FAO: Members of the press

Japan Institute of Design Promotion
October 2, 2020

Good Design Award 2020 winners announced
Designs that open the door to new lifestyles are selected for awards

The Japan Institute of Design Promotion (chaired by Motomi Kawakami), the organizer of the Good
Design Award, announced the 2020 award recipients on Thursday, October 1. The organization
started accepting entries for the Good Design Award 2020 on April 2 and, following the screening of
4,769 entries, a total of 1,395 award-winning works were selected.
The winners announced yesterday include 100 works honored as the Good Design Best 100, acollection of entries that demonstrate excellence in the areas of originality, strength of proposal,
aesthetics, and degree of realization, and which raise the bar for current standards and serve asmodels of future design practice. Followed by further screening, the Good Design Grand Award andother special awards are to be selected from the Best 100.
Thursday’s announcement also included the 19 recipients of the Good Design Long Life DesignAward, which is given to products and projects that have won sustained support from the public overthe years.

Good Design Award 2020 results
Award-winning entries: 1,395 Companies receiving awards: 974 Total entries: 4,769
Good Design Long Life Design Award 2020 results
Award-winning entries: 19 Companies receiving awards: 19 Total entries: 126
Selected works from the Good Design Best 100

Zoom video conferencing systemvertebra03 task chair

BRING circular economy initiative

Trends in 2020: A number of this year’s Best 100 designs aimed to address challenges created by therecent drastic changes in our lifestyles. These included Zoom, which became popular due to theproliferation of remote working, and vertebra03, which enhances the home work environment. Other
designs sought to establish a recycling-oriented society, such as BRING, a system which aims toachieve 100% recycling of polyester materials.
For media inquiries, please contact：Toru Koike （Dentsu Public Relations）
Tel：080-3209-9698 E-mail：toru.koike@dentsu-pr.co.jp
For general inquiries, please contact Japan Institute of Design Promotion
Tel：03-6743-3777 E-mail： info-e@help.g-mark.org

Comments on the results from the screening panel Chair and Vice Chair
Takashi Ashitomi, Chair
This year, the theme of the Good Design Award is “sympathy for eachother.” When designing, it is very important to consider and explore suchthemes as others, society, and the environment. Furthermore, rather thantaking a one-sided approach, I feel it is necessary to exchange sensations,sensibilities, insights, and wisdom with each other. With that in mind, we
made a point of actively interpreting information and using our imaginationsin the process of screening. I think the outstanding designs conveyed
messages that were more than powerful enough to capture our attention.

Chair：Takashi Ashitomi
Product Designer
President, SAAT DESIGN Inc.

Seiichi Saito, Vice Chair
With “sympathy for each other” as the overarching theme, this year’s
screening process clearly highlighted the kinds of products and services thatare required by society. For example, we have recently seen an increasing
number of proposals for products and services related to the environment.
This year, we evaluated entries from multifaceted perspectives and byinterpreting and discussing them in greater depth, examining thebackground, materials, processes, and business models behind the various
initiatives and research and development projects. Our focus was on
determining whether the Good Design Award should promote morewidespread use of each design, and whether works clearly demonstrated“sympathy” that goes beyond the individual frameworks of corporations,organizations, or industries. As a result, we found designs that we canconfidently send out into the world.

Vice Chair: Seiichi Saito
Creative Director
CEO, Rhizomatiks Co., Ltd

About the Good Design Award
Established in 1957, the Good Design Award is Japan’s leading design commendation system. Eligible
entries include products, architecture, apps and software, projects and initiatives that utilize design, andmore. The awards provide an opportunity for a broad audience to experience good design andappreciate its value. Name recognition for the Good Design Award stands at 84%*, while the symbolic
G-Mark logo is also widely known.
*According to the latest survey by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion in 2020.
About the Good Design Long Life Design Award
The Long Life Design Award is given to products and services that have the potential to lead the way
for the future of design and be cherished for representing new standards that transcend their time.
Rather than simply offering praise for long-standing achievements, the purpose of the award is toapplaud the designs that many of us treasure in our daily lives, support their continued existence, andcongratulate the designs’ creators.