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FOUR CRITERIA FOR THE ADJUDICATION
Of the 124 entries in Unit 2, which includes
business computers and related products, 104 passed the First Adjudication,
and 61 passed the Second Adjudication. The number of entries has
gradually decreased, reflecting the slowdown in the high tech industries,
and even though we were poised to award the first G-Marks of the
21st century, we saw almost no concepts or design work that seemed
to anticipate the trends of the future. Instead, the majority was
ordinary upgrades of existing products.
Of course, it is important for companies to make efforts to upgrade
their products, and as such, they deserve encouragement. However,
it is also true that it has become difficult to ascertain clear
vectors for each point: what has been improved, what has been added
as a new feature, and, conversely, what has been eliminated.
During the Adjudication, we centered our evaluations
on these points and checked the multiplicity of items that design
can influence, including the concept, the manufacturing methods,
and how it feels to use it. Although the evaluation was multifaceted,
we concentrated on the following four points, as long as the items
that needed to be checked were easily apparent: Is the entry functional,
and does it look good? Is it easy to use? Are efforts made to reuse
natural resources? and finally, Is this really an entirely new product?
For example, photocopiers are a typical product group for Unit 2,
but none of the photocopiers distinguished themselves in terms of
the check items. This may be due to the fact that although there
are problems with copiers themselves, there have been no major changes
in the working environments in which copiers are used. Because new
buildings are still built in 20th century style, with the floor
wiring laid out in anticipation of network environments, we cannot
ignore the incidental reason, namely that this layout hinders expansion
or changes in the devices installed. During the Adjudication, we
took such factors fully into account.
THE GOLD PRIZE PRODUCTS
The members of the Screening Committee unanimously
recommended Panasonic's study computer, the CF-28,
which assumes that this epitome of precision devices, will be used
in harsh environments. Its shock resistance and vibration resistance
have met the MIL standards for military procurement of the U.S.
Department of Defense, and of course, it has met the JIS standards
for dust resistance and moisture resistance. That is not all: this
third-generation product gives the impression of wanting to project
the correct image to the user in every aspect of its design. Just
to take the coating of the liquid crystal components as an example,
the fact that the manufacturers began with the designers participating
in materials development for anticipated use in full sunlight shows
that design work is the starting point of craftsmanship.
Matsushita's unprecedented concern for the physical aspects of information
security and its assembly technology, which allows streamlining
to be fully reflected in the form of the product, are the crystallization
of the company's ability to project its image, something that all
manufacturers should set as a goal, both in design and in product
development.
THE CRISIS SURROUNDING DESIGN
There is no idea that whether this is a problem
with designers or with structural draftsmen (I perceive problems
with both parties), but this year's entries displayed a noticeable
lack of attention to the details that characterize a well-made product.
Stated briefly, the entries lacked delicacy. We even received the
impression that users are dismissed as mere marketing numbers and
that designers and manufacturers do not have enough imagination
to realize the obvious fact that they are part of these numbers.
Warnings that come too early tend to be thought of as tiresome or
to be ignored, but we must say that the professions that require
a balance between theory and practice, whether design or structural
drafting, are facing an incredible crisis. As a reflection of current
social conditions, the number of experienced in-house designers
and structural draftsmen is steadily decreasing, and the transmission
of the skills that cannot be clearly described in writing seems
to have been reduced to a matter of physics.
It may sound as if I am exaggerating when I say that
skills are disappearing from Japan, a country noted for craftsmanship,
but unless we all come to share that sense of crisis, we will not
notice the disappearance of these skills until it is too late. All
we can do now is to make a concerted effort to pass along the skills
required for making fine products. Precisely because of the times
we are in, corporate managers need to remind themselves of the basic
concepts of manufacturing, and we would like them to internalize
the fact that there is no way to revitalize society other than by
going back to the basics of craftsmanship. Everyone knows that smug
consultants are warning us that information technology is here to
stay, and that companies which do not adopt service as their business
model face immanent extinction, but these consultants take no responsibility
for anything except their own compensation.
The spirit of a product is truly in the details,
and manufacturers who have cut costs excessively and become unable
to make anything but the most slapdash products will be condemned
to withdraw from the market sooner or later. In order to imbue their
products with more spirit, they ought to strengthen their resolve
to pass on their experiences and back up their concepts. If the
managers lack the courage to make the necessary adjustments, product
quality will suffer. In fact, this situation is more a problem for
managers than for designers and structural draftsmen. Still, I feel
that I must urge designers who have a clear view of the crisis before
them to express their views more forcefully. If they fail to speak
up, they will endanger their own livelihoods. That is how bad the
crisis is.
Kunio Toshima
Chief Jury of Unit 2
Senior Vice President, ASCII CORPORATION
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