The GOOD DESIGN GRAND AWARD for 2024 goes to the RESILIENCE PLAYGROUND play equipment research project!

A play equipment manufacturer in business for 108 years won the GRAND AWARD!

The GOOD DESIGN GRAND AWARD is the PRIME MINISTER’s AWARD for the best design among all the 1,579 GOOD DESIGN AWARD recipients this year. The GRAND AWARD also serves as a symbol of the trends in design and society that year.

The selection method has changed from 2024, and the winner were voted among 20 GOOD DESIGN GOLD AWARD works by the judges who are design professionals and the year’s GOOD DESIGN AWARD winners.

This year, the honor of receiving the GOOD DESIGN GRAND AWARD went to RESILIENCE PLAYGROUND, a project by the long-established play equipment manufacturer JAKUETS, with 349 votes!

JAKUETS Inc. began by running a kindergarten in 1916 and has continued to be involved in early childhood education for more than 100 years, focusing on designing, manufacturing, and selling teaching materials and tools based on the results of its own original research.

RESILIENCE PLAYGROUND is designed as a solution to the problem that children who need medical care cannot play even if they want to, while at the same time ensuring that it is not designed exclusively for children with disabilities.

People with a variety of perspectives, including children with diverse personalities, doctors, care staff, play equipment designers, and local residents, collaborated across their respective fields to explore and develop playground equipment that could serve as a medium for children to play with friends regardless of any disability.

During the screening, it was evaluated highly as a valuable example of a collaboration between the medical and care sectors and local communities to contribute to the creation of a society where everyone can enjoy themselves just as they are, with play as a starting point.

The results of the vote for Our Favorite G Mark were also announced during the celebration. “Multi-generational welfare facility complex” Fukagawa Enmichi was chosen by all the visitors to the winners’ exhibition!

A ceremony where we can enjoy the GOOD DESIGN “community”

About 3,000 people involved in design, including winners and judges, gathered for a dazzling award ceremony. This must be one of the largest design communities in Japan, to which you can gain entry by winning a GOOD DESIGN AWARD.

At the venue, you can see many of the winners interacting with each other, and there are various photo spots where the participants can take commemorative photos. A huge G Mark was placed in the center of the stage where each award was presented, and the awards were celebrated in grand style.

From now on, winners will be presented with one Commendation Certificate for each award winning object, as well as the award yearbook for this year. They are also offered a range of post-award support, including the use of the G Mark. Please check the official website for details of the ways in which the GOOD DESIGN AWARD can be put to use.

All of this year’s winning designs are also on show in the gallery. Please take a look! 2024 gallery: https://www.g-mark.org/en/gallery/winners