The front of the medal displays a portrait of Sir Run Run Shaw, next to which are the words and Chinese characters for the title of "The Shaw Prize". On the reverse, the medal shows the award category, the relevant year and the name of the laureate. A seal of imprint of the Chinese phrase "制天命而用之" (quoted from Xun Zi – a thinker in the warring states period of Chinese history in 313 – 238 B.C.) meaning "Grasp the law of nature and make use of it" appears in the upper right corner.