Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Championing Purposeful Design

Good designs are meant to help the world function better. So, while many designs have strong commercial purposes and play key roles in developing our economies, good design is also an essential part of community development and serving the under-represented communities.

This year’s theme encourages young designers to explore the possibilities of combining personal design interest with causes worth fighting for. The end goal? To build beacons of hope for communities in need while promoting the development of humanity.

Here’s how you can start:

1

Find Our Core
Play your part in making the world a better place by solving social challenges through your design. Listen to your heart and discover what you truly believe in.

2

Create an Intention System
Turn your intention into ideas by developing a clear objective of what you would like to achieve (e.g. solve housing issues, help save the forest in your hometown or create a socially cohesive co-working space) - you can make conscious and unbiased decisions toward the shared vision and end-goal.

3

Identify Commonalities
See the HUMAN first! We may come from different origins and embrace different languages and cultures but we are human after all. We encourage you to focus more on “we” and less of “me” when you are designing spaces. Our needs as humans are similar despite our differences.

All projects must start with the project title and theme/concept

The design statement should not be more than 800 words and should be submitted in PDF format.

At least 3 but not more than 4 boards are to be submitted, based on the digital copy.
Board 1 must show existing site photos (if applicable), property/site developer (if applicable), floor plan, elevation, furniture layout plan and site analysis.
Boards 2, 3 and 4 must show 3D perspectives. Refer to the ‘Colours’ tab for instructions on the use of colour
Presentation Boards must be designed in portrait orientation, not landscape orientation.
For email submission, the project’s digital version of A2 boards must be saved in a folder named “Presentation Board” and the file name set as “Board 1”.

Label all areas on the floor plan.
Perspectives in Boards 2, 3 and 4 must be in A3, A4 or A5 sizes and pasted on the boards.
Do not place your name or other identification details on your boards to ensure anonymity during the judging process.

Individual perspectives of the project must be at A4 size (minimum). These files must be saved in a folder titled “Perspectives”. The JPEG file should follow the naming convention based on “area”. For example: Living room, Lobby etc.
All image files must be at least 300 dpi in JPEG format ONLY

Upload a recent high-resolution personal photo of yourself in JPEG format at 300dpi with “Personal Photo” as the file name.
Ensure that your face is visible as this will be used for media and online publications if you are selected as one of the finalists.

All colours used in the project, if any, must come from Nippon Paint’s range of colours.
Visit https://www.nipponpaint.com.my/colours to explore Nippon Paint colours.

All completed entries must be submitted by: 27th October 2023.

For enquiries, please contact:

AYDA Team at 011 540 88660 or ayda.malaysia@gmail.com

Complete the entry form and attach the form with your email.
Please ensure your email contains:
- A folder named “Presentation Board” which has JPEG files of your presentation boards at 300dpi and named “Board 1.jpeg”, “Board 2.jpeg”, “Board 3.jpeg” and “Board 4.jpeg” in portrait orientation.
- A folder named “Perspectives” with each perspective file in JPEG format, set at 300dpi and named accordingly (e.g. “Living Room” or “Lobby”).
- Your design concept statement should not be more than 800 words and saved in PDF format named “Design Concept Statement”.
- Your recent personal photo in JPEG format set at 300dpi named “Personal Photo”.

Send to:
AYDA Team
Email: ayda.malaysia@gmail.com
Phone number: 011 5408 8660

You can submit your online entry here.

Your write-up will be the first component to be reviewed by our judges. It should not be more than 800 words. It should also provide the structure for your oral presentation if you are shortlisted to present your design concept to the judges.

It should answer the following questions:

How will your future-proof design concept solve and/or benefit the communities and societies around it?

How do you envision the ecological, sociological, and technological aspects that may contribute to the well-being of humanity?
What is your design’s impact on the environment based on its concept, materials, maintenance, energy usage as well as water and waste management?
In your opinion, what is the one key component that must exist in future-proof designs?

