Eight students from Asia University in Taichung City recently won a prestigious Good Design Award, Japan’s leading program for assessing and commending innovative creations.
The visual design majors earned a G Mark—the symbol of the awards—for a gift box promoting Jiji mountain bananas and a pop-up souvenir card for Asia Museum of Modern Art. Previous recipients include a host of household names such as AsusTek Computer Inc., Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
Lin Pang-soong, a professor in AU’s Department of Visual Communication Design, said the students are the first from Taiwan to win the award. “This is special in that a G Mark can only be given to commercialized products. Both of the submissions satisfy that criteria and are already proving popular in their targeted markets.”
The pyramid-shaped gift box, commissioned by Nantou County-headquartered Jiji Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Cooperative Ltd., holds four kinds of dried local bananas. It resembles Jiji Mountain and is opened as one would peel a banana.
Hou Chun-chun, an associate professor in the department and overseer of the project, said the box also incorporates the Chinese character “qian,” a grading mark used during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945) to signify top quality fit for the emperor.
According to Huang Jong-hsien, director-general of the co-op, the five students spent a great deal of time consulting with farmers before coming up with their eye-catching design. “We are extremely proud of them for winning this award and showing what hard work and dedication can achieve,” he said.
The gift card is similarly inspired by the product it was designed to promote. Its shape reflects the triangular Asia Museum of Modern Art by Japanese architect Tadao Ando—renowned for Hansol Museum in South Korea, Invisible House in Italy and Tokyo Skytree, among many.
Cheng Su-an, an associate professor in the department and overseer of the project, said the three students captured the essence of Ando’s architectural beauty. “They also added useful features such as a laser engraving monograph of the museum and QR Code containing a brief introduction of the facility and exhibition information.”
Established in 1957, the annual Good Design Award has been given to 40,000 designs. It attracts 3,000 submissions from more than 1,000 companies and designers worldwide each year. (SSC-JSM)
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