The 2026 Golden Pin Design Award announced its Design Mark winners on August 22, following the completion of the Secondary and Final Selection rounds in late August in Taipei.
A total of 474 design works across four categories stood out in the Secondary Selection to earn the prestigious Golden Pin Design Award Mark. Spanning 17 regions worldwide—including Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Germany, Poland, Italy, Turkey, and the United States—the winning works showcase the vibrant creative energy and a rich diversity of design solutions.
All Design Mark winners have qualified for the Final Selection to compete for the award’s highest honor—the “Best Design of the Year.” The shortlist will be announced shortly, with the winners to be officially revealed at the grand award ceremony in Taipei on Thursday, November 26.
Highlights of the 2026 Design Mark Winners
1. Mi-Ne Chair
- Category: Product Design
- Region: Taiwan
- Applicant / Design Company: XEY Innovation Integrate Inc.
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: BIG HOME INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
Embracing a transgenerational approach, the "Mi-Ne Chair" embeds functional support within modern furniture. Through biomechanical mapping and ergonomic armrests, it offers intuitive, concealed leverage to assist the elderly when sitting or standing. Its sleek aesthetic hides its assistive nature to blend naturally into homes without looking clinical, balancing elder-care, stackability, and contemporary design.
2. Olbia
- Category: Product Design
- Region: China
- Applicant / Design Company: Ostuni
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Ostuni
Inspired by Bauhaus minimalism, the Olbia OLED table lamp combines optical innovation with functional adaptability. Utilizing an OLED surface light source, it delivers glare-free and flicker-free illumination designed to reduce eye strain and eliminate blue light hazards. Its five-axis dual-arm structure and modular accessories enable 360-degree positioning and shadow-free lighting, allowing users to tailor illumination for both everyday and professional environments.
3. VENVE. Unique forms to arrange your space.
- Category: Product Design
- Region: Poland
- Applicant / Manufacturer / Business Owner: Converis Sp. z o.o.
- Design Company: Tomasz Augustyniak Studio
Designed for indoor and outdoor environments, the VENVE furniture collection utilizes rotational moulding to create monolithic, highly durable forms with minimal waste. Crafted from fully recyclable polyethylene, the weather-resistant pieces feature varied seating heights and ergonomic backrests tailored to users of different ages and abilities, offering an inclusive and versatile seating solution for residential, hospitality, and public spaces.
4. OSIM uDream.AI
- Category: Product Design
- Region: Singapore
- Applicant / Manufacturer / Business Owner: OSIM International Pte. Ltd.
- Design Company: OSIM Design Team
The “OSIM uDream.AI” is a wellbeing massage chair integrating form, ergonomics and adaptive wellness technology. Using rPPG data from the app, it transforms biometric insights into a personalized massage program. The programs are crafted by experienced massage masters from various disciplines, extending both the functional and cultural depth of the product. Its protective shell, inspired by the Nautilus spiral, features a retractable roof with integrated mood lighting, speakers and scent diffusion, creating a private sanctuary and multi-sensory massage experience.
5. Taiwan Tourism Rebranding
- Category: Communication Design
- Region: Taiwan
- Applicant / Design Company: Bito
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Taiwan Tourism Administration
Centering on the concept "WAVES OF WONDER," the brand identity redesign for Taiwan's global tourism promotion translates the island's undulating mountains, coastlines, and road networks into a continuous visual language. Supported by a dynamic motion identity system, custom typography, and a seasonally inspired secondary palette, the flexible system ensures consistent cross-platform communication across digital and physical media.
6. BAS.MY
- Category: Communication Design
- Region: Malaysia
- Applicant / Design Company: STUDIO KEKFENG
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Ministry of Transport (MOT) Malaysia
Designed for Malaysia’s national public bus service, "BAS.MY" is a brand identity and visual system built around a modular dot motif representing destinations. The system incorporates a custom typeface alongside a vibrant fluorescent pink chosen for high visibility within dense tropical environments. By prioritizing physical bus maps as primary navigational interfaces, the scalable identity improves route clarity and legibility, delivering an inclusive and unified transit experience.
7. SAZAE
- Category: Communication Design
- Region: Japan
- Applicant / Manufacturer / Business Owner: SAZAE Foods Co., Ltd.
