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To encourage socially useful standards, the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization hands out many awards—and one top prize

In its 50-year history, the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) has declared more than 32,000 products to be "good design," bestowing on each what it calls the "G-Mark" of success. As with all design-award systems, the criteria for determining whether something is or isn't "good design" are a little hazy, though to give credit to JIDPO, it tries to be more rigorous than some organizations.

In considering competition entries, judges are required to take more than 40 factors into account, and although some are more than a little abstract—is the design sincere?—it's useful to see the broad terms and conditions on which a product is evaluated. After all, design is not good simply because it looks pretty. Aesthetics are important, but design is good when the product is also appropriate for its purpose and environment.

Or, in the words of JIDPO, design is good when it "gives rise to social and cultural values. It contributes to a broadening of the social base. And it contributes to the realization of a sustainable society." No pressure, then.

In a Class of its Own Given that the mission of the organizers is to promote Japanese design, it's not surprising that despite the lofty talk, almost a third of the nearly 3,000 entries were given a G-Mark seal of approval. It wouldn't look good to reject too many of the entrants. Products are divided into no fewer than 16 categories, each of which is judged by experts in that field.

Again, it is admirably rigorous, and categories are extremely specific. Within the product-design category, for example, there are separate judges for "cellular phones, mobile products, and cameras" and "PCs and related products or software."

The real test of character comes with the "Best" Awards, given to the 15 designs deemed most worthy by a separate, "gold prize adjudication" jury including experts such as architect Kengo Kuma, graphic designer Makoto Saito, and journalist Manabu Akaike.

The Whole Deal These winners prove to be a delightfully mixed bag. For example, technological achievements from Nikon (the Naturescope Fabre Photo microscope) and Samsung (the SC-X210L digital camcorder), transport design from Mitsubishi (the "i" car) and Honda (HMC) (the Monpal ML200 electric scooter)—and even an award for urban planning to the City of Yokohama.

A separate awards ceremony, being held at the Hotel East 21 in Tokyo on the night of Oct. 25, includes yet one more round of judging. This time the chance to vote is given to all of the award winners (there are 1,034), the jury, and the adjudication committee, and their task is to single out the top prize of them all. We'll let you know which of the products nets that honor. In the meantime, check out those in the running, and let us know your thoughts.

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