Taiwanese Designers Win Big at 'Best 100' of iF Concept Design Award 2013

With 23 wins, Taiwan's design competitiveness rises in the global spotlight

Upcoming designers from Taiwan again proved their ability and competitiveness on the global stage. Twenty-three of the "Best 100" winning entries in the iF concept design award were submitted from Taiwan. The top-10 Taiwan winners received prize money totaling 30,000 euro, while four received both trophies and prize money.

The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology took first place in the iF ranking university and many of the student designers from the university were on the "Best 100" list.

Taiwan's strong showing provided another example to the rest of the world of how the island has developed culturally and creatively.

iF Concept Design Award 2013

A panel of 62 experts in the field of design selected the winners from nearly 12,000 ideas, concepts and visions entered from 57 nations from around the world. A hundred students from Taiwan, Austria, China, Germany, India, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden, the U.K. and the U.S. received the coveted award.

Seven new showering concepts received the special "Hansgrohe Prize 2013: Efficient Water Design" and prize money totaling 7,000 euro.

Of the 12,500 entries registered, 11,486 were accepted, up from 10,665 in 2012. The iF Concept Design Award is the world's largest and most important competition for young design talent. This competition is organized each year by iF DESIGN TALENTS GmbH in Hannover.

After the competition, juror Uli Mix from the Volkswagen Design Center in Potsdam, Germany, remarked that, "The entries for this year's iF concept design award had me convinced with their broad thematic range and the impressive number of interesting approaches and innovations. In addition to the main topic of sustainability, we judged a large number of remarkable solutions to problems that focused on the complex way of life in urban spaces. I was particularly impressed by the expressively forceful entries in the Graphics category, which highlighted political and social topics in a very sensitive way."

The "Hansgrohe Prize 2013: Efficient Water Design," which focused on the topic of "My Open Shower Space" this year, was presented for the third time as a special prize in connection with the iF concept design award 2013. Of the approximately 135 entries received, seven prizewinners from Australia, Germany and China convinced the judges with their ideas and visions of showering. They shared 7,000 euro in prize money.

Evaluation Criteria

Young international designers were invited to submit entries free of charge to the iF concept award in four different categories: product and industrial design; communication and multimedia design; fashion design; and architecture and interior design.

The entries were judged according to the following criteria: degree of innovation and creativity, quality of design and marketing, practical aspects and degree of elaboration, functionality, application, materials, sustainability, social responsibility, universal design and safety.

The entries were also assigned to so-called "Trend Roots", i.e. socially relevant topics, to indicate in which areas the entry concerned is most likely to initiate change: social change, cultural change, economic change, ecological change, and technological change.

No. 1 iF Ranking University: Taiwan

The iF concept design award not only stands for the extraordinary design achievements of young international design talent, it also wins points for the universities in the iF ranking university. The universities of the award-winning student entries receive 20 points for each "iF concept design award" won. The online presentation always indicates the results of the competition over the last three years. Here are the top two universities this year: First Place: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; and Second Place: Samsung Art & Design Institute (SADI), Seoul, South Korea

The CENS editorial team has summarized the "Best 100" of the iF Concept Award 2013, including the four Taiwan prize money winners (one 3,000 euro and three 2,000 euro winners).

iF concept design award 2013 | Award Winners with Prize Money

EUR 3,000 in prize money

Entry ID: 110191

Entry: Freedom of Speech | Poster for "Human Rights"

Category: 02.02 print media

Trend Root: social change

Design: Ms. Pei-Ling Ou

University: Shu-Te University, Dept. of Visual Communication Design, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

This poster calls attention to human rights issues: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and freedom of speech. This right also involves the freedom to stand by and to propagate your opinions without hindrance – with the help of all media and across all borders.

What the judges had to say: "This design shows that it is also possible to communicate important political topics using appealing graphics to make a real impact. The importance of the freedom of speech as an important human right is conveyed very convincingly by this poster."

EUR 2,000 in prize money:

Entry ID: 109656

Entry: Easy Check Syringe | Syringe Attachment

Category: 01.10 medicine / health+care

Trend Root: social change

Design: Wei-Shen Wang, Horng-Yow Chen

University: National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

The Easy Check Syringe is a transparent plastic ball that is attached to a syringe so that the scale can be read more easily. Thanks to the ball, which acts like a magnifying glass, the amounts on the scale are magnified, which means that injection or extraction amounts can be measured more accurately. This is particularly useful for the visually impaired and the elderly. The plastic balls are color-coded so that it is possible to differentiate between different medications more easily.

