GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2026 Overview and Changes from the Previous Year

This notice provides an overview of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2026 and the changes from the previous year, some of which apply only to specific applicants.

Overview of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2026

Entry Period April 1 (Wed), 13:00 JST – May 21 (Thu), 13:00 JST

Entries must be submitted through the “Entry Site” during this period. Account registration (free of charge) is required to use the “Entry Site.” Applicants who already have an account may continue to use the same account for the 2026 program.

Eligibility

Entries must meet the following three conditions:
1. can be purchased or utilized by the user by March 31, 2027;
2. can be announced to the public on the award announcement date, October 15, 2026, if awarded;
3. can be exhibited at the GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2026, if awarded.

2nd Screening

The 2nd screening session for applicants who pass the 1st screening will be held at Makuhari Messe (Chiba). The 2nd screening session will take place over three days, from August 5 to 7, 2026. Entries must be carried into the screening venue on August 4 and removed on August 7.

GOOD DESIGN EXHIBITION 2026

Entries that pass the 2nd screening and receive an award must be exhibited at the award exhibition. The exhibition will be held for five days, from October 31 to November 4, 2026. All award-winning works of the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2026 will be exhibited. Award winners must carry their works into the exhibition venue on October 30 and remove them on November 4 or 5.
Please note that participation in the award exhibition is mandatory for award winners.

Fees

For the GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2026, there are no changes to the screening fees or the award package fee from the previous year. However, the following fees may be revised from the 2025 program:

• Optional fees related to the 2nd screening for applicants who pass the 1st screening

• Optional fees related to the award exhibition for award-winning entries after passing the 2nd screening

These fees may be reviewed due to increases in outsourcing costs, including rising labor and raw material costs, as well as higher distribution and transportation costs. Details and fees will be announced to the relevant applicants as follows:

• Optional fees for the 2nd screening: when 1st screening results are announced

• Optional fees for the award exhibition: when 2nd screening results are announced

Changes from the Previous Year

Venue of the Award Ceremony

The 2026 award ceremony will be held at NHK Hall (Shibuya, Tokyo) from the afternoon to the evening of November 4. The award package fee includes admission for up to three people per award-winning work. Participation for more than this number will be accepted for a fee. Detailed participation information will be provided only to those provisionally selected for an award. It will be announced together with the 2nd screening results on August 25.

The following changes apply only to relevant applicants.

Undisclosed Screening (Only if requested among entries that pass the 1st screening)

For the undisclosed screening, which may be selected when unreleased works require confidentiality protection, part of the operation will change in 2026.
From this year, in order to ensure fairness in the screening process, applicant attendance during the screening will be discontinued, including in-person explanations and Q&A that were previously conducted at that time. Previously, under the undisclosed screening system,
applicants attended the jury members’ review and provided explanations and answers to questions. From 2026, applicants will be asked to leave their seats while the jury members conduct the review. The undisclosed screening system itself will continue as before, and applicants must carry the entry into the venue at the designated date and time, and promptly remove it after the screening is completed. If the jury members determine that additional confirmation is necessary, additional questions or hearing screening may be conducted separately through the organizer.

BEST100 Presentation Procedure (Only if selected as GOOD DESIGN BEST100 among entries that pass the 2nd screening)

The “BEST100 Presentation” conducted for entries selected for GOOD DESIGN BEST100 will be changed in 2026.
Previously, until 2025, online presentations via Zoom were conducted for all 100 BEST100 works. In 2026, only 20 Gold Award candidates, one top work from each screening unit, will give a real-time online presentation via Zoom at the Special Award Screening to be held on September 17, and no on-site attendance will be required.
The remaining 80 BEST100 works other than the Gold Award candidates will become GOOD FOCUS AWARD candidates. For these works, a four-minute presentation video must be submitted within the period designated by the organizer, scheduled for early September, for the Special Award Screening. The GOOD FOCUS AWARD will be screened at the Special Award Screening on September 17 based on the submitted videos.
If an entry is selected for Best100, one of the following will be mandatory:

• Gold Award candidates: participation in the online presentation on September 17

• GOOD FOCUS AWARD candidates: submission of a presentation video within the designated period

If these requirements are not met, the entry will not be selected for BEST100. Detailed procedures and schedules will be provided to the BEST100 works by the organizer on August 25, when the 2nd screening results are announced.

Additional details not listed above, such as the Judging Committee and entry categories, will be published on the official website from 13:00 JST on April 1.

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