Golden Pin Salon 2026 Asia Tour Concludes, Spotlighting Ultra-Experience Design and the Role of Design Awards

Founded in Taiwan in 1981, the Golden Pin Design Award began accepting entries from around the world in 2014 and has grown into one of Asia’s largest design awards. Hosted by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and organized by the government-affiliated Taiwan Design Research Institute, the award not only recognizes outstanding design works but has also promoted exchange within the design industry through exhibitions and events in recent years. “Design Perspective × Golden Pin Salon” is one of its key exchange platforms, held annually in cities across Asia. In 2026, the tour was held in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Bangkok, and Kaohsiung, and made its first stop in Seoul. [Seoul, South Korea] Theme: “Ultra-Experience Design” The 2026 Golden Pin Salon Asia Tour was held in Seoul for the first time on April 25, in collaboration with the influential Korean design magazine Design. The venue was DDP, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a landmark of Seoul. Speakers from South Korea included Lee Suk-woo of SWNA, known for his medal design for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and Park Sung-chul of NiiiZ Design LAB, which works on commercial space design. From Taiwan, the speakers were creative director Kenming Liu of Bito, who worked on the interactive design of the TECH WORLD Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, and Lin-Li Tseng of Serendipity Studio, curator of the Taiwan Pavilion at the 2023 London Design Biennale. The four leading designers from Taiwan and South Korea explored the theme of “Ultra-Experience Design,” discussing how technology and aesthetics can move people’s senses while preserving design’s essential role as a solution in an era where digital and physical spaces increasingly intersect. [Bangkok, Thailand] Theme: “Whose Standards Matter? Design for Raising Awareness” On May 6, the salon was held at The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, an iconic designer hotel in Bangkok. In collaboration with Thai design media art4d, the event featured local designers who have previously won the Golden Pin Design Award. The speakers included Jiravej Hongsakul, founder of IDIN Architects, which designed the award-winning NANA Coffee Roasters for two consecutive years; Kittithat Khajornattadech, founder of Taste Space, which specializes in restaurant interior design; Savinee Buranasilpin, co-founder of thingsmatter; Theerachai Supamethikulwat, head and designer of the brand Qualy; and Siam Attariya, Thailand’s first AGI member and design director of Pink Blue Black & Orange. From Taiwan, architect Ya-Hsin Tseng of hidden-domain studio, who has worked at Japan’s nendo, and Aaron Nieh of aaron nieh workshop, Taiwan’s first AGI member, also joined the program. Under the theme “Whose Standards Matter?”, the discussion reconsidered the role of design awards. [Kaohsiung, Taiwan] Perspectives from Golden Pin Design Award Winners and Jurors The 2026 Asia Tour concluded in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The event was held on May 8 at the Taiwan Design Research Institute laboratory inside Kaohsiung Music Center, a landmark of the harbor city. Speakers included Aaron Nieh of aaron nieh workshop, who had also appeared at the Thailand event, as well as En-Kai Kuo of Forest-Wood Archi-Tect. NK and Yu-Ting Tseng, project manager at Merrylock, all of whom are Golden Pin Design Award winners. Veteran jurors Joe Fang of Joe Fang Studio, Hsiang-Han Hsu of HH Design, and Joe Lin of JL Architects also joined the session, sharing perspectives from both award winners and jurors. The 2026 Golden Pin Design Award is accepting entries from around the world until June 15. Continued attention is invited for one of Asia’s largest design awards.