What is design? Let’s take a peek at the world spreading through a small Hatena, or question.
Let’s take a pause and look at all the things, people, and events in our daily lives and society...
It is a laboratory to know, feel, and approach design through a simple question.
This time’s theme
University student survey
What university students think about what design can do
2025.12.12
Students who study design support the screening for the GOOD DESIGN AWARD. We held a survey of the students who participated in this year’s support team, asking them “What is needed for good design?” and “What can design do?” In the previous article, we introduced what is needed for good design. In this article, we summarize the opinions we received about what design can do. The results allow us to feel the true nature of design from the students’ straightforward gaze upon it.
Design is the force which “makes our daily lives better”
The most common response was that design could “enrich our daily lives.” Many students thought that “design = the essence of the everyday,” with comments like “make our everyday lives a little more convenient,” “make life comfortable,” and “make daily life fun and bright.” It was impressive to see a user-focused perspective in which making design better makes life itself better.
Changing society by communication through design
The next most common response was the opinion that “design has the power to make society better.” There were many opinions which looked at the large scale, such as that design could “change the world,” “do anything,” and “open up the future.” These share a way of thinking which understands design as “a mechanism for influencing society.”
I also felt that this way of thinking assumed design to be a means of communication with society and people.
These responses tell us that design has “the power to move people” by giving rise to empathy and encouraging thinking through design, and changing people’s behavior through communication.
The power of design and the responsibility of this
While many responses argued that design could make people and society better, there were some which suggested the possibility that it could also change them in a negative direction. This is the perspective that precisely because design has power, we need to think carefully about how to use that power.
In addition, there were some responses that talked about the change in the respondents themselves as a result of confronting design, even though they did not yet know what impact it would have on people or society, allowing me to sense a sincere and honest gaze.
The survey showed the students’ straightforward trust in design and their willingness to embrace its potential –
from small conveniences in daily life to big innovations that will change the future of society. Design can draw alongside and continue to influence both of these. The FY 2025 survey was a collection of such powerful responses.
journal editorial department
Editing & writing
Editorial team of the web media “.g Good Design journal.” It is planned and managed jointly by the secretariat office of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD and external members in order to explore new possibilities in design.
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