Paint brand invests in young design talent

NYPDA Learning trip for the winners. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

NIPSEA group, the parent company of Nippon Paint ASIA, has gained recognition by its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs - Color, Way of Love and Colourful Dreams. As a leading total coatings provider in Asia, NIPSEA group takes on the leadership role revolutionising the paint industry by hosting the Nippon Paint Young Designer Award (NPYDA), an annual competition aiming at sparking greater creativity and inspirations amongst architecture and interior design students. Introduced in 2008 by Nippon Paint Malaysia Group, NPYDA has extended its reach across 13 countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Offering two competition categories, Architecture and Interior Design, NPYDA is a platform for young talents to share their ideas with industry experts.

Wee SiewKim, CEO of NIPSEA group, said, "Nippon Paint Young Designer Award (NPYDA) is a demonstration of our belief in the early engagement of young talents. The award started in Malaysia 8 years ago, with the goal to provide a platform for students to showcase their creative flair. This platform now welcomes participants from some 13 countries. The eco, sustainability and green themes of competitions are intended to promote key considerations that we hope would be reflected in innovative and attractive designs and structure of the future."

NPYDA is an opportunity for students to showcase their design, and also a total learning experience. NIPSEA group hosts a learning trip, where the winners from 13 countries get to compete and network with one another. In this grand finale event, internationally acclaimed industry professionals are invited to coach and assess these young talents on how to improve and present their designs.

With the success of NPYDA, NIPSEA group has raised the design standards through the competition themes that incorporate environmental-friendly, sustainability, and community-based elements in the designs. In 2015, the theme for NPYDA will be "Design with a Heart: For a sustainable future with people in mind", to spur young interior designers and architects in concepts that infuse convenience, practicality and purpose into living, working and leisure spaces. The theme means to challenge the designers to think of design concepts that will benefit people from all walks of life, including the elderly, the young, nursing mothers and the disabled, amongst others. For more information about the competition, please visit: www.youngdesigneraward.com.my

2015 NPYDA theme will be "Design with a Heart: For a sustainable future with people in mind."

In 2016, NPYDA will be rebranded as the Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA), to reflect its expanded scale, reach and stature in Asia. NIPSEA group will continue to come up with thought-provoking themes that reflect the changes and challenges of our times, and engage industry experts with young designers all over Asia to stimulate young talents’ imagination and creativity in environmental-friendly design.