2017 National Design Awards Winners
John Hill
5. May 2017
Image courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt
New York's Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum has announced the winners of the 2017 National Design Awards, which recognizes design excellence and innovation in eleven categories.
The 18th annual awards that "promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world" are given out to individuals or firms in the categories of Lifetime Achievement, Director's Award, Design Mind, Corporate & Institutional Achievement, Architecture Design, Communication Design, Fashion Design, Interaction Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, and Product Design. All of the awards are selected by a jury*, except for the Lifetime Achievement award, which is chosen by Cooper Hewitt director Caroline Baumann.
Baumann said in an announcement of the winners: "In an era of tumultuous change, design is asking deep questions about its purpose and contributions to a better society. The achievements of this year’s class of National Design Award winners have informed that dialogue, and their accomplishments have elevated our understanding of what great American design is and what it can do to improve our world."
Accompanying the National Design Awards is National Design Week, which will take place 14-22 October 2017. More information on the winners, listed below, can be found at the Cooper Hewitt website.
Cover of "Szenasy, Design Advocate: Writings and Talks by Metropolis Magazine Editor Susan S. Szenasy," Metropolis Books, 2014
- Lifetime Achievement: Hartmut Esslinger
- Director’s Award: Susan S. Szenasy
- Design Mind: Craig L. Wilkins
- Corporate & Institutional Achievement: Design Trust for Public Space
MASS Design Group: GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2015 (Photo: Iwan Baan)
- Architecture Design: MASS Design Group
- Communication Design: Jennifer Morla
- Fashion Design: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
- Interaction Design: Stamen Design
Deborah Berke Partners: North Penn House, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2016 (Photo: Chris Cooper)
- Interior Design: Deborah Berke Partners
- Landscape Architecture: Surfacedesign
- Product Design: Joe Doucet
Surfacedesign: Lands End Lookout, San Francisco, California (Photo: Marion Brenner)
*The 2017 National Design Awards jury:
- Jeevak Badve, vice president, Sundberg-Ferar
- Rafael de Cárdenas, founder, Rafael de Cárdenas / Architecture at Large
- Ray Huff, director, Clemson Architecture Center
- Randy J. Hunt, vice president of design, Etsy
- Mia Lehrer, landscape urbanist, Mia Lehrer + Associates
- Lisa Perry, designer, Lisa Perry Style
- Sandy Speicher, partner and managing director of education, IDEO
- Lisa Strausfeld, principal, InformationArt
- Robert Wong, vice president, Creative Lab, Google, Inc.