SIDA

What SIDA does

SIDA (Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association, 深圳市工业设计行业协会) is a non-profit industry association founded in 2008 and headquartered in the Sino-Finnish Design Park in Shenzhen's Futian Bonded Area. Organized under the Shenzhen Municipal Government, SIDA serves as an independent third-party platform connecting China's industrial design ecosystem, with a stated membership of over 900 member units nationwide comprising industrial design companies, manufacturers, design consultancies, and related enterprises. The association's mission centers on integrating design with industry, government, and consumers, and it explicitly does not develop proprietary technology — its value lies in convening, matchmaking, and ecosystem coordination rather than software or product development.

SIDA's core products and services revolve around flagship events and programs: the Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair (SZIDF), held annually for 9 consecutive years and attracting 230+ million professional visitors and exhibitors from 35+ countries over 8 years; the Better Design Award (BDA), a national competition launched in 2024 that received 7,183 entries from 52 countries; The Great One Awards as SZIDF's flagship competition; the Design Bar knowledge-sharing series; and Design Empowerment Industry Matching Conferences deployed across Guangdong Province (Shaoguan, Qingyuan, Shanwei, Chaozhou). The association also operates the Sino-Finnish Design Park through its Shenzhen-Helsinki sister-city partnership and runs regional partnership offices in Xiongan, Harbin, and Qingdao.

SIDA's business model is a hybrid of subscription-recurring membership dues from 900+ member units and professional services revenue from event organization, design award hosting, sponsorship, and business cooperation facilitation. The organization employs 51-100 staff and maintains a member-driven governance structure led by President Feng Changhong (封昌红). Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed, though recurring membership (annual billing) and recurring flagship events provide baseline revenue stability. Go-to-market is predominantly event-driven and community-led, with channel-partner-style matchmaking between design firms and manufacturing enterprises having facilitated 6,000+ matchings and 8,000+ orders through SZIDF over 8 years.

Name

SIDA

Legal name

深圳市工业设计行业协会

Website

https://szida-en.cnweb.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SIDA (Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association) is a non-profit industry association founded in 2008, serving 900+ member units across China by organizing design fairs, awards, matchmaking events, and talent training programs connecting industrial designers with manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Futian

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Services: Annual membership dues from 900+ member units across the country, providing full range of top-level design services and membership benefits.
2. Event Organization: Organizing exhibitions, competitions, and large-scale offline activities including Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair, National Double Creation Week, Maker Week, and Global Youth Innovation Camp.
3. Design Awards Services: Hosting design award programs including Better Design Award (BDA) and The Great One awards, with ceremony organization and exhibition services.
4. Business Cooperation: Resource exchange and event sponsorship cooperation with partners. Design matchmaking and industry integration services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

SIDA (深圳市工业设计行业协会) is a Shenzhen-based non-profit professional association founded in 2008 that serves the industrial design industry. It delivers industry research, policy interpretation, design empowerment programs, and project landing services to 900+ member units, and runs flagship programs including the SZIDF (Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair), The Great One Awards, the Better Design Award, Design Empowerment conferences, and the Design Bar event series.

Product overview

SIDA (Shenzhen Industrial Design Profession Association) is a non-profit industry organization that serves as a platform for China's industrial design industry. SIDA operates a portfolio of interconnected services including the annual Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair (SZIDF), major design awards programs (The Great One Awards and Better Design Award), design empowerment programs including industry matching conferences and talent training across Guangdong Province, and regular design knowledge sharing events like Design Bar. The organization connects over 900 member companies and facilitates design-industry integration, international exchange, and design talent development throughout China.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SZIDF (Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair): The annual flagship exhibition organized by SIDA, providing a global stage for industrial design.
• Better Design Award (BDA)
• Sino-Finnish Design Park
• Design Bar (设计吧)
• The Great One Award
• Shenzhen (Longhua) & Milan Lifestyle Week

