SCIENCE

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Design Limited has announced that they are hosting the FUJITSU Design Award 2011, a full-scale international design competition open to designers around the world aimed at the development of PC-related designs that bring innovation to people's daily lives.

Design entries will be accepted in two categories: (1) future notebook PC designs for the year 2013; and (2) future next-generation computing designs for the year 2020 that help bring innovation into people's daily lives. Entry submissions will be accepted between October 28, 2010, and January 31, 2011. Winners will be announced in mid-April 2011.

Fujitsu plans to hold an event to officially announce the design competition at the Super Studio venue inside of the "Environment Design Exhibition Tent" at Tokyo Designers Week, located on the grounds in front of the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery at Meijijingu Gaien in Tokyo, on October 29, 2010.

The new design competition, which is based on Fujitsu's "shaping tomorrow with you" brand promise, is an initiative aimed at implementing product ideas requested by customers. By inviting customers from around the world to express their needs and submit their ideas regarding Fujitsu's LIFEBOOK series of notebook PCs and next-generation computing, Fujitsu is striving to bring about a prosperous future for its customers.

Rather than simply aiming for stylish designs, Fujitsu's strategic emphasis is on "Human Centered" designs, which focus on the user's perspective. Fujitsu believes this concept is essential for bringing innovation to people's lives through next-generation computing.

The new design competition is being administered in collaboration with designboom, a leading design website read by designers across the world, and DESIGN ASSOCIATION, an organization that produces design-related events of various genres.

Contest Overview

I. Name

FUJITSU Design Award 2011: A LIFE with Future Computing

II. Hosted by

Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Design Limited

III. Partners

designboom(R), DESIGN ASSOCIATION NPO

IV. Categories

Designs in the LIFEBOOK category of notebook PCs, and designs in the LIFE-DESIGN category that leverage the power of next-generation computing.

(1) LIFEBOOK Category: Notebook PC designs for the year 2013

We are looking for new product designs for our LIFEBOOK notebook PC series targeted for release in 2013. Designs need to incorporate network functionality and employ computing technologies. Think about the different ways in which the notebook you design can be used, and describe to us the next-generation computing device of your dreams.

The LIFEBOOK is a series of notebook PCs made by Fujitsu that are designed to serve as "life partners" for users. The LIFEBOOK is designed based on four values:

- Innovation

- Reliability

- Human Centric Design

- Green/Eco-friendliness

(2) LIFE-DESIGN Category: Designs for the year 2020 that leverage the power of computing to create new lifestyles for users

We want you to design and propose an innovative "lifestyle" for the year 2020 that benefits from network-enabled computing technology. In your design, please take into consideration all the possible ways in which users can utilize the technology, such as both inside and outside of the household. We welcome designs for next-generation computing based on innovative service concepts that make our daily lives more prosperous.

V. Entry Period

October 28, 2010 to January 31, 2011