KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2026

title

gram

creator

Takashi Higashide

Description

When I picked up a model of my long-used pen that had the same shape but different materials, I felt a slight sense of unfamiliarity. It turned out to be only a few grams in weight. The “gram” pen series delicately adjusts weight alone without changing shapes or materials. The comfort of writing is not uniform, and the difference in comfort or unfamiliarity caused by a few grams is a sensation many people feel unconsciously. By focusing solely on weight, you will experience a silent emergence of sensations that you were not even aware of.

title

Notebooks Identified by Edges

creator

Yuji Tsukamoto

Description

This pure white notebook series features colored edges on the cover, meeting the need to “distinguish yet coordinate.” The subtle and understated color scheme of the edges makes each notebook easily distinguishable, while its simple look brings a beautiful sense of unity to desks and bookshelves. Also, since only the edges are colored and not the entire cover, less ink is used which contributes to reducing environmental impact. This stripped-down notebook quietly organizes your field of vision and encourages you to focus on your studies and creations.

title

Gradience Diary

creator

Mizuki Igarashi　Rara Takizawa

Description

While the amount of scheduled tasks varies from day to day and some tasks might span multiple days, conventional planners consist of uniformly sized squares and days are clearly separated by lines. We questioned the way such planners are designed, so we created the “Gradience Diary.” This planner has no lines, and each day is separated only by a gradient of white and gray. The writer can decide the size of each square based on the amount of tasks, and can write down schedules spanning multiple days while retaining a sense of continuity.

title

red and white packing paper

creator

Tasuku Denno

Description

Red and white packing paper is a packaging material used to protect celebratory gifts.
The red and white paper strips are connected successively to form the whole.
When you unfold the paper, a honeycomb-like structure is formed.
You can use it not only as packing material but also as decoration for celebrations and as interior decor.
I would be happy if the feeling of caring about someone spreads to the world.

title

Edge Index

creator

Renki Torigoe

Description

Looking at my used-up loose-leaf paper from high school, I felt there must be a way to organize it more beautifully in my own style and make my daily studies more enjoyable. The Edge Index was born from that memory. Dyeing the edges of loose-leaf paper makes the color emerge each time it is used or stacked, making the page itself function as an index. Reconsidering the edge coloring not as decoration but as a structure for classifying information, transforms the accumulation of records into organization. A proposal for loose-leaf paper that makes you visually enjoy the traces of learning.

title

AWAI

creator

Ryoichi Nakamura

Description

“AWAI” is a pen that leaves faintly smudged lines after writing.
Usually, lines drawn strongly and distinctly send a powerful message to our future selves or others who see them.
The faintly smudged lines are new ways of being lines.
What the new lines pose to the future is not a strong message like “This is important, or this is wrong,” but rather a suggestion and question that leaves room to think, “Maybe you should take another look and reconsider.”

title

OVERLAP

creator

Yohei Oki

Description

Lines with different orientations, overlapping lines, and white space. Different types of content bring changes to how you use your notebook.
Writing something completely different in each area, combining what’s written, breaking things down starting from the overlapping parts, or just writing whatever you want along the lines. Such ways of using it stimulate your thinking and produce unexpected outputs.
By changing the way you draw the common element of ruled lines, you will get to expand the possibilities of your notebook.

title

KASUMIORI

creator

Yoshihiro Matsumura

Description

The white mist slowly and silently blurs the view, then gradually reveals a new landscape before your eyes.
When reading a book, we imagine various scenes and stories, and draw them in our minds.
They are sometimes vivid, then gradually fade while repeating their fluctuations, and are etched in your heart.
KASUMIORI bookmark links to the emotional movements, gently connects sentences, and silently connects books, people, and the scenes that come to mind.

title

a glimmer of inspiration

creator

Nao Momoishi

Description

I work as a copywriter, and sometimes when I keep thinking, ideas pop up like a reward.
It’s like the moment when light suddenly filters through the cloudy sky.

This product is for people who write down their thoughts in a notebook. It shines a soft spotlight on even the most casual strings of letters, serving as a guide for their thoughts.