NEW YORK, NY.- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum today announced the 20th class of National Design Award winners, honored for design excellence and innovation in 11 categories, including the inaugural Emerging Designer Award. Established in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards bring national recognition to the ways in which design enriches everyday life. In celebration of this milestone year, Target will offer free admission to all visitors of Cooper Hewitt during National Design Week, Oct. 12–19, to make design accessible to all. Target will also sponsor a series of Cooper Hewitt programming broadening access to the vision and work of the country’s design leaders and inspiring people of all ages to engage with design and design thinking. The award recipients will be honored at a gala dinner and ceremony Thursday, Oct. 17, in the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden at Cooper Hewitt.
This year’s recipients are:
• Susan Kare, Lifetime Achievement
• Patricia Moore, Design Mind • MIT D-Lab, Corporate & Institutional Achievement
• Thomas Phifer, Architecture Design
• Tobias Frere-Jones, Communication Design
• Derek Lam, Fashion Design
• Ivan Poupyrev, Interaction Design
• IwamotoScott Architecture, Interior Design
• SCAPE Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architecture
• Tinker Hatfield, Product Design
• Open Style Lab, Emerging Designer
“When the National Design Awards were first established in 2000, Cooper Hewitt’s stated intent was ‘to affirm that design excellence is alive in America’ and celebrate how design affects people from all walks of life in everyday and extraordinary ways,” said Caroline Baumann, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Twenty years later, the achievements of this year’s class underscore not just the incredible prowess of American design today, but advance our understanding of the power of design to change the world. From MIT D-Lab’s work to address the daily challenges of poverty through design to Open Style Lab’s functional and stylish wearable solutions for people of all abilities, the 2019 winners join an impressive group of honorees who have made an indelible impact on society.”
An interdisciplinary jury of design leaders and educators selected the winners after reviewing award submissions resulting from nominations solicited from design experts and enthusiasts. The Director’s Award, to be announced at a later date, is chosen by Baumann and given to an individual or organization in recognition of outstanding support and patronage within the design community.
