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DFA Awards 2025 Celebrates Stellar Lineup of Global Design Icons Launches Pioneering DFA Asian Design Vanguard
Launched in 2003, supported by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the lead sponsor, the DFA Awards continues its mission to honour extraordinary individuals and projects that have made a lasting impact in Asia, recognising the industry giants whose work has fundamentally shaped our world. The 2025 awardees represent a diverse spectrum of design excellence, including Don NORMAN, DFA Lifetime Achievement Award (DFA LAA) winner; Christina ONG, DFA Design Leadership Award (DFA DLA) winner; MA Yansong, DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer (DFA WOCD) winner; André FU, DFA Designer of the Year (DFA DOY) winner; and Rahul MISHRA, DFA Asian Design Vanguard (DFA ADV) winner.
This year, the DFA Awards introduced the new accolade of the DFA Asian Design Vanguard with the aim to honour the contributions of Asian designers in any region of the world, who have strong vision to redefine global demand through design. This designer demonstrated the innovation of creativity, impacting market with significant commercial success locally and globally. Parallelly, has created cultural influence through design or cross-industry reach. To synchronise the new award programme, the trophy, designed by esteemed designer Mui KINOSHITA, features a triangular cut-out at its centre that symbolises A-D-V, dramatically frames light and shadow to create dynamic views from every angle to distinguish the Award’s eminent status.
Mr. Joseph LO, Chairman of HKDC, said, “This year’s cohort of laureates represents a powerful convergence of legacy and future-forward thinking. We see a profound depth of contribution, from Don NORMAN’s foundational theories that inspired us on how to interact with the world through design, to Christina ONG’s visionary leadership in designing global lifestyle empires that seamlessly bridge fashion, hospitality and wellness. We also celebrate the distinct design languages of MA Yansong and André FU blending the modern and cultural element to a stylish living. The inaugural DFA Asian Design Vanguard award allows us to honour a unique creative force, Rahul MISHRA, whose work is fundamentally influential and setting a new benchmark for what Asian design can connect social change and cultural preservation.”
DFA Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 (DFA LAA)
Don NORMAN
Founding Director emeritus
Design Lab, University of California, San Diego
Don NORMAN is a visionary leader who has profoundly shaped how we interact with technology. Renowned for championing the principle that design must serve people, his work seamlessly bridges the gap between social sciences and engineering, bringing a deep human perspective to product creation. His influential career includes pivotal leadership roles in the industry, such as Vice President of Advanced Technology at Apple, Executive at Hewlett Packard, and Founding Director of the Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego, which has inspired generations of designers, engineers, and business leaders worldwide. His ideas have been so transformative that Business Week (now known as Bloomberg Businessweek) once named him one of the world’s 27 most influential designers.
NORMAN’s exceptional contributions have been recognised with numerous honours, including lifetime achievement awards from ACM (Association for Computing Machinery), and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. His ongoing global impact is reflected in his advisory roles at leading institutions like Tongji University and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The DFA Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 celebrates Don NORMAN’s profound legacy — a career dedicated not just to humanising technology, but to empowering us all through design that is intuitive, accessible, and deeply respectful of human experience. His pioneering concepts have become the foundational lexicon for the entire field, ensuring that his principles will continue to guide the creation of meaningful technology for generations to come.
DFA Design Leadership Award 2025 (DFA DLA)
Christina ONG
Founder
COMO Group
Christina ONG is a visionary of global luxury, renowned for building an empire that seamlessly spans fashion, hospitality, and wellness. As founder of the COMO Group, her impeccable taste and astute leadership have established her as Singapore’s preeminent style icon and a powerful shaper of international lifestyle trends across five decades.
Her journey began in 1972 with Club21, a single Singapore boutique she expanded into a global network of luxury stores across Asia and beyond. Her strategic acumen drove the celebrated revival of British luxury brand Mulberry. Her transformative vision extends to hospitality, where her Group owns a collection of award-winning Asian properties including Metropolitan Bangkok, Uma Ubud in Bali, and Uma Paro in Bhutan. Central to her philosophy is COMO Shambhala, a pioneering wellness brand that integrates holistic well-being focused on balancing mind, body and spirit into each property, from urban retreats to resort sanctuaries. These achievements have earned her honours including the Italian Cavaliere del Lavoro award and the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame.
The DFA Design Leadership Award 2025 celebrates Christina ONG for masterfully curating a global lifestyle aesthetic that merges commerce with culture, and architecting complete ecosystems of luxury that empower artisans, champion wellness and set timeless standards of excellence. Her career stands as a powerful testament to how visionary leadership can redefine an industry through design and conscious enterprise.
DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer 2025 (DFA WOCD)
MA Yansong
Founder
MAD Architects
Beijing-born MA Yansong is synonymous with the leading voice in a new generation of architecture. His vision is to create a future where cities balance humanity, nature, and the environment through futuristic, organic designs that reflect a contemporary Eastern affinity for nature.
Notable projects that embody this philosophy include the sprawling Quzhou Sports Park, the dynamic Shenzhen Bay Culture Park, the visionary Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, and the immersive Tunnel of Light in Japan. His significant contributions have been recognised with honours such as being named to the ’20 Most Influential Young Architects’ list by ICON, a British design and architecture magazine, in 2008, receiving the RIBA International Fellowship in 2010, being selected as a Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum in 2014, and being named one of the TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2025.
The DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer 2025 honours MA Yansong for his groundbreaking contributions to architecture and urban design, celebrating his visionary approach that integrates humanistic values, the poetic essence of nature, and cutting-edge technological innovation. His work continuously reshapes the future of our urban environments and demonstrates exceptional creative leadership, establishing a new paradigm for what Chinese designer can achieve on the global design stage.
DFA Designer of the Year 2025 (DFA DOY)
André FU
Founder
André Fu Studio
DFA Asian Design Vanguard 2025 (DFA ADV)
Rahul MISHRA
Founder & Creative Director
Rahul Mishra
Rahul MISHRA, a pioneering Indian designer, is renowned for integrating traditional craftsmanship with global haute couture. He made history as the first Indian designer invited to showcase at Paris Haute Couture Week, following his 2014 International Woolmark Prize win. In 2023, the French government also honoured him with the “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” for his contributions.
MISHRA champions “mindful luxury,” using fashion as a force for empowerment. Through his couture line and ready-to-wear brand, AFEW Rahul Mishra (AFEW), he creates sustainable employment for over a thousand Indian artisans. His work has drawn acclaim from industry legends; fashion critic and former International Vogue editor Suzy Menkes calls him a “national treasure.” AFEW offers effortless luxury inspired by nature’s elements—Air, Fire, Earth, and Water—blending timeless style with modern wearability. Both his couture and ready-to-wear collections are available at his flagship stores in Mumbai, New Delhi, and Hyderabad, and through international retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, cementing his influence on the global fashion stage.
The inaugural DFA Asian Design Vanguard 2025 celebrates Rahul MISHRA as a visionary who is redefining the fashion industry, proving that design can be a powerful vehicle for social change, cultural preservation, and ecological responsibility. By creating a sustainable bridge between Indian artisans and the global fashion market, he demonstrates how luxury can be both beautiful and benevolent. His work offers a compelling blueprint for a more conscious and interconnected design future.
Hashtag: #DFA #HongKongDesignCentre #HKDC #DFAAwards #DonNORMAN #ChristinaONG #MAYansong #AndréFu #RahulMISHRA #DFALifetimeAchievementAward #DFADesignLeadershipAward #DFAWorldsOutstandingChineseDesigner #DFADesigneroftheYear #DFAAsianDesignVanguard
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About DFA Awards (www.dfaawards.com)
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 Hong Kong Design Centre (www.hkdesigncentre.org)
Hong Kong Design Centre is a strategic partner of the HKSAR Government, harnessing the city’s distinctive East-meets-West position to create value through design.
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)
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) established in June 2024, formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK), is a dedicated office set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative industries with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and cross-genre collaboration, promoting the development of arts, culture and creative sectors as industries under the industry-oriented principle, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia’s creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community to implement Hong Kong’s positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
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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CP AXTRA Achieves 88/100 DJSI Sustainability Score Ranks 2nd Globally in the Food & Staples Retailing Sector, Reinforcing Its Global Leadership in Retail and Wholesale Sustainability
Mr. Tanin Buranamanit, Group Chief Executive Officer of CP AXTRA Public Company Limited, stated, “CP AXTRA’s score of 88 out of 100 and its 2nd place global ranking in the Food & Staples Retailing sector reflect our strong commitment to driving sustainability through concrete actions and impactful initiatives. Sustainability is embedded across our daily business operations, particularly through systematic waste management throughout the value chain to reduce environmental impact, while creating social value and operating under good corporate governance. We are also advancing toward our goals of Carbon Neutrality by 2030 and Net Zero emissions by 2050, supporting stable growth and long-term sustainable value creation.”
