Epson Wins Red Dot: Design Team of the Year 2026
Epson has been awarded the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year 2026 at the international Red Dot Design Award competition, organised by Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany. This award recognises a design team that has proven itself through consistently innovative, top-class design achievements and has set the highest standards of design quality. Epson is only the second Japanese company to receive this honour since the award was first presented in 2000. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in Essen, Germany, in July 2026.
The Award Citation stated that across its diverse business segments – including Precision Innovation, Industrial & Robotics, Office & Home Printing, and Visual & Lifestyle – Epson has consistently demonstrated a high level of technological innovation under a coherent and unified design strategy.
Grounded in its advanced precision technologies, Epson has developed a broad product portfolio characterised by clear, harmonious, user-centric design, a strength praised by the jury.
Epson was awarded the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year 2026 for embedding design within its corporate activities, delivering globally competitive products grounded in a consistent design philosophy, and demonstrating a sustained commitment to design excellence.
“With exceptional clarity and consistency, Epson has created a remarkably broad portfolio and translates technological innovation with great assurance into accessible, human-centred solutions – precise and carefully composed in their expression. The design approach is defined by a strong sense of harmony between form and function and between technological precision and user experience. Driven by a strategically embedded design culture, this results in internationally successful products with a clear identity. The title ‘Red Dot: Design Team of the Year 2026’ recognises this outstanding achievement. Congratulations to the whole team!” said Red Dot Founder and CEO, Professor Dr Peter Zec
Hideki Kato, General Manager of the P Design Department, and Takayoshi Ishikawa, General Manager of the VP Design Department, released a joint statement, “ We see this award as recognition not of individual products, but of the collective efforts of Epson’s design organisation as a whole. It reflects both a daily commitment within each business area and a collaborative mindset cultivated across departments. This recognition is greatly encouraging for everyone involved.
At the same time, we view this award not as an endpoint but rather as an expectation that we will continue to create new value. We will remain committed to transforming the value of technology into meaningful experiences for people and society, and to creating value in a way that is true to Epson.”
The company says its designs are grounded in a “Sho-Sho-Sei” design philosophy – an approach that emphasises efficient, compact, and precise innovation. Guided by this philosophy, Epson seeks to realise value in ways that are more efficient, more compact, and more precise, transforming technology not merely into functional performance but into intuitive user experiences and products that are easy to use and designed for long-term utility.
This design philosophy is shared across design activities rooted in each business domain, with Epson’s design organisation collaborating across disciplines while leveraging specialised expertise. Through this approach, Epson says it achieves both domain-specific excellence and a strong sense of unity within the company, enabling continuous value creation.
The Red Dot Design Awards were established in 1955. The design team of the year recognises design teams that demonstrate outstanding innovation, creativity, and superior design quality, with particular emphasis on comprehensive design achievements realised through exceptional teamwork.
