What challenges should designers face now, as found at the GOOD DESIGN AWARDs.
One of the important roles of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD is to discover the possibilities and challenges for the next society. The Focus Issue was created to fulfill this role, and is an initiative dedicated to deepening the important issues that design should face today.
In the Focus Issue, we set “issues" as themes that we believe should be explored through the judging process. While observing the submitted entries, the judges will reflect on the possibilities for the future of society and the role and significance of design, and present their findings as final recommendations after judging.

2022 - Re-examining the ever-changing “present day”
FOCUSED ISSUES are activities to consider and recommend new possibilities for design through the GOOD DESIGN AWARD screening process. In the FOCUSED ISSUES, we set “issues” as themes that we believe should be explored through the judging process. While observing the subject entries, the directors, selected by the jury, will reflect on the possibilities for the future of society and the role and significance of design, and present their findings as final recommendations after judging.

New Chairperson Talks about Outlook for 2023 Be a “think tank” of design: Why the GOOD DESIGN AWARD FOCUSED ISSUES was renewed—Seiichi Saito, New Chairperson
FOCUSED ISSUES is an activity that considers and recommends new possibilities for design through the GOOD DESIGN AWARD screening process. The GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2023 will see a major change in its structure. Seiichi Saito, this year’s newly appointed chairperson, talks about the updates to FOCUSED ISSUES and the thoughts that went into it.

Restore the democratic sense of changing something by oneself. Design in which the initiative is passed on and connected
The world is now experiencing a series of unintended events, such as economic upheaval, pandemics, and wars. In a world where the future is uncertain and social values are rapidly changing, what kind of design will be flexible enough to suit changing situations? How can we nurture something important for several decades ahead?

Leave space, and leave it to someone else in the end. Trust in users results in the creation of products that people can live with for a long time
The role of design is to find a “just right” relationship between people, the environment, and technology

Respect for “me” and collaboration between “us”:designing for compatibility between these two
How will the cooperative entity of “we” arise given the assumption of a unique “I”?

Everyone becomes a maker and keeps updating “the provisional first place.” Design to solve complicated problems
Complicated problems cannot be solved in a top down manner

A friendly society starts within 10 feet of you. Design that creates a stir through questioning common practices
The path to true inclusive design

Interpretable design includes diverse people — Erika Nakagawa x Honda UNI-ONE
This time Nakagawa visited the developers of UNI-ONE. One is Satoshi Kanamori, The other is Shinichiro Kobashi.Nakagawa's interview with them seeks a clue to the design that cannot be described in a nutshell.

"Bothersomeness" fosters continuous design across generations — Tatsuro Baba x Ai Iishi
Iishi visited the site to find hints of “Continuous design.” She talked with Tatsuro Baba, Representative Director of Kamiyama TSUNAGU Corporation, who was in charge of direction.

How is a sense of "we" expanded?—Yamakoshi Public Meeting Haruka Takeuchi × Dominique Chen
What kind of clue does this initiative of Yamakoshi, which was selected as one of the 100 best designs in the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2022, give him to realize “Designing Our Well-being”?