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Kokuyo Design Award 2025: Prototype

Kokuyo Design Award is an international competition for product design that aims to co-create with talented designers and support their activities.

The theme for the Kokuyo Design Award 2025 is “prototype.” In product design, the word “prototype” is generally used to mean a pre-finished product or a sample before completion, but for this project, Kokuyo saw it as “an original idea that has the potential to lead to the next step.” A well thought-out prototype will inspire others and serve as a catalyst for the future. The Kokuyo Design Award 2025 is looking for product designs that will be the starting point for the future.

The best design will be awarded with 2,000,000 Japanese yen — about $12,800. Three Merit awards of 500,000 Japanese yen each, will also be announced and special prizes may as well be awarded. Up to 10 winners will also be announced for the New Generation Award and will each be awarded with 30,000 Japanese yen.

Any stationery, furniture or tool used in working, learning and living scenes is eligible to be entered. The judges will focus on the following points: “The idea’s clarity,” “The idea highlights social issues,” and “The design’s potential to become a product.”

The New Generation Award encourages unique ideas and challenges that are not bound by existing concepts, and is open only to student applicants with the expectation of future success. Associating with Kokuyo’s purpose, “Bringing you a tomorrow you can’t wait for,” the organizers will select up to 10 outstanding entries with appealing ideas and viewpoints as proposals that make us “feel that their futures will be exciting.” Kokuyo hopes this will encourage the young generation, who will lead the next age, to challenge themselves.

Submissions must be the original work of the entrant. Submissions cannot have been made public (in Japan or overseas) before or concurrent to this contest.

Please visit the official website for further details.