After 135 days of evaluating nearly 2,000 candidates, the more than 70 campaign judges finally decided on nine worthy gold award winners at the 2016 China Excellent Industrial Design, the top design award in the nation.

The winning designers received their awards at the opening ceremony of the first World Industrial Design Conference on Dec 2 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

The products included home appliances, textiles, medical equipment, vehicles and smart robots.

Liu Guanzhong, a campaign judge and professor at Tsinghua University, said that the designs increasingly focused on the core industries, such as equipment manufacturing, marking a "praiseworthy shift" seen at this year's event.

"The designs must contribute to the increase of China's industrial strength," he said.

One of the award-winning products, a water purifier from Beijing-based Xiaomi Inc, had already won five international design awards, including the Red Dot Design Award from Germany. It uses an integrated water circuit to prevent leaks and reduce the gadget's size.

The company has filed about 40 patent applications relating to the design.

"Good design should not be placed aside when creating products. It should reflect the communication between designers and consumers," said Fu Yueming, chief designer of Goodbaby Group, a toy and baby product manufacturer.

Fu's award-winning design is a baby stroller that weighs less than 5 kilograms and can be folded within seconds to fit in a 20-inch suitcase, which can be carried on a plane.

Another product recognized at the awards was Haier Group Corp's washing machine that features two vertically installed drums, so that rinsing water from the top drum can be reused in the bottom drum to save water.

Wu Jian, head of Haier's innovative design center, said industrial designs have played an important role in industrial upgrading. "When Haier invests 1 yuan ($0.15) in industrial design, it generates about 200 yuan revenue in return," he said.

A robotic system for minimally invasive surgeries and the interior layout of the MA700 aircraft cockpit also made the list of winners.

The 2016 China Excellent Industrial Design campaign kicked off in July, as the first round of awards to be held since 2012. The three-day World Industrial Design Conference, during which the results were announced, attracted about 500 industry insiders from 50 international organizations.

The Mengqi area in Hangzhou's Liangzhu township is the permanent venue of the conference. It is home to around 70 design companies, having attracted more than 400 professionals and investment of 1.6 billion yuan.

"The key issue for industrial design is intellectual property protection," said Huang Dewei, director of Liangzhu's administrative committee. He said an IP protection center will be built, and the area will become a promotion and trade center for industrial design.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 12/07/2016 page17)