In 2025, CP AXTRA implemented a series of intensive environmental initiatives under the “AXTRA Zero Waste: Less Waste, More Value” concept. These efforts reduced landfill waste by more than 31,700 tonnes, including over 15,000 tonnes of food waste and more than 16,755 tonnes of recyclable waste. The Company also operated a plastic bottle take-back program through Makro and Lotus’s stores nationwide, collecting more than 2.2 million bottles. Together, these initiatives helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 109,649 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), equivalent to the carbon-absorption capacity of approximately 11 million trees. CP AXTRA also expanded the use of clean energy by installing solar rooftop systems at distribution centers and more than 1,384 Makro and Lotus’s stores, alongside the rollout of a clean-energy delivery fleet of more than 300 electric vehicles, reducing environmental impacts across the value chain.
Additionally, the Company continues to strengthen its social and governance performance through employee capability development, respect for human rights, and the creation of career opportunities for farmers and SMEs nationwide under its “Platform of Opportunity” program. The initiative supports the local economy, with a combined value exceeding 30 billion baht, by connecting entrepreneurs to standardized wholesale and retail systems, generating income and long-term economic stability, and promoting equality, diversity, and fair labor practices.
The 2025 S&P Global CSA results reinforces CP AXTRA’s leadership in elevating Thailand’s wholesale and retail standards to the global level, while creating sustainable value for all stakeholders.
Hashtag: #CPAXTRA #ซีพีแอ็กซ์ตร้า #Makro #Lotuss #CPAXT #DJSI #SPGlobal #Sustainability #ESG #ขยะเป็นศูนย์ประโยชน์เป็นแสน #ลดทิ้งสร้างค่าAXTRAZeroWaste #FoodWasteManagement
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About CP AXTRA Public Company Limited
CP AXTRA Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of CP Group, operates Asia’s leading wholesaler and retailer, “Makro” and “Lotus’s.’ The Company is based in Thailand, with operation across 10 countries. CP AXTRA is committed to fulfilling people’s lives with good health, love, joy, and well-being by providing solutions and meeting customers’ daily needs with technology, innovation, and operational excellence. With over 30 years of retail experience, CP AXTRA is a trusted partner for both B2B and B2C customers, offering a comprehensive range of products and services. Today, it manages over 2,700 offline stores in Thailand and Asia, with strong online presence.
Changhong is accelerating the integration of AI across its home‑appliance lineup. Its panda-themed AI series merges this widely welcomed Chinese cultural symbol with AI capabilities, utilising anthropomorphic interaction, environmental sensing, and adaptive control to recreate a naturally intuitive and comforting user experience. The AI TV features the intelligent “Panda Xiaobai,” offering round-the-clock interaction. Complementing it, the AI refrigerator introduces cloud-based humidity control to maintain ingredients in an optimized freshness chamber, while the AI air conditioner delivers a gentle adaptive cooling experience reminiscent of a natural breeze. Completing the ecosystem, the AI washing machine employs triple-power cleaning for efficient fabric care. Blending everyday technology with humanistic warmth, Changhong aims to create smart home experiences that feel more intuitive and emotionally engaging.
Moreover, Changhong also unveiled several breakthroughs: The 100-inch RGB MiniLED TV, boasts an ultra-slim profile, an anti-glare display, and immersive audiovisual performance, complemented by industry-leading large-scale AI models like DeepSeek for enhanced voice interaction. The AI Air Manager 360° air conditioner extends beyond temperature control to incorporate air‑quality management, learning user habits to optimize comfort and energy efficiency. The full‑space preservation refrigerator applies AI freshness algorithms and dual‑system temperature control to eliminate odor mixing and temperature fluctuations. The AI washer‑dryer set intelligently identifies fabric types and automatically adjusts washing programs.
Changhong presents a holistic smart home ecosystem designed around user experience, further enhancing its visibility and presence in the international smart home landscape. Driven by its global “Technology + Sports” branding strategy, the brand has established an overseas network encompassing R&D, manufacturing, products, and services. Through intelligent sensing, natural interaction, and multi-scenario coordination, its AI appliances deliver a more efficient, convenient, and comfortable home experience, reflecting the Company’s forward-looking vision for smart living.
Through its fusion of AI innovation and vivid design, Changhong is shaping a distinct global brand presence, delivering smart home solutions that resonate both emotionally and technologically with users worldwide.
Hashtag: #Changhong
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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[CES 2026 Deep Dive] From Fingertips to the Stars: Lens Technology Debuts Aerospace-Grade UTG, Reshaping the LEO Satellite “Energy Canopy”
There are no flashy RGB lighting effects here, only a sheet of glass as thin as a cicada’s wing, being repeatedly rolled and unrolled like a tape measure. This is the public debut of Lens Technology’s aerospace-grade UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) photovoltaic encapsulation solution. This technology marks the official entry of the manufacturing titan—best known as a giant in the Apple supply chain—transferring its precision manufacturing capabilities from consumer electronics to humanity’s next trillion-dollar market: space infrastructure.
