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What standards did Japanâs Good Design Awards use to judge consumer products?
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Industrial design
Octagonal electric teakettle of hammered silver, with cane-wicker handle, designed by Peter Behrens for AEG (Allgemeine ElektricitÀts Gesellschaft), Berlin, c. 1909.
Japanâs Good Design Awards, established in 1957 by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), utilize a comprehensive set of criteria to evaluate new consumer products. The competition judges entries based on the aesthetics of the design, as well as several functional and practical standards:
- Functionality: How effectively the product performs its intended purpose.
- Safety: The degree to which the product ensures user security.
- Value: The overall quality and worth provided to the consumer.
- Consumer Service: The quality of post-sales support provided for the product.
These measures were instrumental in helping Japan transition from producing cheap imitations to becoming a global leader in the export of automobiles and home electronics by the 1980s.1