DFA Awards 2022 Winners Announcement Highlighting three trailblazers with distinguished design philosophies, And outstanding Asia-based projects Two new disciplines leading the global design trend

Among them are Katsumi ASABA, Founder of Katsumi ASABA Design Studio, winner of DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (DFA LAA); Muneaki MASUDA, President and CEO of Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd, winner of DFA Design Leadership Award (DFA DLA); GUO Pei, Founder of Rose Studio, winner of DFA World's Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFA WOCD). In addition, 195 projects were conferred the DFA Design for Asia Awards (DFA DFAA), showcasing Asian perspectives and values by different design disciplines.

Prof. Eric Yim, Chairman of HKDC said, "In a world full of challenges, illnesses, and uncertainties, design is a medium soothing our hearts, families, communities and economies. The more challenging the environment has become, the more we need good design. As HKDC is commemorating its 20th anniversary while the HKSAR is celebrating its 25^th anniversary, the results of the DFA LAA, DFA DLA & DFA WOCD has given us new inspiration and encouragement by highlighting the contributions of these veteran and master designers through sharing their featured narratives. I'd like to congratulate all of the winners and express my belief that, with continued work, design may help humanity solve problems, foster social change, and help us appreciate the beauty of life."

Born in 1940, Katsumi ASABA is a Japanese art director and a master calligrapher based in Tokyo. He has a particular interest in the rich cultural heritage of writing in Asia and in exploring the relationships between written and visual expressions.

After graduating from Kuwasawa Design School and working for Light Publicity Inc., he founded Katsumi ASABA Design Studio in 1975. As an art director, he has many of his creations which have made a lasting mark in the history of Japanese advertising design. He also holds the title of sixth degree master in table tennis.

DFA LAA 2022 is presented to Katsumi ASABA in recognition of his achievements as a legendary artist and designer in various fields.

DFA Design Leadership Award (DFA DLA)

Muneaki MASUDA was born in 1951 in Osaka, Japan. He is now the President and CEO of Culture Convenience Club (CCC) Co., Ltd.

With eyes set on the record for the world's largest art bookstore, MASUDA's focus on lifestyle proposals has been the company's core since its inception. In keeping with what he views as the "Age of the Individual," MASUDA has committed himself to planning shared lounges that facilitate the exchange of ideas between individuals through cozy spaces, book recommendations and office functionality.

DFA DLA 2022 recognises MASUDA's outstanding leadership in leading not only CCC to become a world-renowned "culture infrastructure" planning company, but also new design trends of public spaces and cultural facilities.

DFA World's Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFA WOCD)

GUO Pei is a fashion designer, as well as the Founder of Rose Studio.

GUO has devoted herself to conserving while innovating the art of embroidery, and led her team to successfully restore the nearly lost "royal embroidery" technique. Adhering to the concept of "Eastern learnings as found, Western learnings for implement", GUO combines traditional Chinese embroidery techniques and avant-garde silhouettes while creating her couture pieces. Rose Studio, the first couture house registered in the Mainland with boutiques around the world, has paved the way for local couture industry, bringing Chinese traditional embroidery onto the world stage.

DFA WOCD 2022 recognises GUO's contribution to preserving traditional Chinese culture and integrating it with contemporary design.

DFA Design for Asia Awards (DFA DFAA)

DFA DFAA aims to recognise projects in Asia that epitomise design excellence and contribute to the betterment of society and the design industry. It is a stage upon which design talents and corporations can showcase their design projects internationally.

One of the highlights of this year's DFA DFAA is the addition of two new disciplines – Digital & Motion Design and Service & Experience Design – to the original four disciplines, namely Communication Design, Fashion & Accessory Design, Product & Industrial Design and Spatial Design, for a wider project range, to correspond to the global design trend of rapid changes and digitalisation, and people-centred designs. New disciplines also has opened up possibilities for relevant design projects, bringing extensive recognitions to diverse outstanding designs in Asia, for Asia.

Dr. Joseph Wong, Executive Director of HKDC said, "It is truly a delight to see the DFA DFAA goes from strength to strength, having recognised over 2,000 excellent design projects to date. It has responded to the constantly evolving design trend by introducing two new disciplines, Digital & Motion Design and Service & Experience Design. We are glad to receive so many outstanding human-centred projects from this year's entries, and see the increasingly interdisciplinary ideas and insights from different sectors. In the forthcoming years, we look forward to seeing the DFA DFAA continue to foster and advance social improvement, and gain ground towards building a sustainable community."

A total of 195 winners including nine Grand awards, 21 Gold awards and 165 Silver, Bronze and Merit awards' winners are selected by the Awards' international judging panel comprises of experienced design professionals and experts. Companies from the Mainland again tops the leaderboard with 65 winning projects, followed by Hong Kong and Japan claiming 49 and 44 winning projects respectively.

DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA)

Apart from the four awards above, the "DFA Awards" also presents DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA), which aims to fuel Hong Kong emerging design talents, is going to announce the result soon as well. Please stay tuned to HKDC's most recent news and upcoming events.

Please download the DFA Awards 2022 Press Kit, with full list of awardees and high resolutions images at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17ogsuntGr7LSKC0JidegHZU373d3oeqQ?usp=sharing

About DFA Awards (www.dfaawards.com)

In 2003, the Hong Kong Design Centre launched the DFA Awards to underpin the role of designers in society, to celebrate design leadership and exemplary designs and projects with impact in Asia, as well as to recognise the rising force of emerging Hong Kong designers since 2005.

The DFA Awards, through its five major award programmes, has grown in its international influence in Asia. The five award programmes include DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award, DFA World's Outstanding Chinese Designer, DFA Design for Asia Awards and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award.

About Hong Kong Design Centre ( www.hkdesigncentre.org)

A non-governmental organisation registered in 2001 and established in 2002, Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) is a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in establishing Hong Kong as an international centre of design excellence in Asia. Our public mission is to promote wider and strategic use of design and design thinking to create business value and improve societal well-being.

The year 2022 marks our 20th Anniversary, where we will celebrate with a series of activities under the theme 'Design for Sustainable Community'.

About Create Hong Kong ( www.createhk.gov.hk)

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in June 2009 to spearhead the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. From 1 July 2022 onwards, it is under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. CreateHK sponsors HKDC to organise the "DFA Awards" for years and other projects to promote Hong Kong design.

Disclaimer: Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.