2009 Good Design Awards: FAQ

Genaral questions in applying Good Design Awards

Q : We are interested in participating the Good Design Awards. Can you send us an entry form?

A :  We do not accept printed entry form. All the entry process is carried out via the website. Please register your company information via the internet first to get your exclusive ID and password.

Q : Can we enter all of the information in English?

A :  Yes, you can apply with English from the following page.
    http://www.g-mark.org/english/

Q : I am trying to fill in the detail of the Entry Site. Since our company has just officially been launched, I can not put down the figure of share capital.

A :  If you have any figures or information that are currently not yet clear, please leave blank or put alternative ones instead. The information in your Entry Site is always available to update, so please periodically check and revise the content. Please make sure though, that your comapny information is enough to meet the conditions necessary for entries.

Q : I input our ID and Password correcly to access our Entry Site, but it does not work.

A :  Please check if you are not wrongly mixing letters such as the capital letter "I" of "i" with the small letter "l" of "L" or even with the number "1". By the same token, alphabet "O" and the number "0" are also often mixed up. On rare occasions, the ID or Password end with "a space" without even noticing.

Q : I have found out that the name of the entry that I put down was wrong. Can I edit the information even after I have already confirmed the data?

A :  Yes, you just need to click on "Edit" to revise the content again.

Q : I can not upload the images to the registration page.

A :  Please check once again if your images meet the condition for uploading to the registration page such as the image size, color setting, etc. For the detail, please see the "Help" on the right top of "Attach photo data of the product" box.

Q : If the products were developed in one theme / collection, can we enter these serveral pieces in a group as one entry?

A :  If you submitted a series of products that were developed in one theme, they would be considered as one entry.

Q : We will be required for 10,000 yen per entry (tax included) for the 1st screening. If we entered 3 products in one time for the 1st screening, would it mean 1 entry or 3 entries? How much would it be charged?

A :  If you submitted 3 different entries, it means 3 entries, therefore, the fee will also become triple.

Q : Do we need to send our entries to your office for the 1st Screening?

A :  NO. the 1st screening is conducted only through the information you registered in your Entry Site.

Q : If we won the award(s), is it optional whether or not we place image(s) and information of our award-winning items in the Yearbook?

A :  No, it is mandatory. If you won the Good Design Award, your awarded items will automatically have to be in the Yearbook with publication fee. Please apply with understanding of this regulation.

To participate Second Screening and Good Design Expo

Q : Can we send our actual entries directly to the Good Design Awards Office or Tokyo Big Sight?

A : NO! We do not accept any direct shipment. If you or your Japan representative can not carry in your entries to the venue, please fill in Order Form and contact with Mitetsu Golden Aircargo Co., Ltd.

    Detailed information on the shipment is provided in "Transportation of Entries".

Q : Should we send materials like brochure?

A : Yes, explanation materials like brochure is helpful.

Q : Can we hang or place posters or panels from the frame or from the arm of spotlight?

A : No! It is not allowed to do so. If you really need to display posters, please prepare something to hang from or place by your side like, easels or stick or pole to be propped against. Again, this year, exhibition space does not have a wall to post panels or posters.

Q : Do we prepare fixtures and furniture necessary for the exhibition, such as stand and lighting?

A : We have arranged Display Packages for the optimum display. Applicants are asked to use Display Packages, as a general rule.
Choosing "Space only" is for the entry which cannot use any package because of its size or characteristics. If you purchase only the spaces, you need to come over to the venue and prepare all the display equipments (light, table, display stand, etc).

    Detailed information on exhibition is provided in "Exhibition Information".

    Detailed information on display package is provided in "Display Packages and Exhibition Fees".

Q : Does organizer have small fixtures for display or power distribution for electrical appliances?

A : No. Please prepare small fixtures such as transformer, adopter or PC connecter if needed, and include them together with your entries in a package when you send it to Mitetsu Golden Aircargo Co., Ltd. . Especially if your item need power source or uses your own lighting apparatuses.

Q : We will exhibit electronic products energized. How do we manage it during the exhibition period?

A : In the case you applied for electronic source for your exhibit, your products will be energized all through the exhibition period, including the nighttime after the closing hour. The products must be sustainable all through the exhibition period, from carrying in to carrying out. So please make sure to set up/operate the product securely.
Applicants are not admitted to enter the exhibition space during the Second Screening Panel and after the event's closing hour. In the case you necessarily have to operate the exhibit product, please submit the instruction manual of the product to the staff in charge. (If the operation is too complicated, we may have to decline your request)

Q : In case we bring the exhibit to the venue and display ourselves, what do we need to bring other than our exhibits ?

A : After the 1st screening, we send 'Entry Pass', 'Staff Ribbon' and 'Gate Pass for Delivery Vehicle' to who come over the venue and set up the exhibits. You are required to bring them with you to enter the venue. Also we provide 'Installation Confirmation Form' after the set ups. Please make sure to bring it at the carrying out day. You cannot carry out your exhibit without 'Installation Confirmation Form'.

Q : Can we send mock-ups or models instead of actual items ?

A : Basically, only an actual item is acceptable since it should be the same as what users will get. However, in the event of inevitable cause due to production schedule, final production model that has completely same appearance may be acceptable. Please note, though, that there is a possibility that mock ups or models may not be screened properly depending on the state of their completion.

Q : Are all the electronic products screened when the power is on?

A : General electronic products like products for daily use are not necessarily to be powered on. Though products in which their user interfaces are the important factors to be screened (eg. electronic devices, information devices), they must be operable by juries during the screening. Same can be said for the products in which its usability and essential point of design can be represented when the power is on, such as electronic products with display attached.
For using the power source, please apply through the Entry Site of Good Design Award 2009.

Q : Can we attend at the Second Screening Panel?

A : No, you cannot. Only judges and the relevant people of Good Design Awards office are admitted to attend at the Second Screening Panel.