Press Release
Silver A' Design Award in Computers and Peripheral Devices Design Goes to Keen Keyboard by Sho Okura
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Sho Okura for computers and peripheral devices design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Computers and Peripheral Devices Design category for Keen Keyboard by Sho Okura. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Silver A' Design Award Explained
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Keen Keyboard
Keen is a computer keyboard designed for office tasks that require frequent switching between number input and mouse control. The numeric keypad is placed on the left side, and the left section follows the input logic of the left hand. This layout allows the right hand to stay on the mouse and reduces hand movement. Spherical concave keycaps fit the fingertips, while flat keycaps mark selected keys for typing without looking. Four function keys can be customized. Keystroke noise stays between 25 and 30 decibels.
About Sho Okura
Originally from Japan, Sho Okura is an industrial designer specializing in gadgets products and lighting products. His design style has always adhered to the concept of "simplifying, simple and beautiful", focusing on the core of "things serving people", and striving to make design truly integrate into daily life and serve life itself. He takes a mindful approach from design to manufacturing, personally involved in every step of the process, from concept sketches to manufacturing. This is not only a testament to his commitment to quality, but also to ensure that each piece strikes a balance between affinity, functionality and aesthetics.
Award Record
This recognition makes Sho Okura a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Computers and Peripheral Devices Design Award
The A' Computer Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good computer and peripheral designs by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to computer designers, industrial designers, computer hardware engineers and computer accessory designers from all countries. Typical entries include laptops, desktop computers, workstations, servers, tablets and mainframes. The awarded computer designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/computer
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/174654
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/174654
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!174654
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/370943
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Keen Keyboard
- Function
- Keyboard
- Category
- Computers and Peripheral Devices Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Electronics & Appliances
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Dim Gray, Gray, Gainsboro and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Sho Okura
- Country
- Japan
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #174654
Credits
- Team
- Okura sho
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The keyboard, by redefining traditional keyboard layouts, offers a more efficient solution for office users who require frequent switches between number input and mouse control. It relocates the numeric keypad to the left side, and fully optimizes the layout and functionality of the left hand side, facilitating easy switches among keys so that the right hand can focus on mouse control. Differentiated keycaps, a low noise design, and an antibacterial material further ensure comfort and health.
- Inspiration
- With a user centered approach, the keyboard relocates the numeric keypad to the left side, and adopts an innovative layout based on the operating habits and input logic of the left hand. This allows the right hand to focus on mouse control, and reduces hand movements and key switches, thus enhancing working efficiency. Considering user health, the product minimizes keystroke noise while ensuring typing comfort, eliminating noise interference to create a quiet, comfortable working environment.
- Research
- Traditional keyboards are not friendly for users who require frequent switches between the numeric keypad and the mouse with the right hand, often causing wrist fatigue and shoulder or neck stiffness. The left hand side with scattered function keys leads to low switching efficiency. This product, prioritizing ergonomics and efficiency, enables the left hand for number input and the right hand for mouse control. This minimizes unnecessary movements and ensures smooth operation for efficient work.
- Challenge
- The challenge was how to better serve efficient office workers like programmers and financial personnel. This product, taking into account the operating habits and input logic of the left hand, fully optimizes the left hand side and cleverly relocates the numeric keypad to the left side so that the right hand can focus on mouse control, ensuring the coordinated work of two hands. The frequently used symbol keys are ingeniously rearranged, potentially doubling working efficiency.
- Realization and Technology
- The spherical keycaps with a concave surface closely fit the fingertips to offer a more comfortable and natural typing experience. Certain keys boast a flat keycap to set them apart from those with a spherical one, assisting users in blind operation for improved efficiency. Moreover, the keycaps are specially added with antibacterial silver ions to effectively inhibit bacterial growth, hygienic and safe.
- Operation and Interaction
- The keyboard features four customized function keys for common shortcuts, contributing to convenient office work and meeting individual needs of users. The product, with an inclination of minus 6 degrees, perfectly fits the natural curve of the wrists of the user during operation, enhancing comfort of use. The optimized switch structure reduces keystroke noise to a range from 25 dB to 30 dB while ensuring typing comfort, greatly eliminating noise interference.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in Japan in May 2023. The product was launched in Japan in June 2025.
- Keywords
- Layout Optimization of Left Hand Side, Innovative Left Side Numeric Keypad, Customized Function Keys, Differentiated Keycaps , Low Noise
