Young designers' talent shines at the 10th Designnova Awards

The 10th Designnova Awards and its sideline exhibition held in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, represent a pivotal moment in the design industry. Serving as a platform for innovation, they showcase cutting-edge concepts, ranging from autonomous vehicles to interactive art installations, ultimately shaping the future of the digital design industry. According to its organizers, this event underscores the industry's response to global shifts, providing a glimpse into the potential emerging from the dynamic intersection of technology, design, and culture. 

This year's Designnova Awards International Innovation Design Competition has received nearly 1,000 creative entries from both domestic and international participants, focusing on the latest digital technology and works. 

The winning works and other design talent collected from around the world are on display till the end of November, reflecting young designers' thoughts about the development and impact of digitization.

The highlighted displays include a vehicle with no steering wheel, pedals, or driver's cabin, but rather laser radar, camera sensors, and an autonomous driving system. Its creator believes it might very well become a future office for digital workers.

At the same time, no matter how technology advances, the relationship between humans and nature remains an eternal topic. 

Another popular installation of new media interactive art allows visitors to observe different natural phenomena on a screen, which is based on how hard they blow on a windmill. The interaction aims to evoke thoughts about the cycle of life.

At the prize-awarding ceremony, Pan Gongkai, the founder of the Designnova Awards, also the former president of the China's Central Academy of Fine Arts, says the design industry is ripe with unprecedented opportunities but also rife with challenges due to transformations occurring in society's cultural scene. 

"The rapid development of artificial intelligence and physics, especially the great discoveries in astrophysics and quantum physics, is completely altering our understanding of the universe and reshaping the meaning of our lives," he said. 

The Designnova Awards International Innovation Design Competition was launched by the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2010. It has since emerged as a key platform for promoting the development of China's design industry and supporting the growth of budding designers in China.