The 7th "Design Licensing and Business (DLAB) Support Scheme" Grandly Launched 39 Selected Local Design Companies Driving Hong Kong Design Brands to Expand Licensing Opportunities

HONG KONG, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Organized by the Innovative Entrepreneur Association ("IEA") and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency ("CCIDA"), the Design Licensing and Business (DLAB) Support Scheme held its 7th edition's Kick-Off Ceremony today at the United Centre in Admiralty, announcing the 39 selected local design companies for the 7th DLAB Support Scheme. These companies span a wide range of creative sectors and represent the new generation of Hong Kong's design talent. Through the scheme, they will receive training, professional consultancy, and business matching opportunities to further expand their brand licensing potential.

The organiser is honoured to have Miss. Yvonne IP Man Yee, Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, as the Guest of Honour and to give a speech. She was joined by Mr. Zacharias CHENG, President of IEA, Ms. Cherrie CHONG, former President of IEA, Mr Cyril CHEUNG, Vice President of IEA and Ellen MOK, General Secretary of IEA, to officiate at the launch ceremony. Guests and representatives from the 39 selected companies gathered for a group photo, marking a vibrant and celebratory moment. The event also featured a keynote sharing by Mr. Samuel CHOY, General Manager of Bliss Concept Ltd, who explored the latest trends in design licensing. In addition, the alumni of previous DLAB cohorts shared their success stories, offering valuable inspiration and practical insights to this year's participants.

Since the 1st edition, DLAB has successfully supported over 300 local design companies, driving the development of Hong Kong's design licensing industry. The scheme provides professional training in marketing, brand building, and business operations, along with professional consultancy and business matching services, helping enterprises seize licensing opportunities and expand into the Chinese Mainland and international markets.

For its 7th edition this year, the scheme offers two application categories:

• Category 1: Companies established for no more than 6 years (between November 6, 2019, and November 5, 2025), primarily engaged in design or licensing, with IP launched for no more than 6 years. Applicants must have full ownership of the IP rights of the creative content, such as original character designs, pattern designs, illustrations, etc.
• Category 2: Companies established for 6 to 12 years (between November 6, 2013 and November 5, 2025), with IP launched for no more than 6 years. Applicants must have full ownership of the IP rights of the creative content, such as original character designs, pattern designs, illustrations, etc.

Selected companies will have their participation in the late-January 2026 Greater Bay Area Study Mission fully subsidised, strengthening ties with Mainland enterprises and exploring the market potential. In addition, they will also enjoy a preferential booth at a special rate of HK$4,000 for first-time DLAB participants and HK$6,000 for returning companies – to showcase at the DLAB Hong Kong Pavilion of the Hong Kong International Licensing Show 2026, held from April 27 to 29, 2026. They will present their creative achievements alongside over 600 international and local IPs, further enhancing Hong Kong design's global visibility.

Mr. Zacharias CHENG, President of IEA, stated at the launch ceremony, "DLAB has now reached its seventh edition, witnessing the continuous growth of Hong Kong's design industry. This year, for the first time, we are proud to announce the 39 selected companies, representing a new generation of creative power. Through training, exchange opportunities, and exhibition platforms, we hope these brands will go further, connect seamlessly with international markets, and showcase Hong Kong's spirit of originality to a

broader global stage".

For more details of the 7th DLAB, please visit www.dlabhk.com.

About Innovative Entrepreneur Association (IEA)

Innovative Entrepreneur Association is a non-profit making organisation, with the aim to foster the spirit of "Innovative Entrepreneurship" in Hong Kong, the Mainland and all over the world. With the cooperation with the government and other organisations, IEA helps the start-up companies acquire more experience and strategies in order to enhance their competitiveness. IEA always strives to promote Hong Kong as world-leading "Creative and Entrepreneurial Capital".

Website: http://www.iea.org.hk.

DLAB Logo

There are four letters in the logo of DLAB, "D" stands for Design, "L" stands of Licensing, "A" is And while "B" is the short form of "Business".

About Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA)

The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024. CCIDA is a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. CCIDA's strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Website: https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk. 

