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 students think about the potential of design
2026.10.30
Students who study design support the screening for the GOOD DESIGN AWARD. We surveyed students who participated in this year’s support, asking them a variety of questions, including “What are your feelings about the changes to design caused by the advent of generative AI?” “Do you think design can change society?” and “What can design do?” Their answers were full of the free and imaginative perspectives that you would expect from students of design.
Feelings about evolving technology and design
Responses to the question “Which is closest to your feelings about the changes to ‘design’ caused by the advent of generative AI?” were almost evenly split among students, with 50.5% saying they were “looking forward to” these changes, and 48.5% saying they were “worried” about them.
On the other hand, 98 out of 99 respondents answered the question “Do you think design can change society?” affirmatively. The results show that while there are worries and uncertainty about the emergence of generative AI, respondents believe in the intrinsic power of design.
What design can do: the power of design
Against this background, the most common response to the question “What do you think design can do?” was “It can enrich and improve our everyday living and our lives.” The students mentioned many viewpoints that are closely related to daily life, such as eliminating daily hassles and making everyday life richer, more enjoyable, and more comfortable.
The second most common response was, “It can confront social issues and has the power to change the future.” Broad and wide-ranging perspectives encompassing society as a whole were striking. These included moving society forward, showing possibilities for the future, and generating new value or new questions, as well as creating culture.
Some other opinions were “It can build relationships and communication between different people, and between people and things, regions or countries, or nature,” and “It works on our emotions and memories, and even has the power to change people’s behavior.”
Attitudes confronting the power of design
On the other hand, there were also voices from respondents reflecting on their attitudes towards design itself precisely because of its various powers. These included the responsibilities and limits entailed by the power of design, and the importance of humanity and thoughtfulness.
What should we value and how should we approach design in the midst of the growing range of options created by technological advances? From the 2026 survey, we could see that the students were thinking seriously about the nature of design going forward, believing in the unchanging essence and power of design while also turning their attention to humanity, thoughtfulness, and the issues design faces.
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.
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