Group photo of jury members

The CF Award is a prestigious industrial design award established in 2013, 10 years ago, to support local industries in their ambitions to upgrade their manufacturing capabilities in particular for export quality products and achieve design-led innovative development. Since its establishment, the CF Award Jury has been chaired by Prof. He. In addition to Prof. He, the final jury this time consisted of 8 experts from various design-related backgrounds - including policy advisors, experts from certification and testing organizations, designers, industry experts, and leaders of design associations.

This year, the numbers of participating organizations and entries were 1074 and 2040, respectively, reaching a historic high, with 691 pieces of work from 341 organizations entering the final review.

Jury members review works

"The challenging task of the jury members is the selection of the best products among hundreds of items within two days," Prof. Herr said. “Different design backgrounds of the jury members meant that we had to discuss a lot, taking all perspectives into account for a balanced assessment and the selection of the award recipients. To my surprise, and due to a lot of excellent preparatory work from the organizers, we managed to do this in only two days."

The School of Design has been dedicated to focusing on the needs of Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area, serving the industrial needs of upgrading and transformation and creative development in the Greater Bay Area, and leading the industrial upgrading and transformation through research since its foundation. Participating in the CF Award Jury offered insights into the capabilities and potential of local industry. In this context, the faculty from the School of Design can contribute a perspective that emphasizes a forward-looking and future-oriented approach and encourages innovation in the cultivation of design talents and the high-quality development of the local design industry.

Group photo of jury members

In addition to the Best of the Best, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards, a special award category will be created to reward the most sustainable products this year, with a view to facilitating sustainable development and responding to the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. The philosophies upheld by the School of Design such as social responsibilities, sustainable development, and design for good also align with the purpose of the CF Award.

Reflecting on the experience, Prof. Herr explained "With a better understanding of the abilities, potentials, and challenges faced by the local design industry, we also understand the contribution of the School of Design better. We educate students who are able to integrate new technologies and sustainable perspectives into their future-oriented design proposals, and are confident they will both support and lead the rapid transformation of the local design manufacturing industry into an internationally competitive design future."

The 2022 CF Awards will be officially announced and presented at the Canton Fair 2022 this fall.