[日本]GOOD DESIGN AWARDS PUBLIC EXPO

 　　28 August - 30 September 2009

　　GOOD DESIGN AWARDS: PUBLIC EXPO

 

　　The Good Design Awards is a comprehensive program for the evaluation and encouragement of design organised by Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO). The Good Design Awards is a system that aims to channel the eminent powers of distinctive designs to build prosperous lives and encourage sound industrial development. Indeed, it is a campaign to brighten and enrich society through design.

 

　　Theme

 

　　To advance lifestyle and industrial activity by selecting outstanding design.

 

　　Application process

 

　　The Good Design Award takes place once a year. Applications are in April, and the application rules and member of juries for that particular year are posted on the G Mark web site. Companies or designers apply on the web site by early June.

 

　　Awards

 

　　The Good Design Awards programme consists of:

 

　　Good Design Award - designs that have been developed in all spheres of human activity according to the five domains of human activity (Human body, Living, Work, Society and Network).

　　Good Design Long Life Design Award - highlights design for products that have developed new approaches to manufacturing and personal lifestyle.

　　Good Design Frontier Design Award - recognises ambitious initiatives intended to create a sustainable society and a society centered on ordinary citizens Designers, engineers and students, as well as companies, are eligible for this award.

 

　　Good Design Special Awards are selected from among the award-winners:

 

　　Good Design Gold Award - high-quality designs that have identified particularly sophisticated ways to resolve issues specific to this time period.

　　Sustainable Design Award and Life-Scape Design Award - designs that address important issues for our lives in the near future.

　　Good Design Award of Small and Medium Enterprises - ambitious initiatives by small and medium enterprises.

　　Good Design Award of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry - comprehensive efforts to revitalise local economies.

　　Good Design Grand Award - the highest grand prize available and the design that symbolises our age, selected by the Judging Committee, the Good Design Award winners and ordinary citizens - most outstanding design among all the designs winning the Good Design

　　Gold Awards.
 

 

 

　　The G Mark

　　Good Design Award winning items can promote its results by attaching "G Mark". This distinction was designed in 1957 when the Good Design Products Selection System (the predecessor of Good Design Awards) was started. It was designed by Mr. Yusaku Kamekura, a designer who left a major mark on the Japanese design history. Since then the "G Mark" has been familiar to many people as a trustworthy symbol which connects industry and everyday life just like its system "G Mark" system.

　　

　　For details, please refer to the "G Mark Usage Guide".

　　

　　Assessment criteria

 

　　The screening policy of the Good Design Awards is succinctly expressed in five important words summarising the basic concept behind the screening process for the Good Design Awards and all other awards.

 

1.     Humanity:  Inspiration for products and conceptual embodiments

2.     Honesty:  Perceptiveness toward contemporary society

3.     Innovation:  Concepts to pioneer the future

4.     Aesthetics:  Imagination for prosperous lifestyle culture

5.     Ethics:  Reflecting on society and environment

 

　　These five words used in the Good Design Awards’ principle can be expressed in a single phrase as "giving people the central role and taking a high ethical standard in identifying the essence of our lives and engaging in appealing creative endeavors." This illustrates the Good Design Awards’ basic philosophy that design is a humanitarian act put in the service of the human community.

 

　　Jury

 

　　JIDPO establishes the Good Design Awards Judging Committee, organised by approximately 70 designers, architects, editors, and other specialists working in the forefront of design. Under the supervision of the Chair and the Vice Chairs, the Judging Committee shall conduct screening and render final awarding decisions while respecting the guiding philosophy of the Good Design Awards and the screening policies.

 

　　Jury Chair
　　Hiroshi Naito, Architect
 

　　Vice Chairs
Fumie Shibata (Human Body), Industrial Designer
Naoto Fukasawa (Living), Product Designer
Takashi Ashitomi(Work), Product Designer
Fumikazu Masuda (Society), Industrial Designer
Shunji Yamanaka (Network), Industrial Designer
 
Judging committee members can be found on the Good Design Awards website

Awards Ceremony and selection of winners

The Good Design Award Ceremony is held and the winner of the Grand Prize is selected by ballot, with all jurors and Good Design Award winners eligible to vote.

 

　　Exhibition

　　The Good Design Expo award exhibition will be held in August 2009 at "Design Hub" of Tokyo Midtown, and will be attended by members of the Icsid Executive Board.

　　

　　The second-stage screening rooms at Tokyo Big Sight (exhibition hall) are opened to the public during the Good Design Presentation.

 

　　This exhibit has blossomed into the largest design event in Japan. Roughly 40,000 people, including those working in design-related, distribution-related fields, news-related fields, students, consumers, and study tour groups from overseas, attended this exhibition.

 

　　Only design can talk about future lifestyles. Good Design Expo is an opportunity to feel this power inherent to design and gaining even more attention as it is increasingly the subject of news features and other media coverage.

 

　　Japan Design yearbook

 

 

　　The Good Design Award publishes "Japan Design" every year. "Japan Design" is the Yearbook profiles all award winners from a particular year. The "Japan Design" is utilised as a reference to see design trends in Japan during the year as well as a public record of the year’s Good Design Awards.

 

 

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For more information, please contact:

Ms. Emi Saito
Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization
5F Midtown Tower,
9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107-6205
Japan
t: +81 (0)3 6743 3777
f: +81 (0)3 6743 3778
e: esaito@g-mark.org
w: www.g-mark.org/english