements. It’s a much-needed solution for the booming population in Asia,” he added.
Be part of the international limelight
Despite the Covid-19 restrictions, AYDA received close to 7,000 entries last year and is expecting as many entries this year as well. To overcome social distancing restrictions, there will be remote coaching sessions leading up to the finale for students and lecturers to exchange knowledge and ideas without being together physically.
Fully embracing the possibilities of virtual events, the Finale Presentation & Judging this year will also be available LIVE on AYDA’s YouTube channel for public to watch on 23 and 24 June. This will provide viewers platform to support their country’s representative in real-time and be part of the search for the next Asia Young Designer of 2020/21. The public is also encouraged to register themselves to join the virtual award ceremony on 8 July. This will be on a first come, first served basis. The award ceremony will also be available on AYDA’s YouTube channel for those who miss the registration.
As a partner of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD), Nippon Paint will also be awarding the grand prize winners in both the Architectural and the Interior Design categories a chance to embark on a fully-sponsored, 6-week Design Discovery program at Harvard GSD in Massachusetts, USA – an experience worth USD 10,000. This is made possible through the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund that has been providing financial aid to GSD students from Asian countries for the past three years. Nippon Paint is also connected to Harvard GSD’s alumni around the world to make way for more collaborations between the prestigious school and AYDA.
In addition to the main prize, there are also sub-award prizes in each category:
- Nippon Paint Colour Award – USD1k
- Best Design Impact Award – USD1k
- Best Sustainable Design Award – USD1k
Find out how you can join the Asia Young Designer Awards 2020/21 and represent your country on the international stage by visiting asiayoungdesignerawards.com. (AT Network)