Contemporary Good Design

Registration phase is in full swing

The Contemporary Good Design Award organised by Red Dot is in full swing – the regular registration phase got under way on 23 July

Red Dot is inviting businesses to take part in what is already the seventh Contemporary Good Design Award. Companies from around the world still have until 12 October to participate. The design competition will be held in the Chinese port city of Xiamen and will be carried out in collaboration with Red Dot’s local partner, Design China Ltd. In addition to those found in the cities of Essen and Singapore, Xiamen is home to the third Red Dot Design Museum.

Design experts from the USA, Great Britain, France, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany and China will evaluate the submissions. Successful participation in the Contemporary Good Design Awardis an indicator of good design for Chinese consumers and attracts a high level of media attention in the world’s second-largest economy.

An indicator of good design, thanks to an independent and internationally renowned jury

The Contemporary Good Design Award was held for the first time in 2015 and has been expanding ever since. Initiated by Red Dot and implemented by Design China Ltd., the competition allows companies and their designers to submit their products for evaluation by an internationally renowned and independent jury. “Since the award was first launched, it has grown rapidly in importance – this is because its international standard is, of course, its greatest USP,” says Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot.

Every jury member has many years’ experience serving on the Red Dot Jury and is globally active as a designer, consultant or professor. Gordon Bruce from the US worked as a designer for IBM before consulting for companies including Samsung, Lenovo and Huawei. Martin Darbyshire of Great Britain and his tangerine design consultancy work on behalf of corporations including LG, Hyundai and Toyota. As the CEO and president of MBD Design, the Frenchman Vincent Créance started out developing design solutions for various forms of transportation and for products. He then went on to found the Design Center at the Université Paris-Saclay.

The expertise of these three industry insiders is complemented by that of Dr. Joseph Francis Wong from Hong Kong, Prof. Axel Thallemer from Germany, Prof. Cheng-Neng Kuan from Taiwan, Prof. Dr. Ken Nah from South Korea and Prof. Jun Cai and Prof. Renke He from China.

Red Dot CEO Prof. Dr. Peter Zec extends an invitation to participate

A win at the Contemporary Good Design Award creates visibility – in the Chinese market as well as globally. Thanks to the label’s reputation, winners stand out from their competitors. Peter Zec says of the competition: “We launched the Contemporary Good Design Award in 2015 and adhere to the same principles as those of the Red Dot Design Award: An evaluation process refined over decades and international jury members provide the right basis for a high-quality selection. Use this opportunity and take your first step on the journey to success!”

Participants have until 12 October to sign up via the website of the Contemporary Good Design Award. Once the participants have registered and handed in their submissions, every product is evaluated in terms of its innovativeness, functionality, durability, aesthetic quality and environmental sustainability. Submissions that particularly stand out are honoured with the Contemporary Good Design Winner or Gold Winner labels.

Facts and figures for participation in the competition

Registration for the competition is staggered across different phases:

Regular: 23 July to 9 September 2021
Latecomer: 10 September to 12 October 2021