Design for the Benefit of Mankind—Two Grand Prizes Announced at 2019 DIA Awards Ceremony in Hangzhou, China

HANGZHOU, China, September 25, 2019 (Newswire.com) - The fourth edition of the Design Intelligence Award (DIA) just announced the winning projects across five categories, and the grand prize of Overall Winner went to Open Bionics of the U.K. for the entry Hero Arm and Hangzhou Dingdian Innovation Design Consultant of China for the entry The Visual Assisting Glasses for The Blind II. Both of those designs received a hefty cash prize of 1 million RMB (approx. $145,000 USD). Besides, all shortlisted, commended, and winning projects will be part of an exhibition at the China Design Museum at the Xiangshan Campus of China Academy of Art from Sept. 20 to Oct. 18 in 2019.

"Two grand-prize projects in this year’s DIA awards tell the story of humanistic care," said deputy dean of China Academy of Art and DIA judge chairman Hang Jian."The awards reflect the current trends in industrial designs from all over the world. We celebrate the best of global designs — from electronics to home appliances, from new technologies to digital tools," said DIA committee chairman, Song Jianming.

This year, the competition received a total of 7,280 entries from more than 2,000 domestic and international manufacturing entrepreneurs, high-tech startups, design studios and research universities; most of the entrants came from China, India, the U.S., Korea and Japan. The types of submission entries include physical and non-physical products in the field of transportation, health care, entertainment, social communication, household goods, and digital interaction, etc.

The DIA awards differ from most award programs, primarily because of the essence of academy awards. For example, the intricate and methodical judging process, which almost borders on educational, feels like an evaluation you’d get at a design university, rather than a divided panel of judges. The annual awards program is organized by China Academy of Art and supported by Zhejiang's government.

Source: DIA