TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Japan Institute of Design Promotion, the organizer of the Good Design Award, has announced the recipients of the 2021 Good Design Grand Award. Following online voting by this year’s judges, Good Design Award winners and audience, Avatar Robot Cafe and Avatar Robot OriHime won the Good Design Grand Award, presented to a design that is symbolic of the year 2021.
“This project started out to fulfill the wish of people with disability, who once were limited to join the workforce,” said Ory Yoshifuji, CEO of ORY Laboratory Inc. “I believe this technology will give them the chance to go beyond their limitations, and people around the world will be inspired.”
The Good Design Grand Award represents the highest standard of excellence among the year’s Good Design Award winning works. Since its inception in 1980, the Good Design Grand Award winner has served as a milestone in our society as a design that symbolizes the times.
“The theme of the 2021 GOOD DESIGN AWARD is ’Aspiration and Action with Consideration.’ This is a wonderful theme that verbalizes how our wishes and hopes for a better world can be realized if we all worked together,” said Mr. Hiroyuki Fukano, President of JDP. “I believe that the selected design embodies this spirit in various ways.”
The award product - Avatar robot cafe and Avatar robot OriHime
OriHime & OriHime-D are avatar robots created to be used by all, regardless of age, gender and whether or not they have disabilities. DAWN cafe is a place that lets users learn and experience how to operate OriHime-D in a safe environment.
“An epoch-making business that removes ‘obstacles’ faced by those who want to work but cannot work due to disabilities, by using technology and UX, focusing on the development of alter-ego robots,” a member of the judging committee said. “We expect that the cafe will serve as a starting point for further expansion of contact between people with various disabilities who want work, companies, and consumers.”
About Good Design Award
Established in 1957, Good Design Award is Japan’s leading commendation system. Eligible for application are products, architecture, application and software, projects and initiatives that utilize design and more. Through this system, many people come in contact with “good design” and appreciate their value. The recognition rate of the award is 84% with its familiar symbol, G-Mark, according to the latest survey by Japan Institute of Design Promotion in 2020.
About Japan Institute of Design Promotion
Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP) is Japan’s only organization for comprehensive design promotion. In addition to hosting the Good Design Award, widely known as one of the most highly regarded awards in Japan, it holds various events and organizes design-oriented projects in collaboration with municipalities, private corporations, educational organizations and various media. Furthermore, by capitalizing on the project achievement in Japan, a developed country facing many different challenges, JDP has been building mutually beneficial relationships all over the world.
