Winner of “18th Kids Design Award”! ～What is Kids Design?

BABY&Me's baby carrier ``Beren first set'' won the Kids Design Award. We would like to introduce you to what kind of award the Kids Design Award is.

What is the Kids Design Award?

The Kids Design Award is ``an award system that targets all products, services, spaces, activities, and research that are considerate of children and the birth and raising of children.'' In other words, it is an initiative to award good things that are good for children or useful for child-rearing, and to make them widely known to the world.

When it comes to awards given to evaluate products, etc., the Good Design Award, which is given to items with excellent design, and the Monde Selection medals and trophies, which are given to products with high technical standards, are famous.As the name suggests, the Kids Design Award is unique in that it is aimed at children aged 0 to 15, or products and services that are child-friendly.
Starting in 2007, applications are accepted and reviewed once a year. The 18th award-winning works were announced in August 2024.

The award consists of five categories in five categories.
Each category is judged on the child's perspective and how the user's benefits are taken into account, and awards are given to products and services that are recognized as having "designs that contribute to creating children and the society in which they are born and raised."

Award-winning products can use the Kids Design Mark, so moms and dads who are considering purchasing children's products can use the mark as a guide to find safe and secure products and products that are more useful for raising children.

▼Kids Design Award
https://kidsdesignaward.jp/

What divisions and categories are there?

The Kids Design Award consists of three divisions based on the "mission" that the design should fulfill, and five categories depending on the type of product or service. Participants select one entry from each division and category.

There are three categories: designs that contribute to the safety and security of children, designs that encourage children's creativity and the future, and designs that make it easy to give birth to and raise children.

There are five categories: ``Products'' such as baby products and clothing, ``Applications and Services,'' ``Architecture and Spaces,'' ``Communication,'' which covers systems, events, and workshops for companies, local governments, and various organizations, and ``Surveys and Research.''

The purpose of this award is to unearth outstanding works that address social issues related to children and child-rearing, and to contribute to a brighter future for children.As such, the award targets not only the design of physical objects, but also broader designs that include systems and initiatives.

What are some examples of past awards?

Children's election

Award-winning works_Children's election

The winner of the 2023 Grand Prize was the ``Children's Election,'' in which children voted for actual candidates in the Chigasaki mayoral election. The questions the children came up with and the answers given by the candidates were made public on the web, and the children participated in the election at polling stations and online voting. The program was recognized for its activities that encourage children's social participation and position children as the main players in shaping the society of the future.

I do button

Award-winning work_I do button

One of the awards went to ``I do button,'' a nightwear that children aged 2 to 4 can wear on their own. The reason for the award was that the shape of the button was redesigned to give children a sense of accomplishment and to support children's desire to try it themselves.

Fuji Kindergarten

Award-winning work_Fuji Kindergarten

In 2007, when the Kids Design Award was created, the winner of the top award was Fuji Kindergarten in Tachikawa City, Tokyo. The donut-shaped building has no walls dividing the interior, and the award was received in recognition of the fact that it is a place where children can run around freely, including on the rooftop, and that children can choose their favorite place to be.

What was the point of winning the award for the Beren first set?

Judging points for the Kids Design Award vary depending on the division and category.
“Beren In the product category of the ``Design that makes it easy to give birth to and raise children'' category, the product category for which ``first set'' was submitted is ``Are the products used by children and those involved in pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing designed to make child-rearing safe and enjoyable? "Are there new ideas, ideas, and methods for active participation?" and "Are we able to propose high-level functions that address the issues and needs of child-rearing? Are they simple, easy to understand, and easy to use? Are they beautiful in form and color, and do they have shapes and colors that don't dictate how things should be based on the target age or gender?" It is required to combine safety, functionality, and design.
Being selected as an award-winning work means that it has been recognized as meeting these criteria.

BABY&Me is a brand that is close to families, helping them spend time with their children more comfortably through cuddling. In an era of diversity, and as families change, we are developing stylish and smart baby carriers to help moms and dads who are working hard to be themselves and not be influenced by others.
We will continue to create products that are safe and comfortable to use and that help the whole family live happily.

You can actually touch and try on the baby carrier "Beren first set," which won the Kids Design Award, at stores nationwide. Please feel free to pick it up.

▼Handling stores
https://www.babyandme.co.jp/pages/shop