Designphil (headquarters: Shibuya, Tokyo, president: Yuri Aida) is a design company that inspires greater enjoyment of daily life and suggests new ways to live through design.

Two products from Designphil have received the Good Design Award 2026 (hosted by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP)). The first is the XS Compact Scissors Serrated from MIDORI (released October 2025), an item in the XS (Extra Small) stationery series, which aims to be both highly functional and highly portable. The second is the MD Scent Clock from MD PRODUCT (exclusive to the MD PRODUCT Online Store and MD PRODUCT USA, released January 2026), which features incense tracing a graceful circle, surrounding the user with a fragrance that helps them to unwind.

This product takes the wisdom of ancient incense clocks, where the time was told by the way the incense burned and the fragrance that was produced, and shapes it in a form allowing easy use on today’s desks. It takes around one hour for the incense to complete its circle, during which the fragrance inspires concentration and the fading scent marks an end to the user’s period of deep focus. A glance at the glowing ember’s progress around the circle and the ash left behind provides a subtle, natural sense of the passing of time. This product’s method of telling the time is strikingly peaceful. Every element, from the low-smoke incense to the stand that makes use of the natural character of the material, comes together to provide a singular experience of tranquility. Having long supported the act of writing and thinking through its notebooks, the company has now expanded its focus to the time and environment surrounding that experience. This design feels like a natural extension of the company’s core business.

＜POINT＞
1. Both blades are serrated, minimizing slipping during cutting to provide stable cutting performance
2. Compact design balances portability with everyday usability
3. Sliding structure with lock mechanism ensures safety along with intuitive extension and retraction of blades

The MD Scent Clock features circular incense, with fragrance and smoke slowly tracing a circle over the course of about one hour.
During this time, you might open your notebook, settle into meditation, or simply close your eyes and let your thoughts loosen.
Watching the incense burn and relaxing in its fragrance allows you to feel a moment that belongs only to you. This is our proposal for “Yohaku.”

＜POINT＞
1. The round structure reminiscent of a clock and the incense rings designed to burn in approximately one hour create a visual and olfactory sense of time
2. Low-smoke formula tailored to personal spaces such as desks, allowing comfortable use while reading or writing
3. Designed so that the ash forms a graceful circle, leaving a quiet, lingering beauty long after the incense burns down

The story behind the development of the MD Scent Clock is featured on Designphil’s official note page. Read the full story at the link below.
Incense from a Notebook Brand: The Value of Time Felt Intuitively

The Good Design Award is an initiative to continue the Good Design product selection system established in 1957 by evaluating and promoting Japan’s leading designs. Now a global design award that many companies and organizations both inside and outside Japan compete for, the Good Design Award is held every year to improve people’s quality of life and tackle social issues and themes. The “G Mark” that winners display is viewed with fondness as a symbol of outstanding design.
http://www.g-mark.org/