News 2006

Message from the Chairman of the Jury (2006/04/03)

Toward a New Era in Design

The globalization of design and manufacturing, which underlies the progress being made toward lifestyles of the near future, is now moving full steam ahead and is attracting great attention worldwide. Design is already a core concept in terms of lifestyle, industry, and the economy, and its meaning is itself undergoing an expansion. In the Japanese industrial context, there are now far greater expectations for the production of items with a high degree of originality, and the twin concepts of highly developed aesthetic sense and high technology will soon be keywords for design and manufacturing not just within Japan but worldwide.

We might say that in a world inhabited by over 6 billion people, the destiny appointed for us is to make progress while constantly maintaining a balance with nature. Greater wisdom is always required of us, and in this sense the role design is attempting to play is that of a balanced form of "wisdom." The word "design" is a nexus that combines technology, aesthetic sense, marketing, ecology, and other elements, and presently stands at the crossroads of all of these.

The Good Design Awards are approaching their 50th anniversary. It is vital for what is sent out by Japan to be even more outstanding in nature, so that the world?fs people who are its recipients may become rich in spirit. Let us take the next step forward into a new generation, toward lifestyle, industrial, and economic development, with our eyes on the new significance of design.

This year too, I look forward to many applications from manufacturers and designers throughout the world. I anticipate encountering some wonderful designs that will typify the G-Mark?fs 50 years of history.

April 3, 2006
Toshiyuki Kita
Chairman of the Good Design Awards Jury