Sponsoring Institution: Kokuyo Japan

Type: Design Competition

Eligibility:  Persons who are able to give a presentation at the final judging (Mid-March).(The contest organizer will pay expenses incurred by participants for travel and lodging)

Application Deadline:  Beginning of October

Highlight: Design is an extremely underrated yet an important part of critical thinking and problem solving in general. Therefore if you are an aspiring designer from any grade in any part of design, this design competition is for you! Designs must be some form of any “stationery, furniture or tool used in working, learning and living scenes”. Past winners are available for viewing if you need inspiration. Awards include a Grand Prix award of ¥2,000,000 (about $14,000 USD) for one winner, ¥500,000 (about $3,500 USD) prize for three Merit Award winners, and ¥30,000 (about $210 USD) prize for ten New Generation winners. Moreover, in this design competition, there is no restriction on nationality nor age! However, you must be able to travel to Japan for the final judging presentation. If you make it to the final judging phase, you get to travel to Japan for a presentation to the judging panel with all travel and lodging expenses covered! Furthermore, if you are a lucky winner, you may even get your design out on commercial markets, being sold across the world. Applications for this design competition close around October and the final judging presentation is mid- March.