The Japan Institute of Design Promotion announced the results of the 2026 Good Design Awards. Yamaha’s EAD50 drum expansion module with a dedicated microphone was selected for the Grand Award, while the judging system was revamped around a new criterion that places greater emphasis on embodying a company’s vision.
The results of the Good Design Awards, now in their 70th year, were announced, with the number of awards set at 1,484. The new chair of the judging panel is Nakagawa Jun (中川 淳), former chairman of Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, who outlined a policy of making vision a central criterion in design evaluation.
Yamaha’s EAD50, which won the Grand Award, is a drum PA solution that can capture the entire drum kit in high quality simply by attaching a sensor unit to the bass drum. It enables the drummer to intuitively adjust the sound at hand, replacing the conventional reliance on multiple microphones and a PA engineer.
The EAD50 launched in April 2026 and was praised for substantially reducing setup time and expanding the range of expression through digital sound sources. It is expected to be used in a variety of settings, including live performances, practice, education and online streaming.
A new judging perspective was introduced that places emphasis on whether a product embodies the company’s vision. A key focus of the deliberations was whether the vision described on the entry form and the design itself gave concrete form to that vision.