Press Release
Colorise Art Installation by Nargiza Usmanova Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
Nargiza Usmanova acknowledged for fine arts and art installation design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ Colorise Art Installation by Nargiza Usmanova, designed for Erin Mills Town Centre, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Fine Arts and Art Installation Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Colorise Art Installation
Colorise is an art installation created for the fountain of a shopping centre. Twelve transparent plexiglass posts of varied heights and colours form a unified sculptural rhythm. The posts were made by bonding pre-cut plexiglass panels with acrylic cement to achieve clean edges without visible glue marks. Each post rests on a concrete base placed within the shallow water. Daylight and moving water pass through the coloured surfaces and create changing reflections. Visitors experience the shifting colours simply by walking around the fountain.
About Nargiza Usmanova
NARGIZA USMANOVA Designer & Visual Artist Nargiza Usmanova is an award-winning visual artist and creative designer with an international career spanning more than 20 years. Based in Toronto, she specializes in Exhibit Design, Industrial & Lighting Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, and large-scale public art. She holds a diploma in Industrial & Graphic Design and has served in prominent roles such as Chief Designer and Art Director, contributing her expertise to multidisciplinary creative projects across the globe.
Award Record
This recognition makes Nargiza Usmanova a winner of 9 A' Design Awards. The awards were granted between the 2020 - 2021 and the 2025 - 2026 editions of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award
The A' Fine-Art Design Award is an international fine-art design competition recognizing best fine-art works by leading fine-art artists and creators worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to artists, painters, sculptors and ceramicists from all countries. Typical entries include sculptures, paintings, installations, photographs, drawings and mixed media works. The awarded art designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/fine-art
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180690
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180690
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180690
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/245816
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://numzgraphics.com/portfolio/colorise-art-installation
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Colorise Art Installation
- Function
- Art Installation
- Category
- Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray, Orange Red and Saddle Brown
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Erin Mills Town Centre
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Nargiza Usmanova
- Country
- Canada
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180690
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Maxim Zinchuk, Colorise, 2025.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Colorise is an artistic installation designed as a colourful accent composition for the mall’s fountain. Twelve transparent plexiglass posts of varied heights and hues create a unified yet dynamic sculptural rhythm. Its distinction lies in the controlled interaction of light, water, and translucency, generating evolving optical effects. The work’s precision, material clarity, and spatial harmony distinguish it as an immersive, technically considered intervention.
- Inspiration
- Colorise is inspired by the study of diversity, individuality, and collective harmony. Each acrylic post symbolizes a distinct presence, informed by research into colour perception and spatial interaction. The shifting reflections produced by daylight and water guided the project’s technical development, shaping a work that translates human interconnectedness into a precise, light responsive installation.
- Research
- The project is based on qualitative design research aimed at understanding how light, colour, and spatial rhythm influence public perception. Methods included site observation, material testing, and daylight studies. Data was gathered through visual analysis and small scale prototypes. Public interaction at the fountain served as an informal participant study. Results showed that transparent colour elements heighten engagement and slow visitor movement. Insights demonstrated how simple optical shifts can foster connection in shared spaces, informing future public environment design with accessibility in mind.
- Challenge
- The installation was completed during a public holiday, allowing the team to work in a quiet, empty mall. Preparation began off-site with custom concrete bases, carefully painted and drilled to support each acrylic post. The most technically demanding stage was assembling the posts themselves, carefully bonding pre cut plexiglass panels to achieve durable, clean edges without visible glue marks. On site, the elements were placed and aligned inside the shallow fountain using protective footwear. Each post was thoughtfully positioned to preserve balance and flow, resulting in a refined presentation that naturally complements the surrounding architecture.
- Realization and Technology
- Preparation began off site: the most technically demanding stage was assembling the posts themselves, carefully bonding pre cut plexiglass panels to achieve durable, clean edges without visible glue marks. Each post was thoughtfully positioned to preserve balance and flow. The project statistics: 8 Plexiglass sheets, 8x4 ft 24 Concrete slabs 48 Bolts + nuts 96 Washers Сolor transparent/translucent film and acrylic cement
- Operation and Interaction
- Visitors experience Colorise simply by moving around the fountain. As daylight shifts, the transparent posts catch and scatter colour, creating new reflections from every angle. The installation does not require activation; its transformation occurs naturally through changes in light and water movement. This constant variation invites viewers to slow down, observe, and engage with an environment that subtly evolves throughout the day.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in February 2025 in Toronto and finished in May 2025, and was exhibited at Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga from the end of May 2025 until July 2025.
- Specifications
- Width 5000 mm x Depth 3500 mm x Height 2500 mm
- Keywords
- Art installation, Visual arts, Plexiglass, Urban art, Reflections
