Si (Sea) Chen Wins Gold in Art Direction at the 2025 MUSE Design Awards: Season 2

2025 MUSE Design Awards: Season 2 Featured Winner - "Ten out of Ten" Cultural Tasting Event Art Direction

2025 MUSE Design Awards: Season 2 Featured Winner - "Ten out of Ten" Cultural Tasting Event Art Direction by Si Chen

The 2025 MUSE Design Awards & Creative Awards, organized by the International Awards Associate (IAA), have officially announced its Season 2 results.

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, September 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 2025 MUSE Design Awards & Creative Awards, organized by the International Awards Associate (IAA), have officially announced its Season 2 results, marking the second chapter of this year’s global competition while celebrating the program’s 10th anniversary milestone. From more than 13,000 submissions, this season’s winners embody innovation, craft, and influence across the creative and design industries.

With Season 2, the MUSE Awards not only builds on its momentum but also expands the stage for creative and design excellence, offering a platform where both renowned names and emerging voices find equal footing. This chapter highlights how today’s work continues to set new standards, while shaping a legacy that inspires future generations.

About Si (Sea) Chen
An experiential designer and creative director specializing in phygital storytelling, Chen has over five years of experience shaping immersive branded experiences for international clients and events, including NEOM, HardRock, and BK Fashion Week. Her portfolio spans responsive installations, branded campaigns, digital activations, and large-scale spatial experiences, all rooted in environmental and experiential design.

Her recent project “Touch” — an audiovisual installation exhibited at the NYCxDesign Week Festival’s Infinite Weave Exhibition — reflected her ability to merge sensory engagement with narrative depth, contemplating authentic human connection in a digitally mediated age. Chen holds a Master of Landscape Architecture in Environmental Design from Kansas State University and continues to push the boundaries of experiential art and design across both professional and self-initiated projects.

About the Winning Project: “Ten out of Ten”
The conceptual design was developed for a Chinese food tasting event celebrating the opening of a new food hall in Thailand. Chen’s strategy emphasized cross-cultural adaptation, blending Chinese culinary heritage with Thai cultural cues through colors, materials, symbols, and flavors.

• Spatial & Interior Elements: Thai sticky rice steamers reimagined as Chinese steaming baskets; fish sauce urns replacing soy sauce jars; chili pepper curtain partitions; Mahjong-tile signage adapted into Thai comic styles; and pop-up tiered seating with the brand slogan as a social hub.
• Visual Identity & Branding: A bilingual logo in English and Chinese, with Thai translations integrated across signage and communication. Typography drew inspiration from Mahjong tiles merged with Thai graphic design traditions.
• Digital Activation: Interactive “Flavor Match” tests paired Chinese dishes with Thai condiments; Mahjong redesigns transformed into GIFs and stickers; and the campaign hashtag #十味十足 (meaning “Ten Flavors, Full Satisfaction”) drove shareable content.
• Experience Flow: Guests ordered via self-service kiosks and socialized in pop-up areas until their pickup notifications arrived, encouraging interaction and engagement.

Demonstrating her independent creative range, Chen successfully managed the project solo, handling every element from art direction and experiential/interior design to print, digital, and motion graphics. She utilized a combination of 2D graphic design software, advanced 3D modeling and rendering tools, and AI-powered applications for vibe coding and marketing. This integration of traditional design practice with emerging technologies showcases her ability to deliver a unified, cross-platform experience.

While conceptual, the design’s expected outcomes include measurable cultural and commercial impact: greater local engagement, increased shareability through digital content, stronger brand recall via symbolic integration, and enhanced collaboration potential for vendors.

The Evaluation Process
Submissions to the MUSE Design Awards are evaluated by an international jury of experts, with evaluations conducted through a blind judging process. Entries are measured on innovation, functionality, aesthetics, sustainability, and impact. This impartial approach ensures that winners like Si Chen are recognized solely on the strength of their design work.

Notable Achievement in Season 2 of the 2025 MUSE Design Awards:
1. Conceptual Design - Art Direction

“Congratulations to all the winners this season,” said Thomas Brandt, spokesperson of IAA. “As we commemorate a decade of the MUSE Awards, Si Chen’s achievements stand as proof of the dedication and brilliance that continue to inspire industries and audiences worldwide. Each winning entry is more than exceptional work—it is part of the ongoing dialogue that defines creativity and design today.”

For further information, please contact Si Chen at csea2230@gmail.com.

About Si (Sea) Chen
Si (Sea) Chen is an award-winning experiential designer and creative director specializing in phygital storytelling across branded experiences, spatial design, and digital activations. With projects ranging from nonprofit collaborations to international events such as Dubai Expo and NYCxDesign Week, Chen creates immersive environments that engage audiences across both physical and virtual landscapes.

Si Chen
Si Chen
csea2230@gmail.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.