Shenzhen Design Week 2020 was held from the 15th to the 30th of August. This year’s main activities were presented online under the theme of “Virtual Design | Infinite Creativity” with ten key events including “Shenzhen Design for 40 Years”, the theme exhibition, the Greater Bay Area Design Exhibition and many more. Over 800 designers in 33 design organizations from 20 countries and regions around the world presented their projects and shared their ideas virtually. More than 40 satellite events at 20 different venues were held online or offline across the city. In those 16 days, the city of Shenzhen experienced an unrivaled creative frenzy.

 

---

Shenzhen Design Week 2020 – Annual Designers Exhibition

Shenzhen Design Week is the largest global design event ever held in Shenzhen, as it sets out to be a global platform for exchanges, promotion, exhibition, education and trading.

The 2020 Designers Exhibition, themed “Crossover & Integration”, were presented in several sections, including the online exhibition, the smart design marketing project, the crossover forum, and the Design Marathon. At the event, a pioneering design exhibition area was designated to showcase the achievements of the young designers.

  

---

Guest Country Pavilion the Netherlands – Water as Leverage for Sustainable Development

The Netherlands, the guest country of honor at the 2020 Shenzhen Design Week, is a leading nation in water management in the broadest sense, and enjoys global acknowledgement for its ability to address multiple problems with the unifying power of design. The Dutch approach of designing by, with and despite water shares the same philosophy of China’s water management practice throughout its long history. At this year’s Shenzhen Design Week, the Netherlands presented “Water as Leverage for Sustainable Development: A Call to Action by Design”, in the hope of preparing Shenzhen to “take the lead in creating a beautiful Chinese model of harmonious co-existence of humans and nature”.

 

---

Shenzhen Design for 40 Years: The Power of the Era

The special online event themed “The Power of the Era” revisited the great achievements of “Shenzhen Design” over the past four decades through three sections, namely Grand Achievements (exhibition), 40 Years’ Journey (interviews) and Shenzhen Value (literature). Presented in a diverse collection of exhibits and events, the event explores the future development and the position of “Shenzhen Design” in the world arena to further upgrade it as the city’s brand.

 

---

Leonardo Da Vinci Science Exhibition

The Leonardo Da Vinci Science Exhibition, the theme exhibition of the Shenzhen Design Week 2020, represents the highest level of technicality of this year’s event. The exhibition is a guaranteed magical feast for the audience, as it takes the viewers on a journey of the life of the legendary artist with cutting-edge technologies. During the exhibition, the visitors can join the cloud-based event via their mobile phone anywhere, anytime. The life story of Leonardo interpreted through the lens of Shenzhen, a “future city” of infinite possibilities, is just one tap away.

 

---

Design in the Epidemic

The feature exhibition, The Design in Epidemic, told the touching stories of “the battle against the epidemic” in a visual language through design, to pay the highest tribute to the people who had dedicated themselves to this fight. The exhibition was divided into two sections, the Poster Exhibition of Global Battle Against the Epidemic and the Wuhan Design Exhibition for Battling Against the Epidemic. In the former section, 63 posters from more than 30 creative cities from the UCCN network and 17 countries showing their support to Wuhan were on display.

 

---

Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents

Shenzhen Design Award for Young Talents (SDAY), co-initiated by the city of Shenzhen and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2013, is a major cultural event listed on the Shenzhen City Culture Menu. It is an international exchange platform for recognizing outstanding young designers from the 246 UNESCO Creative Cities. The 4th SDAY adopted the theme “Inclusive Design”, consisting of Excellent Design Exhibition, Awarding Ceremony, Fight the COVID-19 | Poster Exhibition, and Creative City Exhibition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Awarding Ceremony was, for the first time, hosted online to create an environment where design transcended national boundaries, giving the young designers the opportunity to showcase themselves, The Grant Award was given to Emma Strydom from Cape Town, South Africa, a UNESCO Creative City of Design newly designated in 2019.

 

---

Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Digital Creative Design Exhibition

Held for the first time as part of the Shenzhen Design Week, Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Digital Creative Design Exhibition revisited the trajectory of the digital creative industry in China with integrated resources from three cities – Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macao. Approximately 40 industrial leaders and creative businesses from Shenzhen were invited to the exhibition, including Huawei, BYD, Mindray, Han’s Laser, Fantawild, Artron and TCL, to show the city’s strength in the digital creative business. Hong Kong and Macao presented the content focusing on “digital science + art”, which represented the creativity of the artists and reflected the locals’ lifestyles and inherited culture.

 

---

Design Forum – Values of Design

Hosted by Shenzhen Design Week & Global Design Award Organizing Committee, organized by China Merchants Shekou Holdings·Sea World Culture and Arts Center, and presented by Design Society, the Design Forum of the 2020 Shenzhen Design Week took “Values of Design” as its theme. A series of five symposiums were staged focusing on five topics: Designing Social Distancing, Designing Museums for the Future, Designing Cities, Seeking the Invisible, and The Observer of the Commodity Chain. It was also a key program of Go (online)! Design Society (Go! DS) 2020. Taking place online, 25 leading figures from the global design scene gathered to explore the impact and potential of design on our society, urban development, culture, technology and manufacturing.

 

---

Shenzhen Design Expo

In addition to the other existing key sections, the Design Expo, which was launched last year, remained a highlight of the virtual Design Week 2020. The Expo is a key event linking the exhibitions with business. The Design Alley, organized by Shenzhen City of Design Promotion Association (SPDA), was a virtual community where people could visit all six districts of the community online. The online shops of the Design Alley allowed the exhibitors to display their products, recommend brands and disseminate culture values through the Design Week applet and the official website, to create a fully immersive experience for design enthusiasts.