Prof Albert Ko, Director of the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (left) and Mr Adrian Lo Chun-kwong, Product Design Lead of the Office of Service-Learning (right) at the 2024 Good Design Award Ceremony in Tokyo, Japan.
The mini air purifier PureAura, designed and developed by Lingnan University's Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI), has received the 2024 Good Design Award Best 100, regarded as the Oscars of Design in the East, and one the most influential design awards in the world alongside the iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, and IDEA Design Award. With its breakthrough design concept and practicality, PureAura has achieved a Grand Slam of prestigious design awards, and become the only innovative entry to win the highest honour from all four design awards at the same time.
Founded in 1957, the Good Design Award is one of the most important international design awards, organised by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. Although there were 5,773 entries this year, Lingnan University was the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong to be selected as one of the winners of the Good Design Award Best 100 with its outstanding mini air purifier PureAura.
The jury praised PureAura's advanced design, saying that it demonstrates the capability of design to address deeply rooted societal issues. They attached great importance to every aspect from design to production, and applauded PureAura's potential to inspire further innovation in home appliances and to create meaningful change in modern life.
Prof Albert Ko, Director of the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative, delighted to have been given the 2024 Good Design Award Best 100, said “PureAura has achieved a Grand Slam in four of the most influential awards in the design industry, reflecting Lingnan's commitment to integrating innovation and humanitarian care now recognised globally. Looking ahead, we will expand the scope of our PureAura donation to more than 120,000 families living in subdivided flats in Hong Kong, and explore their relief potential to provide air purification for disaster-stricken areas. We also plan to launch a ‘Buy One, Donate One’ retail scheme so that buyers can benefit from PureAura and help vulnerable communities at the same time.”
Mr Adrian Lo Chun-kwong, Product Design Lead of the Office of Service-Learning, said the design concept of PureAura comes from a deep understanding of grassroots needs, and that the product combines practicality with innovation. He added “We are proud that PureAura has won these awards, and achieved a Grand Slam, which is an extremely rare accomplishment in the global design arena. We are very happy about this, and will continue to improve PureAura's design and expand its use in schools, healthcare facilities, and public spaces, and collaborate with more organisations to advocate innovative design in improving life.”
PureAura is an original air purification solution designed specifically for subdivided flats in Hong Kong and other high-density urban environments. It is a successful example of the integration of cutting-edge design with humanitarian care, demonstrating the effectiveness of design in response to the needs of life and social challenges, and embodying Lingnan University’s leadership in humanitarian technology and creative solutions. As of December 2024, PureAura has won 14 international design awards, confirming its excellence in design and social impact.
