The winners of the Launch Pad Asia 2015 design competition were announced on 20 November at the Clestra showroom as part of Hong Kong Indesign.

They were Kenny Hong for his submission, Sheep, a full-length one-way mirror featuring customisable 3D printed parts including a holder to hang the mirror, a tray for keys and other small items, and a charging dock for one’s handphone; and Aaron Lim for his entry, Mirage, a lamp that reflects water patterns on surfaces.

The Sheep by Kenny Hong (Singapore)

More than a design competition for emerging designers, Launch Pad nurtures talent by bringing them onto a region-wide stage and offering career guidance from established industry figures. Winners of Launch Pad go on to be mentored by a judge of their choosing following the competition.

Founded and run by Indesign Media Asia Pacific, the programme has been held annually across Australia since 2004, and has been responsible for launching careers and providing pathways for emerging designers across the country.

Mirage by Aaron Lim (Singapore)

The Asia edition is now in its second cycle, with the first held in Singapore last year. The judges for 2015 include David Chiu, Founder of aluminium; Johnny Li, Managing Director for and on behalf of YILINE for LI&Co; and Sean Dix, Founder of Dix Design+Architecture.

Commenting on this year’s entries, Sean Dix says that they showed “interesting attempts at defining challenges and finding solutions.”

On the winners, David Chiu says he found Mirage “most interesting,” adding that a successful design “should both serve a function and convey an emotion” and that Mirage succeeded in doing both.

Dix’s advise to all Launch Pad Asia participants and other budding designers is to apprentice themselves to designers that they respect and admire before setting out on their own. He adds, “Learn as much as possible about the history of design and what your peers are doing internationally. Think about context – how is your design going to fit into an existing space populated by other designs?”