Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC) has announced the winners of the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2026, honouring 18 local emerging designers. The panel of professional judges made its selection after a rigorous process assessing candidates' design portfolios, personal development plans, and commitment to contributing to Hong Kong's design and creative industries.

The awardees represent diverse design fields, including Communication Design, Fashion & Accessory Design, Spatial Design, Service & Experience Design, and Product & Industrial Design.

A Programme Running Since 2005

Established in 2005, the DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award is one of HKDC's flagship programmes, with the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the HKSAR Government as the lead sponsor. It nurtures and supports 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. According to HKDC, these experiences allow talent to gain valuable design experience, broaden their horizons, and inject fresh thinking into the local creative industries.

This Year's Cohort

HKDC described the 18 awardees as emerging talent who demonstrate professional maturity and industry impact far beyond their years. The group is a dynamic mix of independent fashion brand founders, senior industrial designers from global enterprises, and practitioners preparing to launch their own studios.

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, they aspire to broaden their perspectives through overseas learning and internship opportunities. Upon their return, HKDC said, they are dedicated to building home-grown brands with international reach, driving industry transformation and upgrade, and nurturing the next generation of creative talent.

Chairman's Remarks

Mr Steve Leung, BBS, Chairman of Hong Kong Design Centre, said: "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."

Ceremony and Recognition

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. HKDC said it remains deeply committed to nurturing local creative talent and will continue to unite the next generation of creative forces and propel Hong Kong's creative industries forward over the long term.

About the Award and Its Sponsors

HKDC describes the programme as allowing 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 the DFA Awards

Since 2003, Hong Kong Design Centre has run 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
  • DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award

About Hong Kong Design Centre

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. Its 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, HKDC has also operated 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.

HKDC states that it works to cultivate a culture of design, bridge stakeholders to opportunities that unleash the power of design, and promote excellence in various design disciplines.

About CCIDA

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, providing one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors.

Its mission is 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 its positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.