Collaborative development between small business owners and designers; 60 outstanding products selected
Online voting for the ‘Best Design–Citizens’ Award’ open until October 19
With the ‘2023 DDP Design Launching Fair’—an event showcasing design products set to lead lifestyle trends, developed through collaboration between small business owners and designers—now just a month away, 60 outstanding products and 3 Best Design products have been selected through expert evaluation. Until October 19, citizens themselves will choose the Best Design products.
In the expert evaluation held this past August, 10 DDP Design Launching Fair curators—comprising experts from various fields such as design, marketing, and distribution—took part and selected 60 outstanding products from among the final 182 products jointly developed by small business owners and designers. Marketability, creativity, and suitability for exhibition were taken into account. The selected outstanding products will receive a series of support measures to open up domestic and international markets, starting with the ‘Seoul Design 2023’ exhibition in October and including participation in ‘Paris Maison & Objet.’
Shin Tae-ho, co-CEO of Maezm and a collaboration curator for the DDP Design Launching Fair, shared his evaluation impressions: “Since there are designers and small business owners participating for the second time or more, it seems they have acquired their own product development know-how. I was surprised that even prototypes that had just been developed showed a high level of completion down to the finest details,” adding, “The fact that the number of returning participants is growing—and that the DDP Design Launching Fair is being recognized as an effective platform for entering the design market—is a noteworthy achievement.”
Of the 60 outstanding products selected, 4 will receive the ‘Best Design Award,’ which comes with a commendation from the Mayor of Seoul. Through the expert evaluation conducted earlier, the top 3 products were selected first as award winners, and the final award-winning product will be decided by citizens’ vote.
In the expert evaluation, ▲Vibraddy Lamp (Mudix (small business) + Yoon Kyung-hyun (designer)) ▲Accessory Tray (Sehyun Tech + Contour Studio) ▲Side Table Extension (Thinker + StudioLookat) were selected as Best Design Award winners. Each Best Design Award-winning team receives a prize of 5 million won and a commendation from the Mayor of Seoul, along with promotional support. The product receiving the most votes in the citizens’ vote will be awarded a prize of 2 million won and the Mayor of Seoul’s ‘Best Design–Citizens’ Award,’ and the foundation will promote the product. After verifying their identity via text message, each voter may vote for up to 10 products. A raffle will be held among voting participants, awarding various prizes such as ‘Seoul Design 2023’ merchandise and exhibition admission tickets.
In addition, the Seoul Design 2023 event, where all 60 selected outstanding collaboration products from the 2023 DDP Design Launching Fair can be seen, will be held from October 24 to November 2 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and early-bird advance-booking discounts are currently available on the official website (www.seoul-design.or.kr).
▲ Side Table Extension
▲ Side Table Extension