As the midsummer heat continued, the Second Screening Panel for the 2026 GOOD DESIGN AWARD was surrounded by an excitement to rival the outside temperature. Thousands of candidate designs were lined up in the large venue. The judges approached each design seriously, actually holding it in their hands, trying it out, and exchanging opinions as they screened it. At last, after a long screening, the subject entries that passed the second screening (considered as award finalists) were decided upon! Moreover, on the final day, the selection and review session for the GOOD DESIGN BEST 100 also took place.

The 2026 GOOD DESIGN AWARD marks the 70th year since the awards were set up. A new team of judges was announced in March, and Jun Nakagawa (Manager/Consultant; Representative of VISION to STRUCTURE, Representative of PARaDE) took up the post of Chair. The selection of Nakagawa, who is the former President of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten Co., Ltd. and has spent a long time in the world of business, to lead the screening for a design award can be seen as highly unusual, even from a historical perspective. On the occasion of his appointment, Nakagawa said that he would like to strengthen the aspect of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD as “a place where managers and designers work together.” How will we pass on the value that the GOOD DESIGN AWARD has built up to date, and what challenges will we take on in order to meet the next era? Together with Seiichi Saito, who served as Chair for 3 years from fiscal 2023 to fiscal 2025 before passing the baton to Nakagawa, he told us about where we are now and the future.