On the 26th of September 2023, the second Frontier Design Prize (FDP) was officially announced during the opening ceremony of the annual World Design Cities Conference (WDCC). CHEN Jie, Vice Mayor of Shanghai, presented the Distinguished Contribution Prize to Yrjö Sotamaa, President Emeritus of University of Art and Design Helsinki, Founder and President Emeritus of Cumulus Association. CHEN Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, and numerous top designers, scholars and industry leaders from around the world attended the award ceremony.

The Frontier Design Prize is a visionary, innovative, leading-edge, non-profit international design award, hosted by Design Innovation Institute Shanghai (DIIS) with the guidance of Shanghai City. It comprises three categories: Distinguished Contribution, Innovation of the Year, and Innovation of the Year (K-12). The Distinguished Contribution Prize aims to reward individuals who have made pioneering contributions to the field of design, creatively forged paths at the frontiers of design practice, education or research, and demonstrated extensive influence in design innovation. The inaugural winner in 2022 was Don Norman, the leading advocate of human-centered design and a pioneer in user experience design. This year, Yrjö Sotamaa was awarded this prestigious prize, along with a1,000,000 RMB award.

Professor Yrjö Sotamaa has been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of design and innovation education. In his early years, he aligned himself with Victor Papanek to champion the concept of "design for the real world." During his tenure as the president of University of Art and Design Helsinki, he not only transformed it into the premier design school in Northern Europe but also successfully integrated design into Finland's national innovation system. He spearheaded the creation of Aalto University, which has since become the global standard for interdisciplinary innovation education. Additionally, he played a pivotal role in establishing CUMULUS, the preeminent global association for art and design education and research, making invaluable contributions to international cooperation in design education. His global vision, along with his spirit of openness, innovation, and collaboration, are increasingly crucial in our current era.

"I take this wonderful accolade as a recognition not only of my own work, but also of the whole creative community with whom I have had the opportunity to work together for so many years here in Shanghai and around the world,” said Yrjö Sotamaa.

As an integral part of the WDCC’s "One Prize, One Think Tank and One Initiative", the FDP goes beyond just creating a design award. LOU Yongqi, Chair of the FDP committee, said, “Frontier Design Prize is a very unique international design award that recognizes individuals and works that have had paradigm-shifting contributions to design on a large scale.” It was established with the aims of encouraging the development of design innovation, enhancing the impact of design in driving innovation and industrial transformation, and promoting design’s role on shaping a better world across the society.

It is important to note that all candidates and candidate works for the FDP are recommended by qualified nominators recognized by the FDP Committee. There is no provision to apply for registration or self-nomination. An AI-powered assessment system was developed to supplement the reference basis for decision-making and to improve efficiency and objectivity, based on the knowledge graph (FDG) and impact assessment (FDI). The winners are selected by a prestigious international jury chaired by Professor Rosanne Somerson, President Emerita of Rhode Island School of Design.

In line with the 'City-wide and Year-round' vision of the WDCC, the winners of the Innovation of the Year and the Innovation of the Year (K-12) will be announced at the end of this year.