Open Call to the International Kokuyo Design Awards 2014, Japan

Deadline: June 30, 2014

The Japanese company Kokuyo has announced the 2014 call for entries to its design contest, an annual international event that celebrates the art of product design from the user’s perspective.

The Kokuyo Design Awards began in 2002. Since then, this annual design contest has been responsible for discovering and developing such hit products as the Kadokeshi eraser, the Parakuruno Campus notebook, the Beetle Tip fluorescent highlighter, and the Roll Table. Last year, this internationally acclaimed contest attracted 1,217 entries from designers representing more than 20 countries.

The theme of this year’s contest is Next Quality. Going beyond just quality, Kokuyo wants to bring more products that combine beauty and superior functionality to the world. This level of perfection is what they call Next Quality. Submissions will focus on stationery and furniture design.

Awards:

• The Grand Prize for 2014 is ¥2,000,000 and four Merit awards of ¥500,000 each are available as well.
• The winning designs may also be selected for further development into commercial products in the future.

Eligibility:

• Entry eligibility is limited to those designs that have never been shown publicly, either in Japan or other countries.
• Corporations, organizations, individuals, and group are all welcome, regardless of age, sex, professional background, or nationality are eligible to apply.

Application:

• Entries must be in Japanese or English.
• Applicants should fill in the required information as in the completed work sample. Only one side of the sheet may be used, and no additional pages permitted.

For more information, click here.