With less than one month to go until the close of the 2017 call for entries period for Taiwan’s international Golden Pin Concept Design Award on June 28, executive organizers, the Taiwan Design Center, are offering a sneak peek at some of the wildest, weirdest, and weightiest designs submitted into the competition so far.
Inspired by a nostalgic revival in the popularity of older methods of music recording like vinyl and cassette tapes, Lithuanian designers Andrius Žemaitis and Marius Paulikas of audiovisual art and design organization, BrainMonk, have created a portable cassette player for the digital age. Unlike traditional players, Elbow Cassette Player uses a single pulley to drive the tape coupled with a sensor to maintain consistent playback. A biaxial arm offers a unique solution to the insertion of the cassette and the control of play direction. The player can be attached to clothing or other objects using a small push-pin.
Turkish designer Emre Özsöz has found a way to solve some of today’s most pressing problems through bicycle design. Pep combines features of a tandem bicycle and handcycle to allow people with visual impairment or a physical disability to compete together across multiple categories in the Paralympic Games. Not wanting to wait for governments to catch up with the current transport issues faced by cities across the world, Horsy allows commuters to get from place to place quickly with a lightweight, foldable urban bike that can easily be carried and stored.
From Taiwan comes Plastico by designers Liang-Chih Chen, Chi-Huan Yang, and Le-Chi Lai; the design team is seeking to reduce plastic pollution by creating an attractive line of stationery out of discarded plastic bags, which they aim to market under the brand name Plastico. Cecilia Chen, the designer behind accessories brand SYChen.Shoes, has submitted a highly conceptual series of fashion footwear that takes inspiration from origami, architecture, and her own life journey.
In 2017, the Golden Pin Concept Design Award is themed on the phrase, “In craziness lies genius,” which was conceived by locally renowned graphic designer Aaron Nieh. The award encourages entries from students, individual designers, and companies of all experience levels around the world who hold society changing ideas and are devoted to innovative design development. Entries have been received from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and the United States so far this year.
The Golden Pin Concept Design Award offers a total of more than NT$ 1 million (approx. US$ 32,700) in cash prizes to its Best Design and Award winners. Winners are invited to attend the Golden Pin award ceremony in Taipei in December, and can also access a plethora of free promotional and exhibition opportunities. Entries can be submitted in four award categories–Product Design, Visual Communication Design, Packaging Design, and Spatial Design–and are assessed in three stages by a carefully selected jury made up of local and international design industry innovators.