The Theme for KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2017 Is "NEW STORY"

This is the 15th KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD to be held since it was established in 2002 (the only year it was not held was 2010), and from among the winners so far, such products as "the Kadokeshi", "the Campus Note Paracuruno", "the Wagomu" and "the Nameless Paints" have been created.
Last year (the 14th awards), we received a total of 1,307 entries from 44 countries including Japan, and awareness of the KOKUYO DESIGN AWARDS as an international product design competition is growing.

Since its foundation, KOKUYO has endeavored to support people's "working" and "learning" with a focus on stationery and office furniture. In the face of diversifying customer need and increasingly ambiguous boundaries between work and private life, we have recently added a "living" perspective to the "working" and "learning", and we now offer value that adds delight to both work style and life style.

The theme for KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2017 is "NEW STORY", and we are calling for entries that tell new stories in "working", "learning", and "living" environments. Recent themes, "Beautiful Lifestyle" (2015) and "HOW TO LIVE" (2016) were not only based on beauty from a functional and design perspective, but actually discovered new lifestyles and ways of living through these themes.
In addition to those aspects, this year we hope to receive work that is fresh and powerful enough to establish new genres in this modern world that is overflowing with things.

Registrations and Design submissions will be accepted through before 12:00 (noon) JPT on August 31.

THEME : NEW STORY

Encountering something new
leads to new conversations,
spreading new ideas,
and bringing new people together.
It’s the start of a new life.
What kind of design would pave the way to such a new experience?
It’s something that opens new doors and goes on to establish new genres.
We look forward to the new stories you create.

ELIGIBLE ENTRIES : Stationery, furniture, household goods etc.

REGISTRATION & WORK SUBMISSION: June 15 to 12:00 (noon) JPT on August 31

AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS : January 18, 2018 [tentative]

 
PRIZES :   Grand Prix (one from all entries) ¥2,000,000
Merit Award (three from all entries) ¥500,000/winner
 
JUDGES :   Ryosuke Uehara (CEO, Art Director & Creative Director of KIGI Co.,Ltd.)
Masashi Kawamura(CEO & Executive Creative Director of PARTY NY)
Oki Sato (CEO & designer of design office nendo)
Yasuhiro Suzuki (Artist)
Yoshie Watanabe (Art Director & Designer of KIGI Co.,Ltd.)
Akihiro Kuroda (KOKUYO Co., Ltd. Representative / Director and Chairman)
 

[Website] http://www.kokuyo.com/en/award/ (English)