As leading global satellite companies begin the mass deployment of third-generation (V3) satellites, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) internet race is entering a “second half” defined by heavy payloads, long lifespans, and low costs. Lens Technology’s entry aims to untie the knot that has long plagued the aerospace industry: the trade-off between flexibility and durability.
Farewell to the “Plastic Feel”: The Material Battle in Space
At the Lens Technology booth, engineers demonstrated the core contradiction to the audience: Traditional aerospace solar cell covers are either heavy Cerium-doped Glass (CMG) or expensive Fused Silica, typically ranging from 100μm to 500μm in thickness. They are robust, but too heavy and impossible to bend.
To adapt to the massive power demands of next-generation satellites (such as those supporting direct-to-cell services), solar wing designs are rapidly evolving from rigid panels to Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSA-like structures). This shift forced designers to temporarily turn to polymer materials like transparent Polyimide (CPI).
“However, polymers have a fatal weakness in space,” explained a Lens Technology on-site technical lead. “The LEO environment is filled with high-energy Atomic Oxygen (AO) and strong UV radiation. Under long-term exposure, polymer molecular chains break, causing the material to yellow, become brittle, and suffer a drastic drop in light transmission. This efficiency decay was tolerable for early satellites with 5-7 year lifespans, but for the new generation of mega-constellations pursuing higher commercial returns, it is unacceptable.”
Lens Technology’s answer is Aerospace-Grade UTG. As an inorganic material, glass possesses innate “immunity” to Atomic Oxygen and UV aging, ensuring high light transmission throughout the satellite’s lifecycle. More importantly, its dense structure provides an effective barrier against water vapor and micrometeoroids, offering physical protection for delicate ultra-thin HJT or future Perovskite batteries.
The 30-Micron “Moat”: A Perfect Match for Next-Gen Satellites
In the demo area, a piece of glass only 30μm-50μm thick is bent to an astonishing radius of R1.5mm. This level of flexibility drew gasps from the audience.
This is exactly the characteristic most coveted by top global satellite companies today. To reduce the cost per launch, next-generation mega-satellites must be stowed with origami-like efficiency inside the rocket fairing. Lens Technology’s UTG solution allows solar wings to be tightly wound like a tape measure during launch, and instantly recover to a flat state upon orbital deployment.
However, making glass thin is the first step; keeping it from shattering during the violent vibration of a rocket launch is the real challenge.
Analysts point out that Lens Technology’s core competitiveness lies in its proprietary chemical strengthening processes and laser/diamond wire cutting technologies. Glass fractures often originate from micro-cracks invisible to the naked eye. Leveraging processes honed on foldable smartphones, Lens has significantly reduced the density of micro-defects on the glass edges and surfaces. This means that even under immense tension and vibration, this “glass skin” remains tough and resilient.
Dimensional Strike: Reshaping Aerospace Costs with “Consumer-Grade” Capacity
If technical specifications are the ticket to entry, then capacity and cost control are Lens Technology’s ultimate weapons.
“The logic of commercial space has changed; it is now the era of industrial mass production,” commented an industry analyst at the scene. Compared to the small-batch, lab-grade customization model of traditional aerospace glass manufacturers, Lens Technology brings the scale of consumer electronics manufacturing.
Facing the grand ambition of global satellite leaders planning to launch tens of thousands of satellites annually, supply chain elasticity is critical. Lens Technology stated that it has the capability to rapidly expand existing pilot lines or flexibly retrofit mass production lines. This potential for “ten-thousand-satellite scale” delivery and yield control can significantly lower the BOM (Bill of Materials) cost per satellite—addressing the most sensitive pain point for commercial space giants today.
Outlook: The New Cornerstone of Next-Gen Space Energy
At CES, Lens Technology also “spoiled” its future technology roadmap.
As Perovskite/Silicon tandem cells are viewed as the mainstream for future satellite power, UTG will serve not just as a cover, but as an encapsulation substrate. Lens Technology revealed it is developing next-generation composite UTG integrated with Anti-Static (ESD) coatings and Selective Radiation coatings, which will not only protect chips from electrostatic discharge damage but also assist in regulating battery temperature.
Although this business currently accounts for a tiny fraction of Lens Technology’s massive revenue and is in a period of intensive validation with global top-tier photovoltaic component manufacturers (Tier 2) and top commercial space clients (Tier 1), its signal significance cannot be ignored.
From smartphone screens to satellite wings, Lens Technology is proving that in the era of scaled expansion for space infrastructure, ground-based industrial giants possessing extreme craftsmanship and mass manufacturing capabilities will be indispensable “pavers” for the interstellar journey.
Hashtag: #LensTechnology
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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