KOKUYO Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City; President and CEO: Hidekuni Kuroda), is holding the KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2020 which is a competition aiming to gather and commercialize designs from a wide range of users in the general public that are excellent from the perspective of those using them. We will accept submissions of works from July 19 to October 18, 2019.

The upcoming KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD will be the 17th time the competition is held since its founding in 2002 (2010 was the only year it was not held), and many of the winning designs have gone on to become successful products, such as Kadokeshi, Campus Note Paracuruno, Nameless Paints, and True Measure.
There was a total of 1,289 submitted entries for the previous competition (16th), and with over 40% of the entries submitted from countries other than Japan, it has truly grown as an international product design competition.

The theme for this competition is　" ♡ ".

We have deliberately not defined the reading of " ♡ ". How to read and interpret this symbol is completely up to the applicant to decide. We would like you to allow your imagination to flow as freely as possible as you think about the expectations contained within " ♡ ".

The KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD has been seeking designs that create new value for KOKUYO and society as a whole ever since its founding. Although we have focused on carefully providing stories and scenes in recent years especially, we have decided to set the theme as " ♡ " this year in order to promote the creativity and inspiration of the applicants above all else. We hope to see more flexible and bolder designs this year compared to previous years. We look forward to seeing the amazing, intuitive and inspiring works that will transform what we thought of as “normal” in this world.

"Any stationery, furniture or tool used in working, learning and living scenes” are eligible. As all tools used in everyday life are eligible, and not just stationery and furniture which are KOKUYO’s main product categories, we expect more flexible ideas. Submissions are comprehensively evaluated based on the three evaluation criteria:
1) Interpretation of the theme
2) Perfection of design and idea
3) Potential to become a product"

Details will be published on the KOKUYO website in the near future.

■Main application guidelines for KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2020

1. Theme : ♡
How would you read this theme?
Love, passion, bonds, cuteness,
hope, attachment, feelings, life.
An idea to transform
and lighten up this world.
A design that moves your heart
the moment you see it, the moment you touch it.
What is ♡ ？
Try giving shape
to the answer you have found.

2. Eligible Entries : Any stationery, furniture or tool used in working, learning and living scenes

3. Registration & Submission : July 19 (Fri) - October 18 (Fri), 2019

4. Judges
Ryosuke Uehara (CEO, Art Director & Creative Director of KIGI Co.,Ltd.)
Masashi Kawamura (Creative Director & Chief Creative Officer of Whatever Inc.)
Tsuyoshi Tane (Founder of Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects / Architect)
Teruhiro Yanagihara (Designer)
Yoshie Watanabe (Art Director & Designer at KIGI Co.,Ltd.)
Hidekuni Kuroda (KOKUYO Co., Ltd. President and CEO)

5. Prizes
Grand Prix (one winner): \2,000,000 (about $18,000)
Merit Award (three winners): \500,000 (about $4,500) per winner

*Prize money will be paid net of withholding tax, surtax for reconstruction funding, and other applicable deductions.
*Not all prizes may be awarded for all categories if there is no winner selected.

6. Judging Criteria
Interpretation of the theme
Perfection of design and idea
Potential to become a product

7. Announcement of the Winners : March 14 (Sat), 2020 (tentative)

Detailed application guidelines will be published on KOKUYO’s website and social media accounts on July 19.
HP / http://www.kokuyo.co.jp/award/
Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/KokuyoDesignAward.japan/
Twitter / https://twitter.com/kokuyo_DA
Instagram / @kokuyo_designaward
LINE / @kokuyo_da

[Contact]
KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD Office : kda●award.kokuyo.co.jp (e-mail)
*Please replace the “●” symbol with "@" before sending your inquiries by email to the address listed above.

Back to Index