The “3D Holographic Projection Wishing Tree” from the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival has been awarded the prestigious Gold Award in the Conceptual Design – Exhibition & Events category at 2025 MUSE Design Awards in the United States. This innovative installation is a collaborative effort between the Institute for Information Industry's Digital Transformation Research Institute (III DTRI), Made Light Technology, and Shan-Wu Design. The MUSE Design Awards are among the most influential international honors in the field of creative design. This accolade highlights the global recognition of III’s excellence in aesthetic design and innovation.
Continuing its commitment to showcasing the innovation of cultural technology through world-class events, III DTRI has once again brought Taiwan into the international spotlight. Following last year’s recreation of the historic Chuan-Mei Theater at the 2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Tainan, the team leveraged its expertise in interactive experience design for the festival in 2025. The 2025 Lantern Festival's main theme installation, “Lanterns of the World: Gather light of Desire,” featured cutting-edge 3D holographic projection technology to create a seamless virtual-physical interactive experience. Over the 11-day event, the installation attracted millions of visitors from Taiwan and abroad, becoming one of the festival’s most celebrated highlights.
The installation was developed by the Future Experience Ecosystem Lab (FEEL LAB) of the III Digital Transformation Research Institute (DTRI), which provided both experience design and technical validation. Taking into account factors such as lighting environment, viewing angles, and interactive dynamics, the team conducted numerous rounds of lab calibration and stress testing to ensure optimal performance of immersive experience, showcasing the convergence of culture and technology through an innovative design themed “Lanterns of the World: Gather light of Desire.”
The MUSE Design Awards, organized by the long-established International Awards Associate (IAA), is dedicated to uncovering the world’s most inspiring design ideas. Known for its rigorous judging criteria, the competition attracts top-tier design entries from around the globe each year. According to the statistics of the competition, in 2024 alone, the awards received over 100,000 submissions from 112 countries, with more than 200 professional judges involved in the evaluation process—making it one of the most influential international design competitions. From the viewpoint of the organizers, “Lanterns of the World: Gather light of Desire” was not only a visual spectacle, but also a beacon of culture and innovation. It symbolized unity, hope, and progress, brilliantly merging tradition with the future through a compelling and meaningful design work.
Dr. Harriot Lin, Senior Vice President and Director General of Digital Transformation Research Institute (DTRI) at the Institute for Information Industry (III), stated, “From international lantern festivals and religious celebrations to cultural and artistic exhibitions, these events represent Taiwan’s invaluable cultural assets and reflect the strength of our soft power. By integrating digital elements such as AI, 5G, and immersive technologies, we are making technology more approachable and engaging for the public. Through interactive experience design, we seamlessly combine hardware and software to deliver innovative and enjoyable experiences. We are deeply honored by the recognition from the international jury. This award reaffirms our institute’s design and technological achievements in the cultural technology sector on the global stage.”