“Wait, did CBi China Bridge just serve as both a judge and a winner at the SDN Global Conference? What’s going on here?!”
—“You got it mixed up! This time, it’s the SDN Shanghai Chapter that received the SDN Chapter Award for Honorable Event Mention. CBi China Bridge, as the chair organization of SDN Shanghai, simply represented the chapter on stage. They’re not the same thing!”
—“Oh, I see. But how does a judge also win an award?!”
—“Mixed up again! The SDN Chapter Award is judged by the SDN itself, while CBi founder Cathy Huang served as a judge for the Service Design Awards, which focuses on project cases. Two awards, two completely separate systems!”
—“Ah, that makes sense now!”
SDN Annual Global Conference 2019
On October 10-11, 2019, the 12th Service Design Global Conference (SDGC), organized by the Service Design Network (SDN), took place in Toronto, Canada. As the SDN’s flagship annual event, it brought together the global service design community. This marks CBi China Bridge’s fourth time participating in the prestigious SDGC.
Honorable Event Award
During the conference, the SDN Shanghai Chapter was honored with the SDN Chapter Award for Event Honorable Mention. Cathy Huang, CBi China Bridge founder and chair of SDN Shanghai, accepted the award on behalf of the chapter.
Cathy Huang (second from left) with other awardees receiving recognition from SDN Chair Birgit Mager (far right).
The SDN Chapter Awards include five categories:
- Best PR
- Best Membership Engagement
- Most Innovative
- Best Cultural Inclusion
- Best Event Organization
SDN Shanghai earned the Honorable Mention for successfully organizing the first-ever Global Service Design Network China Conference in April 2019.
Global Service Design Awards Judge
Cathy Huang also played another critical role at SDGC: as one of seven international judges for the Service Design Awards (SDA), hosted by the SDN.
In May 2019, Cathy was invited to join the jury panel for the SDA. After months of rigorous evaluation, five out of over 100 service design case submissions were selected as winners. These award-winning cases hailed from Chile, the UK, Finland, Norway, and Belgium, covering two commercial projects, two nonprofit initiatives, and one student project.
Building Bridges
Fittingly, the theme for SDGC19 was “Building Bridges”. CBi, with its very name — “China Bridge” — has long embodied the concept of bridging connections: between China and the world, between reality and ideals, and between business and service design. For 16 years, CBi’s mission has been to “bridge the next innovation step.”
What a beautiful coincidence.
Preparing for 2021
During SDGC19, it was announced that Copenhagen, Denmark, would host SDGC20. Denmark proudly aims to show the world that “Danish design isn’t just about chairs; it’s a country where service design and co-design run deep in the national ethos.”
The SDGC has a 12-year legacy of hosting conferences in different cities worldwide.
It’s time for Asia! Cathy Huang, as SDN Shanghai Chair, has already reached agreements with SDN Japan and SDN Taiwan to submit a proposal for an SDN Asia Regional Conference. Additionally, she is leading efforts to bring the 2021 Service Design Global Conference (SDGC21) to Shanghai, striving to make it the first SDGC hosted in Asia.
About the Service Design Network (SDN)
Established in 2004 and headquartered in Germany, the SDN is the largest and most authoritative global organization for service design.
- Operating in 46 countries through local chapters.
- Nearly 10,000 members worldwide, including hundreds of service design companies, universities, and agencies.
- Hosts the annual Service Design Global Conference (SDGC), now in its 12th year.
- Publishes the international journal Touchpoint.
2020: The Future of Service Design
This April, SDN Shanghai hosted the highly successful 2019 Future of Service Design: Global Service Design Network China Conference in Shanghai. Preparations for the 2020 Future of Service Design conference are already underway.
Let’s look forward to another incredible event in 2020!