What the judges had to say: "A really good idea was developed here. Due the material used (acrylic glass), it can be put into actual practice easily and inexpensively. A real universal design concept!"

EUR 2,000 in prize money

Entry ID: 120068

Entry: Easy Plug | Magnetic Plug and Outlet

Category: 01.03 audio/video/telecom/computer/ technical solutions

Trend Root: technological change

Design: Jui-Min Huang, Pin-Chieh Wu

University: National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Department of Creative Design, Yunlin, Taiwan

The "Easy Plug" is a new solution to solve the age-old problem of getting the plug into the outlet: thanks to the magnetic electrodes, the plug can be inserted on or into the outlet at any angle. As soon as the plug comes close to the outlet, the magnetic electrodes in the outlet pull it into the correct position.

What the judges had to say: "A simple solution for a common problem designed to make handling an everyday product easier. A very good idea that should go into production. The childproof lock is built right in because there are no longer any openings for curious little fingers. Because it's so easy to put the plug back in, this also might encourage people to pull the plug more often in order to save energy."

EUR 2,000 in prize money

Entry ID: 108328

Entry: Size Zero Models | Posters of "Anorexic Models"

Category: 02.02 print media

Trend Root: social change

Design: Pei Chi Yang

University: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

Models have been starving themselves for their appearances in fashion shows and on the catwalk for years. This results in eating disorders, anorexia and, in the worst cases, even death. Not only are international aesthetic standards affected, it also strongly influences many young girls who want to look like models or film stars. These posters show women in world-famous oil paintings in a very altered, shocking state – the well-proportioned "Mona Lisa," for example, as an anorexic model.

What the judges had to say: "A current issue has been addressed here in a very provocative way. A very strong message! A good example of how classical art and modern topics can be combined. With an unexpected twist: the curvy Mona Lisa, who has what used to be the 'ideal figure,' compared to today. Very good, brilliant graphical implementation!"

Award: "Best 100"

Entry: Smile key (262-122593)

Category: 01.08 kitchen / household / living

Design: National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

Using the intuition of the shape and direction of how our hands grab keys helps us distinguish and open doors in dark places. A substitute of touch instead of sight may allow people grab keys in dark places, convenient for women coming home late and the blind.

Award: "Best 100"

Entry: Goodriver (262-122465)

Category: 01.11 survival+emergency / eco solutions

Design: Tang Wei-Hsiang etc., National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

"Goodriver" is a car key combined with an alcohol detector. If the driver fails the alcohol test, the key won't stretch out, deterring driving under the influence of alcohol. "Goodriver" can also be used to call a taxi for help, further decreasing the possibility of traffic accidents.

Award: "Best 100"

Entry: OFFUGO / bike parking lot lock system (262-121867)

Category: 01.01 transportation design

Design: Jia Cheng Chang etc., Southern Taiwan University, Tainan County, Taiwan

This idea addresses the problem of bicycle parking with an innovative way to lock your bicycle. Just put the bicycle tire in the floor lock and twist the bike stem to lock. The system sends a code to your cell phone. Just key in the code to unlock your bike.

Award: "Best 100"

Entry: Blind memo (262-120459)

Category: 01.08 kitchen / household / living

Design: Tsung Chih-Hsien, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Taipei, Taiwan

Blind Memo uses speech recognition technology to convert voice memos into word or Braille printed notes. The device has a micro-embossing machine that can print Braille tags to help the visually impaired identify objects in their daily life.

Award: "Best 100"

Entry: Lightening at will (262-117792)

Category: 01.03 audio / video / telecommunications / computer /

technical solutions

Design: Lai Chih-wen etc., Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan

In the past, LED bricks generated uneven illumination and uncomfortable intensive LED light. Powered by solar energy, the "Lightening at will" is a groundbreaking LED application for aesthetic applications. It uses a polymer low-haze diffuser plate to diffract sunlight to silicon solar cells, stores energy to Li-batteries, and then uses this energy to for LED lighting. Particles built into the bricks scatters LED light evenly and efficiently. In addition, "Lightening at will" can be used flexibly to create geometric patterns, such as for bus stop information boards.