What challenges should designers face now, as found at the GOOD DESIGN AWARDs.

FOCUSED ISSUES is a GOOD DESIGN AWARD initiative that depicts the future of design in society through the screening process.

FOCUSED ISSUES 2022

2022 Articles

2022 - Re-examining the ever-changing “present day”

2023.07.27

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.

Director’s Message

iishi_ai — Ai Iishi Urban Designer | Coordinator, Real Public Estate / Director, nest.inc

Issue: Continuous design Restore the democratic sense of changing something by oneself. Design in which the initiative is passed on and connected

suzuki_gen — Gen Suzuki Product Designer｜Director, GEN SUZUKI STUDIO

Issue: Just the right design 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

dominique_chen — Dominique Chen Information Studies Researcher｜Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University

Issue: Design to generate “our” well-being Respect for “me” and collaboration between “us”: designing for compatibility between these two

nakagawa_erika — Erika Nakagawa Architect｜CEO, Erika Nakagawa Office

Issue: Design that cannot be described in a nutshell Everyone becomes a maker and keeps updating “the provisional first place.” Design to solve complicated problems

laila_cassim — Laila Cassim Art Director/Designer｜General Incorporated Association SHIBUYA FONT

Issue: Design for the people that are within 10 feet of you A friendly society starts within 10 feet of you. Design that creates a stir through questioning common practices

Interviews with award winners and experts

The Directors conducted hearings and interviews with award winners and experts to gain insights into their thinking on each of the FOCUSED ISSUES.

Interpretable design includes diverse people — Erika Nakagawa × Honda UNI-ONE

"Bothersomeness" fosters continuous design across generations — Tatsuro Baba × Ai Iishi

How is a sense of "we" expanded? — Yamakoshi Public Meeting Haruka Takeuchi × Dominique Chen

Design starts with immediate relationships beyond just support — Takashi Yoshidada × Laila Cassim

Just the right design in terms of altruism — Asa Ito × Gen Suzuki

Special Interviews

Interviews to learn more about the FOCUSED ISSUES.

What design should achieve today is interaction and creating a compass – Thinking from the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2022 [Takashi Ashitomi and Seiichi Saito]

Transforming Public Spaces with Powerful Vision and Invisible Design