MORE than 4,000 design works that won this year’s iF Design Awards will be exhibited in the Industrial Exhibition Hall in the Civic Center over the next three years. 

The exhibition opens Friday and is the first that the iF award committee will hold overseas. The iF Design Awards originated in Germany in 1953 and are among the largest and most important international design awards, often regarded as the “Design Oscars.” 

A total of 4,200 award-winning works will be displayed in six-month rotations over the next three years. The first batch, of 138 pieces, will be exhibited in the 800-square-meter hall. The first year of the exhibition includes two parts: thematic exhibitions and experiential activities. 

The design works cover various aspects of life and are exhibited as objects, in print and through multimedia displays. 

“We are trying to display the works in the most natural ways and in ultra-modern art forms,” organizers said. “By integrating the objects, spatial design, visual effects and art installations, we want to tell visitors that design exists everywhere in life.” 

A variety of design-related events will be held during the exhibition, including workshops, forums, award ceremonies and seminars led by award-winning designers, design companies and academics. 

Ralph Wiegman, president of the iF award committee, said the committee chose to set up its first overseas gallery in Shenzhen because the city has been a key player in many domestic and international design events. 

“(Shenzhen) has become a very international player, being very well-networked and having such good, strong connections all over the world,” Wiegman said. 

Shenzhen was the first city on the Chinese mainland to be given the title “City of Design” by UNESCO. The city accounts for more than 60 percent of China’s industrial design industry and is home to about 5,000 design companies and organizations. 

Shirley Feng, secretary general of Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, said the exhibition will promote innovative design concepts among local designers, improve the public’s knowledge of design and attract international high-end design companies and service agencies to set up branches in Shenzhen. 

Co-organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Science, Industry, Trade and Information Technology Commission, Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association and Shenzhen Industrial Exhibition Hall, the exhibition is one of a series of activities celebrating the fifth anniversary of the local industrial design association. 

About SIDA

SHENZHEN Industrial Design Profession Association (SIDA) was founded May 30, 2008. It is a first-level industrial association and a nonprofit social organization supported by the Shenzhen government. 

The association’s membership has grown from 49 to more than 500 in the past five years. SIDA was the first professional organization in China to join the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. It co-initiated the National Industrial Design Industry Innovation Alliance and the User Experience Design Committee, the first of its kind in China.

SIDA is an authorized partner of several renowned international design awards, including iF, Reddot and G-MARK. It also was a strategic partner of the 2011 Taipei World Design Expo. The association has built cooperative relationships with design centers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Israel, India, Singapore, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Last year, it made its way for the first time to the design world’s highest standard exhibition — 100% Design in London. It has also been invited to many other international design events, including Munich Design Week and Florence Design Week.