On 3 August 2021, the organisers of the Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design (VFCD) 2021 announced the winners of the VFCD Graphic Design Contest 2021: Key Visual & Creative Merchandise. The competition ran online from 14 June to 3 August 2021 under the theme ‘Creative Future: How the cultural and creative industries enhance the social and economic development of Vietnam and promote the smart development of Vietnam’s major cities’.
VFCD Graphic Design Contest 2021’s panel of expert judges selected the winners based on five criteria including creativity, innovation, symbolic thinking, branding orientation, and inspiration.
The Dean of the RMIT School of Communication & Design Professor Julia Gaimster commented on the quality of the contestants’ entries:
“I am impressed with the contestants’ professionalism. They showed us very clear, professional, forward thinking and well researched presentations. They are talented in the use of technology, with many innovative ideas that would appeal to a variety of audiences.”
Nguyen Ngoc Thu, a 21-year-old from Hanoi, won the best design concept. Three awards for inspiring ideas were granted to Nguyen Hoang Manh Khang, 26, from HCMC, Ngo Nguyen Thuy Anh, 22, from Helsinki, and Ngo Quang Trung, 22, from HCMC.
Nguyen Ngoc Thu’s design concept for VFCD 2021 will be developed further and provide the key visuals to be applied throughout the festival. She will be featured as the Creative Partner of VFCD 2021, and will take home a prize worth 25 million VND.
The three contestants who won the inspiring ideas awards will receive an honorary gift of 5 million VND each.
All four winners will be featured in a public talk about the graphic design idea for VFCD 2021.
The VFCD Graphic Design Contest: Key Visual and Creative Merchandise attracted 37 individuals and groups of Vietnamese contestants aged 18-30 from all over Vietnam and abroad.
The contest was beneficial to the contestants, and also to hundreds of young designers and audiences who directly participated in the two workshops organised by VFCD 2021. Reputable design company Hands Collective led a session called Designing Key Visuals & Creative Merchandise: The Dos and Don’ts. Behalf Studio, the innovative designers behind the impressive key visuals of the previous two editions of VFCD, presented a workshop called From VFMD to VFCD and beyond: What we’ve learnt.
Background:
The Vietnam Festival of Creativity & Design (VFCD), now in its third year, is organised by RMIT University in Vietnam, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Vietnam National Institute of Culture & Arts Studies (VICAS) and COLAB Vietnam. The festival combines inspirational, informative events and diverse creative experiences, open to anyone interested in, and passionate about, creativity and design.
As part of the Festival, VFCD Graphic Design Contest 2021: Key Visual & Creative Merchandise was implemented with the support of SOVICO Group.
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Information about the winners
The winning idea:
Nguyễn Ngọc Thư, 21 years old, from Hanoi
With the design concept: Balancing the intersections
“The design is inspired by a street vendor with her carrying pole swinging on her shoulder on a hot summer midday, a flower vendor riding her bicycle through the quiet Old Quarters every afternoon, the ferry boats lying next to one another after a day of hard work in the Mekong Delta, or the wooden dragonfly swaying on the tip of our fingers (a childhood toy)… All evoke in me a sense of balance… Balancing between the old and the new, between the modern yet chaotic life…”
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The inspiring ideas include:
1/ Nguyễn Hoàng Mạnh Khang, 26 years old, from Ho Chi Minh City
With the design concept: The harmony of the symbolic elements
“The key visual applies a combination of the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ elements, from which twelve icons represent twelve industries of ‘soft elements’ and three icons representing groups of ‘hard elements’ are formed. Icons belonging to the group of ‘soft elements’ are made up of outstanding characteristics, historical stories or cultural features associated with each industry.”
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2/ Ngô Nguyễn Thúy Anh, 22 years old, from Helsinki, Finland
With the design concept: Five colors flags and symbolic shapes of Vietnamese culture
“The flag element is inspired by the Five-colors flag (inspiration of the main color palette) – a symbol of cultural value. The twisted circle speaks for expansion, while the cubic shapes indicate social and economic development. These elements are also flexibly formulated into representative posters of the 3 big cities within the festival’s format.”
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3/ Ngô Quang Trung, 22 years old, from Ho Chi Minh City
With the design concept: The future of everything always comes from the present.
“Creative Future’ was born based on the idea that ‘The future is the summation of creativity and innovation in the present’, when a ‘creative future’ dream could absolutely come true, starting with the most basic design tools and shapes.”
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Further media information and interview:
(HCMC) Ms Le Mong Thuy, Senior Communications Coordinator, RMIT University – (84) 975 666 773, thuy.le@rmit.edu.vn
(Hanoi) Ms Hoang Minh Ngoc, Communications Specialist, RMIT University – (84) 93 606 8571, ngoc.hoangminh@rmit.edu.vn
