Enter the Kokuyo Design Award 2025. Free, online, and open to all, with prizes worth Rs. 15L+. Submit your design by October 9!

About the Award

KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD isΒ an international competition for product design that aims to co-create with talented designers and support their activities.Β 

Since its establishment, excellent product designs have been selected from entriesΒ that represent current social conditions,Β and award-winning works have been turned into commercial products through co-creationΒ between KOKUYO developers and the award winners. By delivering designs to the worldΒ that breathe new life into the tools we regularly use in our daily lives and at work as reliable products,Β KOKUYO aims to support the future activities of designers and at the same time,Β bring you a tomorrow you can’t wait for.

More than 24 years have passed since the founding of the award,Β and more than 20 products have been created to date.Β It is continuing to evolve as a project that conveys value reflecting the times,Β and not simply as something to be selected and awarded.

Kokuyo Design Award 2025
Kokuyo Design Award 2025

Theme

The theme is PROTOTYPE. Groundbreaking design often begins with a prototype. Prototyping is to design an original idea into a formΒ that has the potential to lead to the next step. The KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2025 seeks designs pointing the way to the futureΒ and serving as a catalyst. Your design will inspire others and become a vector for the future.

Eligible Entries

Any stationery, furniture or tool used in working, learning and living scenes.

Eligibility Criteria

The competition accepts entries from any corporation, individual, or group that fulfills all the following requirements, regardless of their age, sex, occupation, or nationality.

1. Persons who are able to give a presentation at the final judging (March 22, 2025).

* The contest organizer will pay expenses incurred by participants for travel and lodging 
(up to two individuals for group entries).

2. Persons who consent to these Rules.

* In cases when an entrant is a minor, the consent of their parent or other statutory agent is required.

Number of Submissions Allowed

  • Unlimited

* Entry eligibility is limited to those designs never before shown publicly (in Japan, other countries).

Awards

Grand Prix 2,000,000en / Merit Award 500,000en
  • About NEW GENERATION AWARD: This award is selected by KOKUYO Co., Ltd. from among all entries submitted by students (from elementary school to graduate school students) in the hope for their future success. We will select up to 10 outstanding entries that, based on their presentation sheets, make us β€œfeel that their futures will be exciting” (without judging the models).
  • Not all prizes may be awarded for all categories if there is no winner selected.
  • Prize money will be paid net of withholding tax, surtax for reconstruction funding, and other applicable deductions.
  • The amount shown in dollar is that calculated at the time of publication. The prize will be calculated according to the exchange rate at the time of payment, from the amount shown in Japanese yen.
  • The prize money will be paid in Japanese yen.

Judges

  • Shogo Kishinoγ€€γ€€
  • Tsuyoshi Taneγ€€
  • Nao Tamuraγ€€
  • Teruhiro Yanagihara
  • Satoshi Yoshiizumi
  • Hidekuni Kurodaγ€€

Judging Points

  • The idea’s clarity
  • The idea highlights social issues
  • The design’s potential to become a product

How to Register?

Interested participants can register through this link.

Deadline

12:00 (noon) JST On October 9, 2024

Click here to view the official notification of the Kokuyo Design Award 2025.

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