Graphic Design Valedictorian (Honors program) wins “Emerging Designer” at EU-Niet Nam sustainable Design Awards 2025

At the EU-Vietnam Sustainable Design Award 2025 (EVSDA 2025), Ngo Hoang Dung's project, "Gap Gap," from the 27th cohort of the Graphic Design major – Special Training Program, excellently won the "Promising Designer" title in the Communication Design category, making its mark with its creative, relatable approach and commitment to sustainable development.

As the top graduate, Ngo Hoang Dung quickly decided that his graduation project would focus on the environment – ​​a direction formed from his studies and experiences throughout his four years of university. During this time, participating in numerous programs, seminars, workshops, and competitions related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contributed to building Dung's foundational thinking and clear creative direction for his graduation project.

Fold Fold is a communication campaign aimed at reducing paper packaging waste in the context of the increasing popularity of online shopping. Through graphics and interactive spaces, the project encourages users to view the unboxed box not as waste, but as an object with remaining value: it can be folded into toys, crafts, or simply made more compact for easier collection and recycling.

The idea for Gấp Gấp originated from everyday observations in family life, where collecting paper and beer cans to sell to scrap dealers had become a long-standing habit, a form of local recycling. From this personal experience, combined with the current online shopping habits of young people, the project gradually developed through multiple rounds of sketching, presentation, critique, and refinement under the professional guidance of instructors. During implementation, Gấp Gấp faced the challenge of balancing the practicality of the campaign with professional visual expertise. From selecting the deployment platform and identifying the target audience to building communication content and the brand identity system, each element was carefully considered to ensure applicability while maintaining the creative identity of a design project.

Participating in EVSDA 2025 was seen as an opportunity for the project to be placed within a broader context, accessing diverse perspectives from the creative community outside the university environment. The "Promising Designer" title is recognition of the project's efforts and approach, and also provides further motivation for the author to continue pursuing a design path linked to sustainable development.

Compiled by Yen Vi - Photo: Provided by the character