Your Research Process

What was your research methodology?
Who was your main source of information and/or inspiration during your research?
What questions and scope of work did you consider during your research process?
Was the research methodology effective?
What did you learn from your research findings?

CONCEPTUALISATION

Employing critical and mature solutions through effective design concepts and communications.

DESIGN INNOVATION

Thinking out-of-the-box to implement inventive design innovation.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Finding strategic ways to critically resolve issues while keeping traditions, culture and people in mind.

DESIGN SENSITIVITY

Designing with an empathetic mind-set with practical, functional and well-designed considerations.

SUSTAINABILITY

Adopting a sustainable and greener sensibility so that design and architecture can coexist harmoniously with nature and its surroundings.

PLACE-MAKING

Understanding the importance of interactions between people, as well as significant cultural contexts.

FORWARD-THINKING

Challenging conventional pragmatisms to re-enact new fundamentals for spatial appreciation and visual impact.

EMPATHISE

Personas | Job Stories | Usability Testing

Personas:

Create a provisional persona of a potential user based on online research and your understanding of the end user.

Job Stories:

Explore various context in which a user would utilise the design and understand their motivation and desired outcome.

Usability Testing:

Obtain as much data as possible through qualitative and quantitative methods from the perspective of the end user.

DEFINE

Identify Needs | Prioritise Needs

Identify:

Use affinity mapping to group the pain points into similar categories on a board.

Prioritising Pain Points:

Prioritise each pain point based on importance to the user as well as to your design.

Define Problem:

Establish a clear goal you would like to solve based on user feedback and your project’s desired outcome.

IDEATE

Task Flows | Lo-Fi Sketches

Flow:

Create a task flow mapping the entire journey of a user in your design.

Ideating the Solution:

Begin sketching and producing several potential solutions to each of the pain points. Have fun experimenting with different techniques to finally derive the desired outcome.

PROTOTYPING

Hi-Fi Mockups | Clickable Prototype

VALIDATION

Test Prototype | Iterations

Design:

First prototypes may not necessarily look anything like the final outcome; visual styling helps tell a story to users, with navigation elements acting as discussion triggers.

Functionality:

All prototype validation should be cross-functional in terms of market, design and willingness to pay.

Traditionally, architects and interior designers focused primarily on designing with aesthetics and functional needs in mind. With the rise of global environmental issues and the increased awareness that comes along with it, designers today need to expand their focus to include environmental considerations and the well-being of the users.

Both architects and interior designers need to realise that they play a big role in sustainable living. They must identify the environmental impacts of any building and ensure that it is built with materials and products that are environmentally-friendly.

Affordable and Clean Energy: The built environment is a significant source of energy consumption and potentially, a crucial energy producer. Buildings must be designed to limit energy as well as to produce and recycle energy.

This means that there is a need for designers to design and construct buildings that utilise appropriate energy technology under the given geographical, climatic and cultural conditions. Examples include the use of daylight, natural ventilation or materials that support heating or cooling, such as the use of heavy exterior walls in a hot and dry climate.

See An Example

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: The construction industry consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy and produces a large amount of waste in return. Integrating sustainability in the built environment requires an eco-conscious approach to ensure a decrease in pollution and waste.

As such, the development of both physical and digital infrastructures is required to promote sustainable trade and coexistence, including a focus on the industry’s use of local materials and resources. Therefore, it requires training and development of new competences at all levels in the building industry, as well as research and prototypes to test the potential of new tools, processes and solutions.

See An Example

Sustainable Cities and Communities: A built environment should be sustainable: where components of architecture, design and planning contribute in multiple ways to make cities inclusive, safe and robust.

Urban planning takes into consideration design and planning solutions that are sustainable, affordable and accessible, and ensure that the infrastructure helps to reduce pollution and enable walking, biking and commuting by public transport. Urban designs should also counteract the environmental impacts stemming from air and noise pollution. Examples include the integration of vegetation and greeneries.

