18 Local Emerging Talents Honoured
HONG KONG, Nov. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) announced the winners of the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2026. Following a rigorous selection process based on a comprehensive assessment of candidates’ design portfolios, personal development plans, and commitment to contributing to Hong Kong’s design and creative industries, the panel of professional judges chose 18 outstanding emerging designers from diverse design fields, including Communication Design, Fashion & Accessory Design, Spatial Design, Service & Experience Design, and Product & Industrial Design.
Established in 2005, with the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the HKSAR Government as the lead sponsor, one of the HKDC flagship programmes ‘DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award’, has been nurturing and supporting local up-and-coming design practitioners and design graduates aged 18 to 35. To date, over 180 designers have received financial sponsorship of up to HK$500,000 to undertake work attachments of 6 to 12 months at renowned overseas design firms, or to pursue further studies of 6 to 18 months at top design institutions. These experiences allow talent to gain valuable design experience, broaden their horizons, and inject fresh thinking into the local creative industries.
While this year’s 18 awardees are emerging talent, they demonstrate a level of professional maturity and industry impact far beyond their years. Representing a dynamic mix of independent fashion brand founders, senior industrial designers from global enterprises, and practitioners preparing to launch their own studios, these young visionaries exemplify remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and leadership potential. In terms of creative approach, the awardees combine rigorous research frameworks with practical expertise, addressing pressing urban and community challenges with deep empathy. Anchored in Hong Kong yet driven by a global outlook, the awardees aspire to broaden their perspectives through overseas learning and internship opportunities. Upon their return, they are dedicated to building home-grown brands with international reach, driving industry transformation and upgrade, and nurturing the next generation of creative talent.
Mr Steve Leung, BBS, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre, stated: ‘Hong Kong’s unique environment and cultural diversity provide rich soil for our young designers. This year’s awardees demonstrate profound local humanistic warmth by engaging deeply with the community, while also engaging internationally through an avant-garde design language. Hong Kong Design Centre remains fully committed to empowering these emerging talents, supporting them as they absorb design insights through overseas attachments and advanced studies to enrich local industries with forward-looking perspectives.’
The award ceremony for the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2026 will be held on 18 November this year, where awardees will be officially recognised. Hong Kong Design Centre remains deeply committed to nurturing local creative talent and will continue to unite the next generation of creative forces and propelling Hong Kong’s creative industries forward over the long term.
Please click here to download the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award press kit for the full list of awardees and their biographies or visit the official website: ydta.dfaawards.com.
About DFA Awards (dfaawards.com/en/)
Since 2003, the Hong Kong Design Centre has launched the DFA Awards to underpin the role of designers in society, to celebrate design leadership and exemplary designs and projects with commercial success or impact in Asia, as well as to recognise the rising force of emerging designers in Hong Kong. The DFA Awards, through its seven major award programmes, has grown in its international influence in Asia. The seven award programmes include DFA Lifetime Achievement Award, DFA Design Leadership Award, DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer, DFA Designer of the Year, DFA Asian Design Vanguard, DFA Design for Asia Awards and DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award.
About DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (ydta.dfaawards.com/en/)
DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA), established in 2005, aims to nurture up-and-coming design practitioners and design graduates aged 18-35.
Sponsored by Cultural & Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong Design Institute, School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Andre Fu Arts Foundation, awardees may receive financial sponsorship to work in renowned design companies for 6 to 12 months or study abroad for 6 to 18 months outside Hong Kong.
DFA HKYDTA allows awardees to develop their skills, unleash their potential and bring different ideas back to Hong Kong, contributing to the city’s design and creative industries upon their return.
About Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) (www.hkdesigncentre.org/en/)
Hong Kong Design Centre is a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government in leveraging the city’s East-meets-West advantage to create value from design.
The major programmes include Business of Design Week, bodw Future Lab, DFA Awards, Fashion Asia Hong Kong and DESIGN@HKG (formerly BODW In the City). Since 2024, we have also been operating the DX design hub in Sham Shui Po, dedicated to fostering emerging design talents and facilitating collaborations and exchanges in the design industry, as well as providing visitors an immersive experience through innovative exhibitions, fashion showcases and cultural events.
To achieve our goals, we:
- Cultivate a culture of design
- Bridge stakeholders to opportunities that unleash the power of design
- Promote excellence in various design disciplines
About Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/)
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024. CCIDA is a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. CCIDA’s strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to some of HKDC’s activities/projects only and does not otherwise take part in such funded activities/projects. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication and relevant materials/events (or by members of the project teams) are those of HKDC only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.
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