Event Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1S2jERf8jv-FJRhcWxeJf1HIOP6JMTFCo?usp=drive_link

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

The 7th "Design Licensing and Business (DLAB) Support Scheme" Grandly Launched 39 Selected Local Design Companies Driving Hong Kong Design Brands to Expand Licensing Opportunities

HONG KONG, March 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- LiberNovo proudly announces that the LiberNovo Omni has been awarded the iF DESIGN AWARD 2026 in the Product Design – Beauty/Wellness category. The chair represents LiberNovo's breakthrough approach to Dynamic Ergonomics. The iF DESIGN AWARD is widely regarded as one of the most respected awards in international design and recognizes innovative, functional, and user-centric designs.

Revolutionizing Ergonomics

The LiberNovo Omni was designed to revolutionize how people sit during long work hours. Unlike other office chairs that force people into unnatural positions and postures, the LiberNovo Omni introduces a new category of seating, the Dynamic Ergonomic Chair.

The chair supports your body as you naturally move throughout the day, so you can always adjust your position freely and still receive continuous support.

The LiberNovo Omni solves one of the biggest problems facing today's work environment. As work has become more and more desk-based, people are spending more time than ever before sitting. Traditional office chairs are designed for stationary use and often don't accommodate body movement, leading to lower back discomfort and strain.

Technologies Behind the Award-Winning Design

At the core of the LiberNovo Omni's design is Dynamic Support, LiberNovo's adaptive support system that automatically adjusts to posture changes in real time. Instead of requiring users to manually readjust their chairs throughout the day, Dynamic Support continuously responds to body movement, helping maintain balance and ergonomic alignment without interruption.

The chair also features LiberNovo's Bionic FlexFit Backrest, an advanced ergonomic structure that contours to the natural curvature of the spine. Using multiple pivot points and adaptive panels, the backrest distributes pressure evenly across the back while allowing natural motion. This approach provides consistent support from the hips through the shoulders, creating a seating experience that adapts to the individual rather than forcing the individual to adapt to the chair.

The LiberNovo Omni also incorporates multiple recline modes, allowing users to shift naturally between focused work and more relaxed postures while maintaining continuous ergonomic support. For deeper recovery, the chair includes OmniStretch, a guided decompression feature that gently stretches the lower spine and helps relieve pressure accumulated during prolonged sitting.

Together, these technologies define a new approach to ergonomic seating built around movement, adaptability, and long-term physical support.

Design Philosophy

The development of the LiberNovo Omni focused on solving a longstanding challenge in chair design: balancing softness, structural support, and freedom of movement. Traditionally, improving one of these qualities has meant compromising another. The LiberNovo Omni was engineered to bring these elements together in a single system, combining comfort, stability, and natural mobility.

This approach reflects LiberNovo's broader philosophy: the tools we use every day should work with the human body rather than against it. In modern work environments, productivity should not come at the expense of long-term health.

Design Collaboration

The chair was developed by the LiberNovo design team in Shenzhen, China, in collaboration with Kairos Innovation, an industrial design firm based there. Together, the teams focused on creating an ergonomic system that maintains support across the wide range of positions people naturally adopt while working throughout the day.

About the iF DESIGN AWARD

Established in 1954, the iF DESIGN AWARD is an internationally recognized standard for measuring design quality. Entries are selected using strict evaluation criteria, including innovation, functionality, ergonomics, and overall design impact.

In 2026, over 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries were submitted for consideration for the iF DESIGN AWARD. All entries were evaluated by an independent group of international design professionals, making the iF DESIGN AWARD one of the most highly respected design awards available today.

Looking Ahead

Receiving the iF DESIGN AWARD is a significant milestone for LiberNovo, demonstrating the company's continued commitment to advancing ergonomic seating design.

The iF DESIGN AWARD highlights the increasing importance of designing workplace solutions that enable workers to be productive and support their long-term physical health and wellness.

As workspaces continue to evolve, LiberNovo believes seating should move away from static support systems toward more dynamic, human-centered designs.

The LiberNovo Omni embodies this vision by shifting ergonomic design away from static seating, creating a chair that adapts to the user rather than requiring the user to adapt to the chair.

About LiberNovo

LiberNovo is a design and technology company focused on advancing ergonomic innovation for modern work environments. Through a combination of advanced engineering and human-centered design, the company develops intelligent products that respond to the evolving ways people work and interact with their surroundings.

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LiberNovo Omni Wins iF DESIGN AWARD 2026 for Breakthrough Ergonomic Design