See An Example

Climate Action: Climate change affects every country now more than ever before. The carbon dioxide footprint of the built environment must be reduced to adapt to the changing climate. This can be done through the reduction of energy renovations, integrating renewable energy production in buildings, expanding sustainable transportation infrastructures, reducing the transport of building materials, and emphasising the use of local and renewable materials. As well, buildings today must be built to withstand harsh weather and natural disasters.

See An Example

Tip: There may be plus points given if you could measure the impact of your design for each SDG.

National Awards

GOLD AWARD**

RM6,000 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

SILVER AWARD

RM4,000 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

HONORARY MENTION x2

RM2,500 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

FINALIST x8

RM500 Cash Prize
+ Certificate

**National Gold Winners will represent their countries in the Architectural/Interior Design category at the AYDA International Awards*, around the month of June/July 2024.

*This would highly depend on the status of the pandemic worldwide. If international travels are still not recommended closer to the date, the organisers may not have a physical event and will hold a virtual event.

BEST COLOUR CHOICE

RM1,000 Cash Prize
+ Certificate

BEST GREEN INNOVATION

RM1,500 Cash Prize
+ Certificate

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD

RM500 Cash Prize
+ Certificate

BEST SUPPORTING COLLEGE

RM1,500 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

BEST UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE

RM1,500 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

BEST MENTOR

RM1,500 Cash Prize
+ Trophy + Certificate

International Awards

AYDA Designer of the Year

(One winner for each category: Architectural & Interior Design Category)

Immersive Learning Experience

The opportunity to attend a six-week, all-expenses-paid Design Discovery Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, U.S.A worth up to USD10,000 in the program’s June 2025 cohort.

*Acceptance into the Harvard GSD is subject to Terms & Acceptance determined in entirety and solely by the Harvard GSD’s Admission Authorities and/or its faculties.

NIPPON PAINT COLOUR AWARD

Cash Prize of USD1,000

BEST SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Cash Prize of USD1,000

BEST DESIGN IMPACT

Cash Prize of USD1,000

Rules & Regulations

Participants must be enrolled in interior design, architectural and/or other relevant courses at an educational institution upon the time of submission.
Participants will be disqualified if the participant is found to have graduated upon the time of submission.
This award is open to all interior design students in their second year and above, as well as architectural students in their third year and above.
Participants must have less than one (1) year of professional working experience. University/college mandated internships are considered as professional work experience if the one (1) year internship period happens after the participant has graduated.
Only one entry is allowed per student.
Entries must strictly conform to the submission guidelines and must be submitted to the contest coordinator of each school (whenever applicable).
The final date of entry is 27/10/2023
All entries shall become the property of Nippon Paint Group of Companies.
The Judges’ decisions are final.
Shortlisted candidates will be notified to make an oral presentation as part of the final judging procurement.
Winners will be notified to attend a ceremony. Winning entries may be featured in marketing and promotional materials as deemed appropriate by the organiser and sponsor.
Winners will bear all the expenses for travel costs and other incidentals relating to their appearance at the national launch, oral presentation and national level award ceremony.
Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for cash or credit.
The organiser reserves the right to substitute the prize(s) with another product of similar retail value without prior notice.
All participating students need to have a valid passport at the time of application.
Only international grand title winners that have been awarded the title of Asia Young Designer of the Year are not allowed to participate in future AYDA Awards competition. We welcome repeat applications whenever possible.

Disclaimer

I hereby certify that the information above is true and accurate. This work is intended solely for the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) 2023
In compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA), your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties except for companies and/or brands collaborating with the Nippon Paint Malaysia. By submitting your data, you agree to have Nippon Paint Malaysia to process your data and access it for future use. You shall not in any way hold Nippon Paint Malaysia liable for any breach of its obligations under the PDPA.

WELCOME!

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Thank You for your interest!

Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Championing Purposeful Design

Which category are you interested in?

WELCOME!

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Thank You for your interest!

Theme of the Year CONVERGE: Championing Purposeful Design

Which category are you interested in?

Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Championing Purposeful Design