The 2020 Golden Pin ConceptD Special Annual Award goes to… Fist Font!
The 2020 Golden Pin Concept Design Award announced the winner of the Special Annual Award – ConceptD Award: Acer with its Fist Font project.
This is the first edition of the award, and all entries that entered the Final Selection are eligible for consideration. After a heated debate among the judges, the Taiwanese design studio Wenhengju Design’s latest work Fist Font came out on top.
It will be formally crowned the winner of the ConceptD Award on the awards ceremony to be held in Taipei on December 11. Furthermore, the winner will take home Acer ConceptD series products tailored for designers and creators, with a combined value of NT$ 300,000 (approx. US$ 10,500).
Since its transition in 2015, the GPCDA has been calling for innovative design concepts from independent designers and design teams around the world. It is an opportunity for emerging artists to shine on an international stage and a platform for discovering creative talent.
This year, the awards organizer has joined hands with Acer, a company recently committed to serving the creative industry, to present the GPCDA Special Annual Award – ConceptD Award. A panel of judges made up of design professionals selected by Acer and the awards organizer came together and picked the entry that is forward-looking and has the greatest development potential based on its originality and commercial viability, as well as the designer’s presentation, use of new technologies, and impact on society and the environment.
Wenhengju Design Co., the design studio behind Fist Font, has previously received the 2019 Golden Pin Design Mark with its Wind Font. The studio’s second attempt at the GPCDA has proven to be successful as well, winning both the Golden Pin Concept Design Mark and a chance to compete for the top prize—Best of Golden Pin Concept Design Award.
As the winner of the ConceptD Award, this traditional Chinese font is a fusion of the clerical script (Lishu style) and the swallowtail eaves of Taiwanese temples. The sharp hooks and turns of its strokes are as powerful as a fist, and its design combines traditional sophistication with a modern flair.
The company started a crowdfunding campaign for the project earlier this year, and the target was reached shortly thereafter. The font is expected to hit market with its unique Taiwanese aesthetics in the second half of 2021.
More winners are yet to be announced: check this article to choose your favourite among the finalists of the Golden Pin Design Award 2020
Acer AVP Seji Peng, who served as one of the judges for the GPCDA Final Selection, told awards organizer that Fist Font stood out for its distinctive design concept and unique style, carving out a niche in the Chinese fonts market. Although the design of the font was inspired by traditional culture, the team broke with conventions to achieve innovation.
According to Peng, the intricacy and modernity of the design is best appreciated when the font is placed side-by-side with Lishu. He believes that the font shows great promise as it can be used in a wide variety of contexts, which was why the jury decided to award the ConceptD Award to the project.
Business Next magazine founder Wei-Hsiung Chan, another member of the jury, stated that a font is not merely a tool but a symbol of cultural heritage. Chan expressed his delight in the increasing number of new fonts that reflect the culture and lifestyles of Taiwanese people by local designers. Chan also pointed out that designing a successful font requires skills, time, as well as a superior sense of aesthetics and logical thinking, as are evident in Fist Font.
As announced in the official awards registration guidelines, the winner of this year’s GPCDA Special Annual Award will receive up to NT$ 300,000 (approx. US$ 10,500) worth of Acer ConceptD products built for designers and creators. The awards organizer has invited Heng-ju Wen, the chief designer of Fist Font, to Acer Inc. to pick her prizes.
According to Acer COO of Taiwan Operations (PAP RO) Samuel Chang, Taiwan used to be known as the “kingdom of manufacturing”, but as the global economy continues to change rapidly, it is high time that the country cultivated more creative talent to instill newfound momentum into its industries.
Therefore, Acer Inc. launched the ConceptD series last year to support emerging creators. By the same token, the company has started a number of industry-academia collaboration projects with top universities in Taiwan.
Chang commends the design team for dedicating considerable time and energy to fine-tuning such an exceptional typeface as Fist Font and hopes that Acer’s ConceptD series can serve its purposes and help the team round off the final design stages.
The 2020 GPCDA ceremony will be held alongside the Golden Pin Design Award in Taipei on December 11. In addition to formally presenting the ConceptD Award to Fist Font, the three winners for the top honor – Best of Golden Pin Concept Design Award – will also be revealed at the ceremony, with each winner taking home a cash prize of NT$ 400,000 (approx. US$ 14,000). For the latest news on the Golden Pin Concept Design Award, please visit the official website and follow us on social media.
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