Young Designers' Competition Sheds Promising Light on Future of Local Talent

Winners in the 7th Young Designers' Competition (YODC 2007), the largest student designer competition in Taiwan, were announced in mid-2007.

YODC 2007 was sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and 29 private companies, and was co-organized by the Good Design Association of Taiwan (GDA) and Taiwan Design Center (TDC), a national design institution.

A total of 1,212 designs were entered in five product categories: Product Design (636 entries), Craft Design (111), Graphic Design (160), Digital Media (243), and Packaging Design (62). The competition selected winners of five Gold Awards, 15 Silver Awards, and 45 Awards of Merit.

Tony Chang, CEO of the TDC, pointed out that the YODC provides a very good platform for local young designers to show off their creativity, as well as an opportunity for local enterprises and design firms to find design talent.

YODC 2007's Gold Award Winners

Subject: Gods

Category: Craft Design

Designer: Lan Yi-li

School: National Taiwan University of Arts

"Gods" is a series office-desk toy designs, with characters that were inspired by the traditional gods in Taiwanese culture and that function in different office applications.

Subject: Xiao Lu Xing Xue (Travel Learning)

Category: Graphic Design

Designer: Chung Wen-han and others

School: Fu Jen Catholic University

Traveling in Taiwan has become common, especially with the inauguration of high-speed rail service. These designs offer portable accessories, such as notebooks and bookmarks, for the use of travelers.

Subject: Inner Light

Category: Product Design

Designer: Chang Po-june

School: Shih Chien University

The concept of this design is to conceal the lighting source within sophisticated paper craft items. When you pull out an item, the inner mechanism will turn on the light to reveal various decorative patterns.

Subject: Xin-Fu Fermented Cake (Fermented Cake of Happiness)

Category: Packaging Design

Designer: Su Ling-huei and others

School: Tainan University of Technology

Fermented cake is a popular dessert in traditional Taiwanese culture. This package design provides a refreshing image of this traditional delicacy for today's market.

Subject: Paper-cutting

Category: Digital Media

Designer: Chen Yen-ting

School: National Taiwan University

Paper-cutting is a popular traditional art craft in Chinese culture. This film attempts to revive the memory of paper-cutting in the new generation.