First of all we would like to thank all those who have sent us their designs. We were very astonished to receive 4758 works from 52 countries around the world. We are also delighted to see people around the globe showing their expectations from MUJIRUSHI RYOHIN and MUJI.

During the first and second rounds of selections made by our product development staff, they were lost in a sea of entry designs and sometimes had but to smile at bewildering ideas, which gave them the energy to continue with the assessment and selection. We believe that through this serious selection for winners we were able to gain new abilities in product development.

In the words of the late graphic designer Ikko Tanaka, “Simplicity should not be made inferior to extravaganza. Rather, it should be that in such world of simplicity, where unspoken sensibility and sensitivity are its pride, by expanding such value system one can enrich life with as little resources as possible.” We believe that the examination of ‘places that evade the conscious eye’ as part of the theme of this first MUJI Award, ‘SUMI (corner/edge/end)’, is a foundation of better living for people on Earth, and is vital in the search of universality, In this way we have been given great courage through the quest for such foundation and universality by many people around the world, and we aim to seek a better relationship between the human race, nature and ‘goods’.

We sincerely thank everyone who has sent in their designs.

(Senior Managing Director, Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.)