The Golden Pin Design Award, one of Asia’s most influential design competitions, is now accepting entries for 2025. Beginning March 17th, designers and businesses worldwide can submit their work for a chance to gain international recognition and exposure. 

 

The award spans four major categories—Product Design, Communication Design, Spatial Design, and Integration Design—celebrating outstanding works across diverse creative fields. Meanwhile, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award, dedicated to pre-market design proposals, is also accepting entries.

 

A Global Stage for Design Excellence

 

Established in 1981 and now organized by Taiwan’s Industrial Development Administration, MOEA, and executed by the Taiwan Design Research Institute (TDRI), the Golden Pin Design Award has long been committed to promoting outstanding design and driving industrial and social innovation. Since opening to global participants in 2014, the award has drawn entries from leading companies and designers worldwide, including AISIN CORPORATION (Japan), Starbucks Singapore, Architects 49 Limited (Thailand), HP Inc. (USA), ASUS, Pegatron, Baseus, and ZTE etc. Today, it stands as one of Asia’s most influential international design awards.

 

Beyond being a mark of design excellence, the award has become a barometer of industry and market trends. Past winners have garnered attention for their technological advancements, sustainability initiatives, aesthetic breakthroughs, user experience innovations, and socially impactful spatial designs.

　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　

The Esteemed Jury Members for 2025 Announced

Each year, the Golden Pin Design Award assembles a distinguished panel of global industry experts, academic leaders, and top designers to evaluate submissions based on innovation and excellence. Past jury members have included Tom Dixon (UK), Ahn Sang-Soo (Korea), Winy Maas (Netherlands, Co-founder of MVRDV), Sarah M. Whiting (Dean of Harvard GSD), Ingrid Schroder (Director of AA School, UK), as well as renowned Japanese designers Naoto Fukasawa, Taku Satoh, Kashiwa Sato, Oki Sato, and Yoshiaki Irobe etc.

 

Today, the 2025 Golden Pin Design Award has announced part of this year’s judging panel, including Francine Houben, founding partner and creative director of the Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo. This marks her second time serving as a Golden Pin Design Award juror. Known for her human-centered, context-driven, and poetic approach to design, Houben has led Mecanoo in creating landmark architectural and spatial projects such as the Library of Birmingham (UK), New York Public Library (USA), and Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Taiwan).

 

In the Product Design category, the final judging panel includes Babette Strousse, Dean of Industrial Design at ArtCenter College of Design (USA). With extensive experience in design practice, management, and education, Strousse has held leadership roles such as the global director for footwear operations at Nike and the global director of operations at Nokia Design and has contributed to several internationally renowned design consultancies. For Communication Design, the secondary judging panel features Melike Taşcıoğlu Vaughan, President of the International Council of Design (ICoD). As a distinguished designer, artist, and academic, Vaughan has long been committed to addressing social issues through design. Her expertise will bring a unique academic and practical perspective to the evaluation process.

The full jury lineup will be announced at a later date—stay tuned for more updates.

　　　　　　

Key Dates and Submission Details

　　　　　　　　　　　　

The 2025 Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award are open for entries from March 17th to June 24th (5:00 PM Taipei Time). Early bird discounts are available for those who complete their registration and payment by May 20th (5:00 PM Taipei Time).

 

The Golden Pin Design Award is open to commercially available products and completed communication/spatial/integration design projects. Entries can be submitted by businesses or design teams. Entries passed the Secondary Selection will receive the Golden Pin Design Mark and advance to the Final Selection for a chance to compete for the prestigious Best Design Award and Special Annual Awards in sustainability, social innovation, and more. The winners will be announced at the year-end awards ceremony.

The Golden Pin Concept Design Award is open to unrealized design concepts or proposals, welcoming submissions from students, designers, and companies, either individually or in teams. The top three Best Design Award winners will each receive a cash prize of NT$300,000, supporting the transformation of concepts into reality.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Upgraded Experience: Enhanced Industry Connections and Market Visibility

　　　　　　　　

For 2025, the Golden Pin Design Award is introducing new initiatives to upgrade participant experience and foster industry connections:

• Exclusive events to connect designers with business opportunities. 
• Enhanced online features, including matchmaking tools, an e-commerce showcase, and a media coverage hub, providing greater exposure for winners. 
• Preliminary evaluation feedback to help participants better understand their project’s competitive edge.

For more details on registration guidelines and participation, visit Golden Pin Design Award website.