KUALA LUMPUR, 23 JUNE 2021 – Back for the 14th year, the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) organised by Nippon Paint continues its mission to empower and encourage young, budding designers to create positive impact through design within their communities. Themed “FORWARD: Amplifying Empathy Through Design” this year, the competition aims to challenge student participants to provide practical and socially conscious design solutions for a globalised world.
With the challenges that have profoundly impacted lives around the world in the past year, Mr Yaw Seng Heng, Group Managing Director of Nippon Paint Malaysia Group said that it is more crucial now than ever that products and services are created with empathy to fulfil the ever-changing needs of consumers today.
“In our vision to nurture young designers to elevate the standards of the design community, we want to walk with the next generation to be the best versions of themselves and to inculcate empathy in each of their designs. We hope that through our diligently designed programme for AYDA 2021, young talents in the design industry will continue to challenge themselves and strive to produce designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but to give birth to ideas that could potentially impact the future of humanity”, said Mr Yaw during the theme launch of AYDA 2021.
The theme for AYDA 2021 was selected to inspire forward-looking, innovative solutions that warrant a more long-lasting and human-centered design to keep cities and communities sustainable for the decades to come. This is especially critical for Asia, one of the largest and quickest developing economies in the world, and also home to more than half of the world's population.
AYDA was first launched in 2008 as part of Nippon Paint’s vision to nurture the next generation of design talents. Over the years, AYDA has evolved from being an award platform into a global design community comprising of industry experts and over 1,200 tertiary educational institutions across 16 geographical locations, impacting over 100,000 student designers by allowing them the exposure and real-life learning experience through networking.
Sharing the same vision, long-standing partner IJM Land Berhad has been part of the AYDA community for eight years now. “As part of IJM Land’s commitment to shape and influence the future of real estate, we continually seek to nurture and empower new generations of design talent by supporting initiatives that connect creative education and industry experience. We have been continuously fascinated and amazed year after year with the fantastic creations and designs produced by all the talented students and this year is no different,” said Ms. Christine Wong, General Manager of Group Sales & Marketing of IJM Land Berhad.
During the launch, guests had the opportunity to connect with Chief Judges Ar. Sarly Adre Sarkum (Architecture Category) and IDr. Ooi Boon Seong (Interior Design Category), and guest speakers Ar. Alif Arif Iskandar Abd Wahab from VERITAS Design Group and Mr Blaine Robert from Blaine Robert Sdn Bhd.
AYDA 2021 is now open for registration. Deadline for submissions is 15 October 2021. For more information, visit https://www.asiayoungdesignerawards.com.my or our Facebook page @AYDAMalaysia.
