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
Survey on preferences
Embellish the time in which you want to indulge your preferences! 6 items selected by the GOOD DESIGN AWARD
2026.5.29
We surveyed followers of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD official Instagram account, asking them “Which time during the day do you want to spend pleasantly: morning or evening?” The results showed that the majority prefer the evening. In this article, based on your feedback, we introduce GOOD DESIGN AWARD winners that gently support you to spend your preferred time within your daily life pleasantly.
We researched “the time in which you indulge your preferences” each day!

Whether it is getting ready in the morning, time to relax in the evening, or sleeping, there is a time in which you want to indulge your preferences, even in the midst of busy daily life. At the GOOD DESIGN AWARD, we carried out a survey via our official Instagram account in order to introduce designs that fulfill your preferences.
The topic was “Which time during the day do you want to spend pleasantly: morning or evening?” The results were 34 votes (around 23%) for mornings and 112 votes (around 77%) for evenings. Which time of during the day would you like to spend more pleasantly?
While many people expressed strong preferences about their relaxation time in the evening, others said they wanted to spend time pleasantly in the morning, when they switched on for the day. In this article, we introduce GOOD DESIGN AWARD winners which will make your daily life richer and more pleasant from the evening, the most popular choice of time for indulging one’s preferences, to the morning.
MUJUU aromas, which let you care for yourself after coming home

MUJUU is an aroma series developed to make it easy to carry out sleep care through fragrance, even in your busy daily life. It aligns itself with the evening routine of “coming home, taking a bath, skin care, and going to bed” to switch your mind and body naturally from the “on mode” of working to the “off mode,” using the power of fragrance to clear your mind and support the creation of habits that make it easier to fall asleep.
The fragrances in the series use original aromas based on an image of sleeping in a forest. There are four items available: hand and body soap, bath aroma, body cream, and aroma mist. At the end of the day, after working hard, they create a time in which you are gently enfolded in fragrance.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/21306Upmind, easily creating relaxing habits with your smartphone

Upmind is a mindfulness app that helps you implement the habit of leaving blank space in your mind. It visualizes the state of your autonomic nervous system in 30 seconds using a smartphone camera. In addition, you can practice mindfulness techniques such as professionally supervised meditation and yoga for a short time, so you can effortlessly continue the habits which clear your mind in the moments before sleep.
The stylish and gentle design makes it easy for users to develop the habit of taking care of their health. It is designed so that you can complete the entire health management cycle – from measuring your state to providing care and monitoring your progress – in a single app.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/20063THE PILLOW, a pillow that supports your sleep every night

Sleep is an essential and precious time which supports our physical and mental health. “THE PILLOW” is an online custom-made pillow for which diagnosis, measurement, and ordering can all be done in your own home.
In the pillow diagnosis, AI analyzes factors including body shape, body mass index, sleep rhythm, sleeping posture, and pillow preference, and suggests the pillow of the most suitable height, firmness, and shape for each person out of 700,000 possible combinations.
Permanent maintenance and subscription plans are also available, so you can use and feel at ease knowing that your pillow will remain in its best and most suitable condition forever.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/20844AIRLE, blinds you can use however you wish on busy mornings to fit your lifestyle

AIRLE are vertical blinds that allow you to adjust the amount of light, while maintaining the soft appearance of curtains that you open after waking up in the morning. By operating the baton to tilt the material, you can freely control the lighting and the view.
This item is distinguished by the fact that the lighting can be adjusted even when in a closed state, so you can let it natural light while maintaining your privacy. In addition, since you can go in and out through the gaps in the fabric, the opening and closing motions of conventional curtains are reduced, making it smoother to move between the indoors and outdoors.
Combining design sense and functionality, this product offers a smart and comfortable way of living that suits modern lifestyles.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/26358BALMUDA the Toaster is for you if you like bread in the morning!

BALMUDA the Toaster was developed from the wish to “toast the bread that we buy in the supermarket or convenience store and eat each morning more deliciously.”
The unique steam technology and precise temperature control lock in the moisture and aroma of the bread to create an impressive toasted finish. It can also be used for rebaking, which reproduces the taste of freshly baked bread by adjusting to the bread type without burning, and for toasting functions such as gratin, enriching your dining table every day.
It is a toaster oven that enables anyone to taste deliciousness with ease, and to enjoy the time while the bread is baking by peeking inside through the deliberately small window.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/29435Uzura series, tableware to adorn the breakfast table

Ceramics are generally fired at a high temperature, which consumes a lot of energy and is considered to place a heavy burden on the environment. Uzura series tableware, on the other hand, employs Seido, a new material that does not use glaze, simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 40% compared with conventional methods.
In addition, by intentionally treating the spots of iron powder that are usually considered to be defects as part of the design, it has reduced waste and achieved a high production efficiency of 99% yield rate.
The quiet and dignified appearance of the tableware includes the different look of each piece born of this special manufacturing method. While naturally fitting into everyday life, it combines ease of use with beauty.
https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners/33130From the beginning to the end of the day, the strong preferences that we cherish in our daily lives are linked to healing and enjoyment for every one of us. And these preferences are also the designs that form your unique life. We plan to carry out more surveys via the GOOD DESIGN AWARD official Instagram account in the future. Please feel free to take part! Official Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/good_design_award/
Chieko Asakura
Writing
While working at a bookstore, she creates books and videos. She participated in Tokyo Art Book Fair (TABF) 2025. She is also active as an actor, participating in the theater company chelfitsch’s Five Days in March Re-creation and Metamorphosis of a Living Room.
Related Articles

What university students think about what design can do
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.

University students tell us what is needed for good design
Students studying 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 to create good design?” and “What can design do?” In this article, we will introduce some of their answers to the question of what is needed for good design. We gathered candid opinions that are not bound by stereotypes, born from a sincere approach to design.

Tea lovers, gather round! 4 items selected by the GOOD DESIGN AWARD
We carried out a survey in which we asked followers of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD official Instagram account, “Do you always choose coffee beans for your daily hot drink? Or do you prefer tea leaves?” The results showed that the majority of followers prefer coffee. In this article, we have chosen to focus instead on the minority who are tea aficionados! We have selected tea-related products that have won the GOOD DESIGN AWARD to enrich this moment to yourself even further, paying attention to the preferences of those who have this niche taste and to what you enjoy. Here are some recommended items for tea lovers.

Why does the QR Code have this pattern?
Here is the solution to a mystery behind a design familiar to us. Today, we talk about the design of the QR Code which we see in all kinds of everyday situations. We listened to the story behind the development of the black and white square patterns, which have been used not only in Japan but all over the world since their introduction in 1994.