Products and services

• SZIDF (Shenzhen International Industrial Design Fair) Annual industrial design exhibition organized by SIDA in Shenzhen, serving industrial design firms, manufacturers, brand owners, and design professionals as a venue for showcasing work, networking, and sourcing design partners.
• The Great One Awards (至尊奖) Flagship design award program run by SIDA, recognizing outstanding industrial design work and providing participating designers, firms, and brand owners with industry-recognized visibility.
• Better Design Award Design award program operated by SIDA, recognizing industrial design achievements and providing recognition signals to designers, firms, and commissioning brand owners.
• Design Empowerment Conference Conference program under SIDA's design empowerment initiative, serving industrial designers, manufacturers, and brand owners with industry content and policy interpretation.
• Design Bar Series Recurring event series run by SIDA, providing networking and industry exchange opportunities for industrial design professionals and member firms.
• Talent Training Programs Training programs delivered by SIDA for industrial design professionals and member units, focused on building design talent and capability within the Shenzhen design ecosystem.
• Member Services (industry research, policy interpretation, project landing) Core member services offered to SIDA's 900+ member units, including industrial design industry research, government policy interpretation, design empowerment, and project landing support connecting design firms with manufacturers and brand owners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 900+ member units served across the country
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Sino-Finnish Design ParkflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013SIDA established the Sino-Finnish Design Park in Shenzhen 11 years ago, creating a platform for design innovation from concepts to prototypes, prototypes to products, and products to brands. The park has nurtured nearly 400 projects.
• Helsinki (Sister City Partnership)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013SIDA forged the sister city partnership between Shenzhen and Helsinki, establishing the Sino-Finnish model of innovation.
• Hebei Industrial Design Innovation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership location in Xiongan for industrial design innovation, extending Shenzhen's design model to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
• Harbin Design CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership extending design empowerment to Northeast China, serving the ice and snow economy through the 'Three-Dimensional Empowerment Model'.
• Chinese Industrial Design Coordinated Innovation PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Qingdao serving the Jiaodong Economic Circle, coordinating industrial design innovation across regions.
• iF Design Award (Germany)coreTechnology or IntegrationGerman iF Design Award participates in SZIDF events. iF Chairman Uwe Cremering attended the 2021 SZIDF opening ceremony.
• CISE School of Politecnico di MilanocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep cooperation agreement signed focusing on architecture, industrial design, furniture, and fashion industry development.
• Here Fashion Hub (HFH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHFH will set up its domestic office at INPARK Cultural and Creative Park in Dalang Fashion Town, bringing high-end international resources.
• APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIDA President Shirley Feng spoke at the 2024 APEC Co-Creation Forum on Impact of Creative Economies on Tourism Future.
• China Light Industry FederationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the First National Industrial Design Vocational Skills Competition with Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
• GOOD DESIGN AWARD (Japan)coreTechnology or IntegrationJapanese design award organization conducts presentations and information sessions through SIDA's Design Bar events.
• Corriere della Sera (Italy)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerItalian media outlet providing focused coverage of Shenzhen & Milan Lifestyle Week events.
• Shenzhen GovernmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIDA is organized by Shenzhen Municipal Government and collaborates closely with Shenzhen Industry and Information Technology Bureau.
• Guangdong Lingnan Food Industrial Design Research InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership research institute participating in design industry matching activities in Shaoguan.
• World Design OrganizationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer President Srini Srinivasan serves as Recommendation Officer for Better Design Award.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Core77: Leading online design media and community platform. Adjacent rather than directly competitive — represents the digital community and content channel that complements (or could disintermediate) SIDA's physical event-and-matchmaking model.

Regional players

• Shanghai Industrial Design Association: Regional industrial design association serving Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta. Comparable peer competing for member design firms and manufacturer relationships in China's largest industrial cluster adjacent to Guangdong.
• Beijing Industrial Design Association: Regional Chinese industrial design association serving the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Closest peer to SIDA's Hebei Industrial Design Innovation Center partnership in Xiongan — direct regional competitor for member recruitment and policy access in northern China.

Direct peers

• Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG: German operator of Red Dot Award and Red Dot Design Museum. Multiple SIDA member companies (Shangpin Design, XIVO Design, 3.14 Design) have won Red Dot awards, making Red Dot a benchmark peer for SIDA's award business.
• Japan Institute of Design Promotion (Good Design Award): Japanese operator of the Good Design Award and design promotion activities. Conducts presentations through SIDA's Design Bar events, making it both a partner and a comparable awards/advocacy organization.
• iF International Forum Design GmbH (iF Design Award): German design award organization that partners with SIDA at SZIDF. Operates one of the world's premier industrial design awards — directly comparable to SIDA's Better Design Award and The Great One programs.
• Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA): US professional association for industrial designers offering member services, conferences, awards (IDEA), and policy advocacy. Closest international functional equivalent to SIDA's membership, events, and awards model.
• China Industrial Design Association (CIDA): National-level industrial design industry association in China, directly comparable to SIDA in mission (industry advocacy, standards, awards) but operating at the national rather than Shenzhen/Guangdong level. Represents the most obvious scale comparable for SIDA's mandate.

Emerging players

• Pentawards: International packaging design award; XIVO Design (a SIDA member) won Pentawards Gold in its first year. Comparable to BDA's sub-categories and relevant because SIDA members compete in and are recognized by Pentawards.

Broad incumbents

• World Design Organization (WDO): Global non-governmental organization promoting industrial design; SIDA's former president Srini Srinivasan serves as BDA Recommendation Officer. Operates at a broader international scale than SIDA but shares the same advocacy-and-events model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SIDA2008
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shenzhen-industrial-design-profession-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SIDA