On 6th September 2012, the Press Conference of the 3rd “LotusPrize” International Industrial Design and Innovation Competition was held in Hunan Hotel. The competition officially sent invitations to design talents worldwide, which marks a new beginning of innovation in Hunan. Mr. Yuehui Liu—Deputy Secretary General of Hunan Provincial Government, hosted the conference, and Mr. Guofu Peng—Director of Hunan Science and Technology Department, gave opening speech. Prof. Renke He—Dean of the School of Design of Hunan University, delivered a detailed introduction about “LotusPrize”. Guests and journalists presented discussed about topics such as the focus of this competition, industrial design innovation and international cooperation etc.
“LotusPrize” International Industrial Design and Innovation Competition is a high-leveled international competition, it is endorsed by Icsid (International Council of Societies of Industrial Design), Cumulus (International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media), and CIDA (China Industrial Design Association). The competition is held every two years starting from 2008.
The competition is hosted by Hunan Provincial Government, organized by Hunan Science and Technology Department, and co-organized by Hunan Economic and Information Technology Commission, Office of Two-Oriented (energy-saving and environment-friendly) Society of Hunan Province, Tourism Bureau of Hunan Province, Hunan Industrial Design Association, China-Italy Design and Innovation Center (Hunan), Hunan University, Sany Group, Sunward Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., Politecnico di Milano, Associazione per il Disegno Industriale etc. The jury panel is full of masters, such as Soon-in Lee (Korea)—President of the Seoul Design Center, President of Icsid, Giorgetto Giugiaro—Chairman of Italdesign Giugiaro, also named the “Car Designer of the Century”, Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis—Director and professor of INDACO (Industrial, Art, Communication and Fashion) Department of Politecnico di Milano, Director of the Milan Triennale Foundation, and other 5 design experts from all over the world. The deadline for entry submission is 10th November 2012, the Final Assessment and the Award Ceremony will be held on 10th January 2013. The gold-prize-winner of Open Group will get bonus of 80,000 CNY, and that of Enterprise Group will get bonus of 50,000 CNY.
The theme of the 3rd “LotusPrize” is: Design, Innovation and Application. Compared with previous two “LotusPrize”, this year’s competition emphasizes on the following three points: 1. Highly internationalized. The competition will make full use of the network provided by China-Italy Design and Innovation Center, invite more Italian design schools and design companies to take part in. 2. Highly involving. Up until now, the competition wins attention and supports from at least 100 companies, design studios, organizations and design schools worldwide. 3. Highly practical. The theme and the categorization of this year’s competition are set according to the innovation policy of Hunan Province. The categories of Open Group, namely: equipment design, digital & cultural initiatives, sustainable and low-carbon design, follow the practical needs of local enterprises, thus the entries are expected to be more innovation-driven and service-oriented.
Representatives of Hunan Provincial Government, Hunan Science and Technology Department, Hunan Economic and Information Technology Commission, Hunan Finance Department, Hunan International Publicity Office, Office of Two-Oriented (energy-saving and environment-friendly) Society of Hunan Province, Hunan Tourist Bureau, Sany Group, Sunward Equipment, Hunan University etc. attended the conference.