Nippon Paint Aims to Support and Strengthen Design Industry with Upcoming Asia Young Designer Awards

The 14th edition of AYDA continues to support and nurture design community in Asia to greater heights

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SINGAPORE - Media
OutReach - 19 August 2020 – On the heels of this year’s grand finale, Nippon Paint’s Asia Young
Designer Awards 2020/21 design competition is currently underway with a focus
on the theme, “Forward: Human-Centred
Design”. Like previous years, finalists of the competition will have the
special opportunity of engaging with respected industry professionals to gain
valuable insight and knowledge. Two finalists will also stand a chance to walk
away with the opportunity to embark on a comprehensive, fully-funded 6-week
Design Discovery programme at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in
Massachusetts, USA.

 

The theme for this year’s
competition, “Forward: Human-Centred
Design”, focuses on the need for designers to provide practical and
socially-conscious design solutions for a globalized world. The latest edition
of the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) also aims to encourage these budding
designers to broaden their imaginations by consciously designing with dwellers
and sustainability in mind, which in turn will expand their design thinking
into understanding multi-faceted social and emotional aspects.

 

The Asia Young Designer Awards
2020/21 (AYDA) will consist of several rounds including a preliminary round
where finalists will have the opportunity to progress to the next stages and
participate in workshops and mentorships with design professionals. In efforts
of enriching the AYDA experience, Nippon Paint will also be organizing a
webinar called AYDA International XChange on 26 August, where design veterans
and young budding designers will connect to bring their knowledge and talents
together. This enforces Nippon Paint’s passion to nurture these young talents
by equipping them with real-life industry skills and knowledge. Viewers can
catch AYDA’s insightful International XChange sessions on YouTube Live at
AYDA’s YouTube Channel: Asia Young Designer Awards – AYDA.

 

The webinar speakers consist of: Ar.
Jabeen Zacharias, Founder of Jabeen Zacharias Architects; Mr Lai Siew Hong,
Chief Executive Designer & Founder of Blu Water Studio; Mr Michael Pizarro,
Principal Interior Designer of Michael Pizarro Interior Design. The upcoming
session will discuss empathy and why this most sought-after skill is of
importance for the industry. Through current trying times, AYDA is able to
support the design industry in Asia by discussing forward thinking topics for
the benefit of the future generation.

 

One of the grand finale winners of
the recent Asia Young Designer Awards 2019/20, Greta Elsa Nurtjahja from Indonesia of the Interior Design Category,
recounts her experience of the competition, “Joining
the Asia Young Designer Awards not only gave me the opportunity of a lifetime
to attend Harvard University’s Design Discovery programme, but also connected
me to inspiring design heroes of mine who were generous in relaying their
knowledge and experience. She added, “The competition strengthened my design thinking
and enhanced my capabilities. It is truly an experience I will never forget.”

 

Greta’s winning entry, “Rumah Kopi”, utilized nature as the
space in which her design was based. Inspired by a local house in Indonesia,
her project encapsulated both sustainability of materials and collaboration.

 

Lin Honghan
from China, who was the grand finale winner of the Architectural Category, focused on integrating
traditional Chinese art forms with modern design concepts in his winning
design, “Sweet Dream in the Garden”.
He looks back fondly on his experience, “I
was very happy to have won the grand title of Asia Young Designer, but even
more so that I was able to share my work and get productive feedback from great
designers from different countries. Their advice and guidance were invaluable
to my experience in the competition.”

 

With the 2020/21 competition, Nippon
Paint continues its steadfast dedication to nurture young designers while
strengthening the design community in the region. Continuing its dedication,
Nippon Paint is in the process of signing the UN Global Compact Memorandum in
efforts to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2030. The Coatings
Expert has joined the ranks as one of the many giant global corporations that
have pledged to further educate AYDA partners and participants across Asia to
design in tandem with attainable sustainable goals: affordable and clean
energy; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and
communities; climate action.

 

Design students from across the
region are encouraged to send in their applications for the Asia Young Designer
Awards 2020/21 by visiting asiayoungdesignerawards.com to find out how.
Applicants can expect to undergo a well-rounded design competition experience
of several stages with the opportunity to represent their countries on an
international level.

 

About the Asia Young Designer Awards

The Asia Young
Designer Awards (“AYDA”) was first launched in 2008 as part of Nippon Paint’s
vision to nurture the next generation of design talents. The event serves as a
platform to inspire architectural and interior design students to develop their
skills through cross-learning opportunities and networking with key industry
players as well as fellow architectural and interior design peers in the
region.

 

AYDA has since
grown in terms of reach and stature and has now established itself as one of
Asia’s premier design award across 15 geographical locations namely Bangladesh,
Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam with further expansion
plans in the pipeline.

 

Over the years,
AYDA has impacted thousands of young and talented student designers, presenting
them with various opportunities to engage with renowned speakers and key
figures in the design industry. Not only has the exposure enabled the
participants to gain first hand industry knowledge, personalised coaching,
mentoring and skill-building through various workshops by experienced
lecturers, they also learn from their fellow peers from across borders.

 

With that, AYDA
has established a close-knit design community comprising professional
architects, interior designers, industry associations, partners, design
schools, alumni and design students.

 

AYDA welcomes
all applications and those shortlisted will be notified. For more information,
please visit https://www.asiayoungdesignerawards.com/.

 

About NIPSEA Management Co Pte Ltd (Subsidiary of Nippon
Paint Holdings Co.)

NIPSEA was founded
by entrepreneur Mr. Goh Cheng Liang in Singapore in 1962. NIPSEA has
established its position as one of the largest coating and paint specialist in
Asia, known in the marketplace by its brand as “Nippon Paint” and is
responsible for expanding its operation and development of Nippon Paint in
Asia. It has become the best coating partner for architectural, automotive,
industrial, marine, O&G, specialised clients and millions of families
across the world. The brand is recognised for its dedication to quality,
dazzling innovation and excellent customer service.

 

With more than 98 NIPSEA companies spread throughout Asia
NIPSEA understands the local needs of its customers in every community. The
company embraces diversity and operates as a multinational corporation. NIPSEA
Group has over 22,000 employees with 82 manufacturing facilities and operations
in 18 geographical locations with its headquarters in Singapore, efficiently
serving all aspects of the business, from production to customer satisfaction.
More information about NIPSEA Group http://www.nipponpaint.com/