- Design Company: EIGHT BRANDING DESIGN Co., Ltd.
To revitalize the long-established Hokkaido food brand SAZAE, this rebranding initiative refocused the business on its founding products—Ohagi (rice cake) and Omusubi (rice ball). The design team created a unified visual identity led by a new logo that integrates the forms of these two offerings. The refreshed aesthetic extends seamlessly across all touchpoints, including packaging, store interiors, and digital platforms, transforming a traditional local maker into a cohesive and sustainable modern brand.
8. Cigarette Girl
- Category: Communication Design
- Region: Indonesia
- Applicant / Design Company: Evan Wijaya
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Netflix, Base Entertainment, Forka Films
The project focuses on the creation of period-accurate graphic props and packaging design for the Netflix series "Cigarette Girl". The design focus centers on absolute era-authenticity spanning the 1960s, 80s, and 2000s of Indonesian history. By meticulously reconstructing era-specific Indonesian typography, paper textures, and traditional printing imperfections, the props serve as tangible narrative anchors, elevating localized material culture into a universally resonant cinematic experience.
9. THE CANOPY PLAYWALK: Where the Forest Plays
- Category: Spatial Design
- Region: Korea
- Applicant Company: Samsung C&T Corporation Resort Group
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Hoban Construction Co., Ltd.
- Design Company: Samsung C&T Corporation Resort Group, miicon, Ardion
Designed to reconnect people and the community with nature in a rapidly urbanizing environment, Canopy Playwalk transforms residential open space through a layered, nature-infused design. High-canopy trees, organic landforms, and an elevated bridge foster curiosity, exploration, and meaningful interactions with nature. Integrated water features enrich sensory play and moderate the microclimate, while a tree-inspired UHPC structure serves as both a landmark and a shared destination for all generations.
10. Thailand Pavilion Osaka World Expo 2025
- Category: Spatial Design
- Region: Thailand
- Applicant Company: A49 (Architects 49 Limited)
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
- Design Company: A49, A110, Tokuoka Sekkei LTD, GKK Architects & Engineers, ATP
The Thailand Pavilion at Osaka World Expo 2025 reinterprets traditional Thai architectural heritage into a contemporary landmark. The design features a cascading half-gable roof paired with a reflective façade; when viewed from the Expo Grand Ring, the mirror visually completes a full traditional Thai roof silhouette while reducing overall building mass and material consumption. Driven by computational design and BIM workflows, over 3,500 unique panels were prefabricated in Thailand and assembled in Japan, seamlessly combining sustainable digital construction with a multi-sensory journey through Thai culture and wellbeing.
11. Author's Room Hotel · Aranya Jiulong Lake
- Category: Spatial Design
- Region: China
- Applicant / Design Company: B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Guangzhou Jiulong Lake Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
Located along the riverside in Guangzhou, "The Author's Room Hotel" is a hybrid cultural hospitality space integrating a bookstore, café, and accommodation. Reinterpreting traditional Lingnan arcade architecture—historically characterized by commercial ground floors and residences above—the design arranges open public spaces on the lower levels and private guestrooms on the upper floors. Constructed with earthy red fair-faced concrete, red copper, and warm interior stones, the project subtly incorporates local Cantonese craftsmanship into a welcoming, community-oriented retreat.
12. Neighbourmart
- Category: Integration Design
- Region: Thailand
- Applicant / Design Company: ILI COMPANY LIMITED
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: ILI COMPANY LIMITED, Creative Economy Agency (CEA)
Based in Bangkok, "Neighbourmart" is a retail and cultural platform designed to connect local legacy businesses with contemporary consumers. Avoiding nostalgic framing, the platform integrates product retail, exhibitions, and brand storytelling across physical locations at TCDC Bangkok and Siam Center. Neighbourmart acts as a creative co-producer, collaborating directly with heritage suppliers to recontextualize traditional craftsmanship and materials into products tailored for modern lifestyles. The initiative establishes a scalable model using design to extend the commercial vitality and cultural relevance of traditional small businesses.
