The 2025 Golden Pin Design Award Ceremony - one of the most prominent events in the Asian design community - was held on December 5 at the Taipei Performing Arts Center. This year's Golden Pin Design Award and Golden Pin Concept Design Award brought together entries from 28 countries and regions. After rigorous evaluation, the jury selected 22 winners of the Golden Pin Design Award - Best Design of the Year, 3 winners of the Golden Pin Design Award - Special Annual Award, and 3 winners of the Golden Pin Concept Design Award - Best Concept of the Year. The Honorary Award was presented to Apex Lin, Pang-Soong - Chair Professor at Asia University and Emeritus Professor at National Taiwan Normal University - in recognition of his long-standing contributions to design practice, education, and international exchange in Taiwan.

Since its international expansion in 2014, the Golden Pin Design Award has continued to attract strong global participation, with overseas submissions now accounting for more than half of all entries. The award also upholds its credibility through a diverse international jury lineup. This year, 81 experts from 19 regions across five continents took part in the evaluation, including renowned Taiwanese graphic designer Liu Kai, Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design (Germany), and Japanese design master Akira Minagawa. Representing fields ranging from product and visual communication to architecture, social innovation, and market trends, the jury brought a broad and in-depth international perspective to the selection process.

This year, the Golden Pin Design Award recognized 429 Design Mark winners. From these, 90 works advanced to the final round for Best Design of the Year, and 22 were ultimately selected for the honor - representing Taiwan, Japan, Germany, the United States, Poland, and more. Many of the shortlisted works stood out not only for their aesthetics and innovation but also for their relevance to real-world needs. The jury placed particular emphasis on user-centered thinking, clarity and consistency in execution, and the ability to create meaningful impact - defining qualities shared by this year's winning works.

Among this year's Taiwanese winners, many demonstrated strong human-centered creativity. The "Merrylock MK6070 Household Air-threading Combo Sewing Machine" (Tsang Yu Industrial Co., Ltd., Taiwan) enhances the experience of non-professional users through ergonomic design tailored to everyday needs. Aquacendo's "LightUp Filtered Bottle" (Yee Gee International Co., Ltd., Taiwan) combines lighting and water filtration to support children in underserved regions without access to clean water or electricity. "ExAvantGarde and NewOldSchool Album Series Packaging Design" (Aaron Nieh Workshop, Taiwan) captures listeners' emotional responses through refined visual expression, creating a cohesive style that resonates with the orchestra's musical character.

International award-winning works highlighted sustainability and social impact. "Sonnenglas SOMO Solar Lighting System" (Sonnenglas GmbH, Germany) uses modular solar technology to provide safe, sustainable lighting for resource-limited communities. "CLEAN CITY GDANSK" (TOFU Studio, Poland) applies clean, intuitive circular graphics to redefine the brand identity of Gdansk's municipal waste management services. Cross-cultural interpretations also stood out. "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - Taiwan Exclusive Poster Design (C) 1984 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli" (JOEFANGSTUDIO, Taiwan) offers a renewed visual reading of the beloved classic, using emotionally resonant imagery to evoke the timeless world of the original film.

This year, three works received Special Annual Awards, recognizing excellence in circular sustainability and social impact. "IRON40" (eTreego Co., Ltd., Taiwan) adopts a modular packaging system that streamlines processes and reduces material waste. "MA-TSUO Reading Nook" (Feng Chia University, Taiwan) strengthens rural community engagement through co-created spatial design that integrates education and local participation. Singapore-based DP Green was honored for "Punggol Green: Reimagining an Underutilised Space into Community and Social Spine", which revitalizes the space through landscape interventions that connect community activity with ecological needs.

The Golden Pin Concept Design Award supports forward-looking ideas and has long served as a launchpad for emerging designers and startups. This year, 27 projects received the Concept Design Mark, with six advancing to the finals for the Best Concept of the Year. Three proposals ultimately received the top honor: "Reefs Stacks", which repurposes materials from abandoned aquaculture ponds into coral-restoration substrates accompanied by a publication that deepens public engagement; "Kyola Distraction Retractor", a streamlined, pen-shaped tool designed to improve safety and user experience in clinical wisdom-tooth traction; and "Tainan Station Renovation", a proposal that balances heritage preservation with future urban needs, outlining a compelling direction for city transformation.