After months of deliberation, we announced today the 1,608 winners of the 2021 GOOD DESIGN AWARD. First, I would like to congratulate all the recipients of this prestigious award. This is the culmination of not only your own tireless efforts, but also the support of everyone around you, including your colleagues, business partners, families, and members of your communities. I share your excitement in seeing your work come to fruition. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Takashi Ashitomi and Mr. Seiichi Saito for their great leadership as Chair and Vice Chair of the Judging Committee, as well as all members of the committee for their strong support.

Today, our world is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation. The many difficult issues we face include coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling climate change and other environmental issues, and preventing rapid innovation from deepening our social divide. As announced by Mr. Ashitomi earlier this year, the theme of the 2021 GOOD DESIGN AWARD is "Aspiration and Action with Consideration." This is a wonderful theme that verbalizes how our wishes and hopes for a better world can be realized if we all worked together. I believe that the selected designs embody this spirit in various ways.

Interest in design has never been stronger. Designers envision an ideal future, give it a specific form, and forge a path to that future. This year, the number of entries, as well as winners, is significantly higher than last year. When society yearns for a better future, designers respond with excellent works of art that propose multiple paths forward.

I would like to encourage the winners to promote the significance of these award-winning designs. We would be honored to help you succeed further in your business and activities.

The role of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD is to discover designs that create a better future and ensure that they are appreciated around the world. Those who happened to not receive the award this year also have my utmost respect: you have a deep understanding of the importance of design and competed among top talents. I hope you will continue to challenge yourselves in the future.

Following this announcement, we will promote the exceptional designs that are receiving the 2021 GOOD DESIGN AWARD. Those that we believe are particularly refined and have the potential to become models for the future are part of a selective group called GOOD DESIGN BEST100. We will review those top 100 winners further, choosing the recipients of the Good Design Grand Award, Gold Award, and Good Focus Award. By showcasing these works online, holding exhibitions, or planning other programs, we will strive to show the latest and best designs to as many people as possible.

We will continue to highlight great designs, so please keep an eye out for future announcements. We thank you for your continued support.

October 20, 2021

President, Japan Institute of Design Promotion
Hiroyuki Fukano

Congratulations to the winners of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2021.

This year, we have received more than 5,800 entries, an increase of about 1,000 from last year. The applicants showed their strong will to overcome difficulties caused by the COVID-19 and to move forward with the power of design.

The theme of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD this year is "Aspiration and action with consideration". At no other time has the world needed to share their hopes (aspiration) and to create a new future by working together (action with consideration). Through the judging process this year, I encountered a number of designs full of such aspirations and actions with consideration.

They include "Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver.β" by Ory Laboratory inc., the open data of 3D city models "PLATEAU" led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the mobile X-ray fluoroscope "FUJIFILM DR CALNEO CROSS" by FUJIFILM Corporation, just to name a few. They meet people's wishes with advanced digital technologies, aiming for a desirable future.

Others show great dedication with strong wishes and unique resources of individuals and companies. The disposable long-sleeved plastic gown "easy detachment gown" by MIYAGEN CO., LTD. and "Kuwamizu private house with public bath,” a home bath-turned-public bathhouse in the wake of the Kumamoto Earthquake are such examples. These exemplify designs born from the aspirations and actions with considerations.

All of them are designs that enhance the connection between people, society and the environment and respond to our wishes. Good designs change the world and people's frame of mind by expanding, amplifying and enhancing the outcomes among the various elements that make up our society.

GOOD DESIGN AWARD brings together the results of various design approaches in different fields. We hope that this year’s awarded designs as a collective entity create a potent force to attract the future we aspire for and the next generation of good designs.

October 20, 2021

Chair of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2021
Takashi Ashitomi

To all the recipients of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2021 and to all those involved in the awarded designs, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we received more entries from Japan and overseas than in previous years, and all the judging committee members recognized afresh the significance and responsibility of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD in this day and age. Therefore, we have updated the screening and discussion methods to judge each design thoroughly and safely. The reforms made under severe restrictions due to the pandemic include online interviews and screening of physical items with careful selection of the logistics. Through these efforts and others, we were able to achieve excellent screening results. Now we proudly present the new good designs to the society, thanks to all the companies and organizations that participated in the judging process, those who took on the operation and setup, and everyone involved in the GOOD DESIGN AWARD.

Looking back on the screening process based on the themes of "action with consideration" and "aspiration," of particular note was the "strong sense of ownership in design as a whole.” Many designs strongly expressed the desirable direction of the society, as implied in “aspiration,” and the will to take actions toward that direction, as implied in "action with consideration."

Some designers took charge of the whole business operations themselves, while others attempted to evoke immediate positive changes in the society by not only pursuing economic efficiency but also reaching out to as many people as possible. Regarding global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as local disasters and neighborhood concerns, many applicants showed designs based on prompt analysis to motivate actions. This proves that design is not just about analyzing the current situation and creating something new, but also about taking on the role of helping individuals, organizations and companies envision the ideal society and leading the way to its realization. I am strongly convinced that these efforts will be spun together to form a swell of action with consideration.

To this end, we need to actively contextualize the image of the future that people aspire, through the GOOD DESIGN AWARDs. I would like to continue disseminating the great directions and possibilities the award-winning designs presented, through the Focused Issues and review of the screening process.

October 20, 2021

Vice Chair of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2021
Seiichi Saito