13. Taichung Green Museumbrary Digital Experience
- Category: Integration Design
- Region: Taiwan
- Applicant / Design Company: ULTRACOMBOS
- Manufacturer / Business Owner: Taichung Green Museumbrary
Designed for the Taichung Green Museumbrary—a joint cultural complex housing both art museum and library—this digital experience system bridges literature and visual arts through interactive discovery. The system comprises two interconnected components: a gamified mobile guide that turns architectural exploration into task-based journeys where visitors collect "Inspiration Seeds," and a 48-meter circular LED installation. Powered by AI semantic embedding, the system reorganizes books and artworks by mood, color, and season, weaving individual visitor trajectories into an evolving collective display.
Industry Leaders & Corporate Highlights
The 2026 Design Mark cohort also features standout works from major global brands and industry leaders. In Communication Design, international winners such as Japan’s stationery giant KOKUYO (with its WORKSIGHT participatory media platform) and Korea’s beauty group Amorepacific (with its Longtake Eau de Parfum packaging) were recognized alongside prominent Asian brands. Notable winners include LINE Taiwan’s LINE Seed TW typeface, Taipei Fubon Bank’s Fubon+ App, Cathay Life Insurance’s sustainable tea gift packaging, and the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) x Moonshine Animation’s Formosat-8 Satellite promotional film—underscoring design’s powerful role in brand identity, digital UX, and visual narrative.
In Product Design, Tatung’s 11-cup multi-functional stainless-steel rice cooker co-branded for semiconductor giant TSMC, Litemax Electronics’ dual-layer 13.3-inch e-paper display solution for bus stop sign, and IBASE Technology’s rugged in-vehicle edge AI computer highlight the versatility of contemporary industrial design—spanning consumer appliances, smart city infrastructure, and advanced hardware computing.
Second Selection Jury’s Comments
The Golden Pin Design Award is dedicated to discovering and honoring outstanding design works. For this year's Secondary Selection, a jury was specially formed with experts from diverse fields—including product, visual communication, architecture, curation, media, and market trends—to rigorously select from the entries exceptional designs that demonstrate contemporary vision and tangible impact.
Regarding the widely discussed AI technology trends, Product Design jurors Yujen Lien (General Manager of ViewSonic) and Chen Jen-Feng (Design Manager at BenQ Corporation) both pointed out that AI itself is no longer a novel selling point for innovation; the key lies in whether technology can return to human essence and solve real-life pain points. Denys Lapointe, Chief Design Officer of Canadian recreational vehicle brand BRP, also emphasized that while design aesthetics are undoubtedly important, what defines a "good" product even more critically is its ability to address practical needs and solve problems.
Serving on the Spatial Design jury, Malaysian designer IDr Lai Siew Hong noted that most entries this year, beyond demonstrating outstanding creativity and aesthetics, deeply responded to local culture and social issues. Even more commendably, they extended design thinking from a purely "human-centric" approach to encompass the integration of people, place, and the natural environment.
Communication Design juror Liu Chin-Ju (BU Head of Shopping Design) observed that the scope of contemporary communication design is expanding ever wider. She noted that many entries this year went beyond delivering a single outcome; instead, they penetrated deeply into daily life or industrial systems to establish frameworks that continuously generate value—a commendable shift from "creating works" to further "creating relationships."
Integration Design juror Makiko Tsumura (Director of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion) expressed delight in seeing numerous outstanding works where many designers collaborated with local and traditional industries to rediscover regional terroir and cultural value. She particularly noted that using design to revitalize local communities, foster identity, and address uneven tourism distribution is a highly meaningful approach.
Best Design of the Year Shortlist Coming Soon
The Golden Pin Design Award evaluation is conducted in three stages: Preliminary Selection, Secondary Selection, and Final Selection. Entries passing the Secondary Selection are awarded the "Golden Pin Design Award Mark" and advance to the Final Selection to compete for the highest honor, the "Best Design of the Year." The list of 2026 Design Mark winners has been officially announced and can be viewed on the official website (https://goldenpin.org.tw/goldenpin/en).
This year's Final Selection was completed on August 26, and the highly anticipated finalists for the "Best Design of the Year" will be released in the near future. For the latest updates, please stay tuned to the official website and social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).
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Golden Pin Design Award 2026 Design Mark Winners (Final Selection Shortlist)