Best judged at design awards

Judges of the 2020 Canton Fair Design Awards conducted their final evaluation round on Saturday at the ongoing 128th Canton Fair, which has moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thirteen experts in industrial design, quality inspection and education served on the panel of judges to bestow honors on the best-designed export products.

The 2020 Canton Fair Design Awards, or the CF Awards, received a total of 1,966 entries submitted by 932 companies. After preliminary rounds of evaluation by representatives of major overseas buyers, Chinese and international designers, and experts from business associations and quality inspection and testing institutions, 692 entries designed by 274 companies were shortlisted for the final round of evaluation.

To make sure the best products won, the final evaluation process was further optimized this year. The award-winning entries needed to go through three rounds of evaluation before claiming honors.

A number of judges said it was commendable that many companies still made the effort to come up with innovative designs despite difficulties caused by the pandemic. Compared with previous editions, the quality of this year’s finalists showed great improvement, particularly in terms of workmanship, attention to detail and focus on people.

To encourage innovation, the Canton Fair has put the logo of the event on the award-winning products so that buyers can quickly locate them when browsing the virtual stalls of the fair.

Since its launch in 2013, the CF Awards has played a key role in driving the high-quality development of the Canton Fair. Over the past seven years, it has been devoted to commending Chinese export products with outstanding design and market value, which are promoted at the Canton Fair to help their producers gain more recognition and seal more deals.

Professor He Renke, who has headed the judging panel since the first edition of the awards, said the CF Awards is committed to introducing the latest innovative industrial designs from China to overseas buyers and consumers.

Participating companies and designers can better understand the needs of overseas consumers, thereby enhancing the international competitiveness of their products.

Also present at the evaluation session were Wen Zhongliang, deputy secretary-general of the Canton Fair and deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Centre, and Zhou Shanqing, deputy secretary-general of the Canton Fair and secretary of the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the China Foreign Trade Centre.