[Abstract] Designing Trust: How the iF Design Award Shapes Global Design Culture
"Designing Trust: How the iF Design Award Shapes Global Design Culture"
Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH, presents how the iF Design Award is not only a mark of excellence but also a long-term infrastructure that fosters trust, shared values, and international collaboration. The talk explores how design awards shape the expectations of industry, policy, and civil society by reinforcing the cultural and ethical dimensions of design.
Drawing on examples from Germany and global design ecosystems, it shows how institutions like iF act as platforms connecting policy, business, education, and the public to generate meaningful societal impact.
In the context of Seoul, the presentation examines how design awards reflect urban competitiveness and how the city could create pathways for young designers to enter the global stage.
While Seoul boasts strong credentials—award-winning talent, notable infrastructure like the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP)—an integrated platform to fully connect these assets is still missing.
The presentation concludes with suggestions for strategic investment and cross-sector collaboration to position Seoul as a leading global design hub.
Uwe Cremering has been CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH (iF Design) since April 2021. In previous years, he was part of the management team of the PRO Division of Sennheiser electronic, one of the world's leading headphone and microphone manufacturers.
Since the beginning of his professional career, which started in 1998 as Project Manager New Media for the EXPO 2000 in Hanover, the topics of digitalization, transformation, business development, innovation and design have been the focus of his successful entrepreneurial activities and are also reflected in his position at iF Design. iF International Forum Design GmbH, based in Hanover, is one of the world's leading independent design institutions. lt has been presenting the iF DESIGN AWARD every year since 1954. With around 11,000 entries from around 72 countries every year, the iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the largest and most prestigious design prizes in the world. iF Design has branches and representative offices all over the world.
