Quest for Victory with DOTY 2023

Back for its 14th edition, the Designer of the Year (DOTY) Awards went all out to inspire and honour only the finest of designers in only the finest of fashion.

Bigger, better and bolder than ever was the 14th annual Designer of the Year (DOTY) Awards, celebrating the exceptional works by the absolute finest world-class designers in this competitive industry – as well as the brilliance of the designers themselves. Under the appropriate theme entitled, ‘Quest for Victory’, the highly anticipated event was held on the 8th of April 2024 for the first time at the enchanting ballroom of Hilton Kuala Lumpur.

It all came to fruition courtesy of our gracious Strategic Alliance Partners: Atlas Plan as the Platinum Partner, Sunray Construction & Interior as the Gold Partner, De Poolman Shop and Super Ceramic as the Silver Partner, BEP Akitek as the Bronze Partner, Arture as the Trophy Parner, and Liebherr as the After-Party Partner; the same outpour of gratitude is also given to our trusted Brand Partners: Nippon Paint (M) Sdn Bhd, NS BlueScope Malaysia, and KompacPlus Malaysia. With a black-tie dress code governed by the K-pop-inspired colour scheme of black and pink, the promise of glitz and glamour was upheld in the most spectacular fashion.

DOTY Awards 2023 Partners :

This year, the prestigious event highlighted and honoured the successes of 155 winners across 12 award categories, including that of esteemed guest Jean-Michel Gathy who has long been known as the principal of Denniston, and now too as the receiver of the internationally coveted Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award (AMIDA). It’s an accolade that was also awarded to a couple of Hong Kong-headquartered superstars who lead their own eponymous firms, namely Steve Leung of Steve Leung Design Group Limited and Joyce Wang of Joyce Wang Studio; although these two elite parties unfortunately could not be present, they still kindly conveyed their appreciation, with the former even going the extra mile to send a thoughtful pre-recorded video message for the audience.

Denniston Sdn Bhd, Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award

Stepping outside the awardees circle for just a moment, the long list of VIP guests in attendance included Dr. Filippo Fusaro, the Trade Commissioner of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), as well as powerful industry players such as IDr Ooi Boon Seong, President of the Malaysian Institute of Interior Designers (MIID); Elvin Tay, President of the Malaysian Interior Industry Partners Association (MIIP); and Dato’ Vincent Lim of CIS Network Sdn Bhd who is responsible for continuously bringing the popular Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX) to life. Within the design community itself, notable names comprise Ar Alan Teh of Atelier Alan Teh Architect, Ar Fabian Tan of Fabian Tan Architect, Ar Melvyn Kanny of MJ Kanny Architect, IDr Lai Siew Hong of Blu Water Studio and John Jong, founder of Thinkscape Design Works Sdn Bhd.

Tennyson Chia of Sachi Interior Design

Speaking of designers, another VIP guest who deserves a special shoutout is none other than Tennyson Chia, also known as the Chief Design Officer of Sachi Interior Design Sdn Bhd. Apart from award recipient, he finds himself playing another, much larger role for DOTY 2023: trophy designer. The collaborative process between him and Arture, this year’s trophy sponsor, brought about a series of one-of-a-kind pieces that can only be described as original, unconventional and symbolic. Each one imperfectly/perfectly encapsulates the arduous yet fulfilling journey to the top, where triumphs are proudly celebrated … never forgetting the herculean efforts made to overcome the obstacles lining the path to achieve them.

Deca-Laurel winners at DOTY Awards 2023 :

DOTY 2023 also witnessed the birth of the Deca-Laurel Award (DLA), bestowed upon design firms or studios that have acquired ten or more years of experience in the industry, acknowledging their steadfast commitment, sustained excellence and significant impact on the design scene. In order to attain it, firms must be established for over a decade, maintain a strong financial standing, show commitment to sustainability, make noteworthy design contributions to different types of projects and receive awards for their design work over the last five years. On the other end of the spectrum, the event saw the reintroduction of the Best Product Design Award, honouring only the most innovative products that have evolutionised the quality of life.

Asia’s Most Influential Designer Award (AMPDA) Winners

Women Empowering Designer Award (WEDA) Winners

Best Residential Design (Landed) Winners

Other special awards, apart from the Asia’s Most Prestigious Design Award (AMPDA), include the Building Transformation Recognition Award (BTRA), respecting the dedicated initiatives taken in building restoration and transformation of an existing building as an effort towards sustainability. The Women Empowering Designer Award (WEDA) is another significant one, honouring women’s dedication to excellence and leadership in innovation within the traditionally male-dominated design industry. Aside from the Rising Star Award, the Best Design award – further divided into Best Residential Design, Best Commercial Design and Best Showhouse Design – is classified under the main awards category, which recently includes the Merit Residential Design Award and Merit Commercial Design Award too.

Best Commercial Winners :

Best Showhouse Design Winners

In line with the overall ‘Work hard, play hard’ feeling of the festivities, this year’s agenda took it a step further with a buzzing afterparty, organised in conjunction with German refrigerator manufacturer Liebherr. Held just one floor below at Zeta Bar, freeflow booze, dance performances and pulsating beats taken over by the seductive DJ Bobo kept the celebrations going ‘til dawn, ultimately signalling a close to the event of the year.

Once again, our heartiest congratulations goes out to all the award winners on their well-deserved accolades and good luck to all for the next round of DOTY!

For more info, please visit :

www.doty.com.my