BY Patrick Wells
Recently, designer Kaiyuan Xu was invited to serve as an international jury member for the 2026 American Good Design Award and participated in the judging process for this year’s competition. Xu graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where he studied under internationally renowned fiber artist Nick Cave. As a member of the jury panel, he independently reviewed, scored, and comprehensively evaluated submissions from different countries and regions in accordance with the official judging criteria.
The American Good Design Award was founded by the American International Award Association and is organized by International Award Association Limited. The award aims to discover outstanding design works from around the world and provide an international platform for distinguished designers to showcase their innovative achievements. Its jury panel consists of design experts, design directors, and company founders from various fields across the globe. The award also adopts a strict confidential judging system to ensure the independence, fairness, and professionalism of the evaluation process.
Xu’s connection with the American Good Design Award dates back to his own award-winning experience. Previously, he won the Gold Award at the American Good Design Award for his fashion art work Unveiling the Cosmos. The work received recognition from the international jury for its distinctive creative concept and unique visual expression, becoming one of his representative design achievements. His invitation to join the jury this year reflects his transition from an award-winning designer to a participant in the international judging process.
It is also worth noting that Unveiling the Cosmos has also received the Winner distinction at the German Design Award and the Gold Award at the Muse Design Awards. The German Design Award, organized by the German Design Council, is one of the influential design awards in Europe. The Muse Design Awards, organized by the International Awards Associate (IAA), is also a highly influential international design award open to creative and design professionals worldwide. Receiving recognition from three international design awards in succession demonstrates Xu’s professional caliber in design concept, innovative practice, and visual expression.
According to available information, during this year’s judging process, Xu strictly followed the official evaluation standards and procedures, independently reviewing, scoring, and providing comprehensive assessments of the submitted works. After the judging work concluded, the award organizers gave positive recognition to his professionalism, independent judgment, and rigorous attitude throughout the evaluation process.
In addition to his recognition in the field of design awards, Xu is also active in the international fashion design industry. His works have been presented at New York Fashion Week in February 2024, Los Angeles Fashion Week in March 2024, China-U.S. Fashion Week in February 2024, where he received the Best Independent Designer Award, Asia Fashion Week · Chicago in October 2024, and a fashion performance at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in January 2025. These experiences demonstrate his diverse creative capabilities and international perspective across product design and fashion art.
From a Gold Award winner of the American Good Design Award to an international jury member, Kaiyuan Xu’s role in the global design field continues to expand. His invitation to participate in the judging process not only reflects the international design community’s recognition of his creative achievements and professional capabilities, but also marks his further development from an international design award winner into the field of international design award judging.
