What’s On

Cooper Hewitt’s Give Me A Sign exhibition explores the history of graphic symbols as documented by industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss in his Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols (1972). This program expands upon the symbol lexicon covered in the Symbol Sourcebook to include tactile symbols, used by people who are blind or have low vision, as well as people with other complex disabilities. Like their 2D counterparts, these symbols quickly convey important information, and they are often developed through collaborative and iterative design processes.  View full event details here.

In this curator-guided tour of Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection, visitors will explore the historical foundations and the future direction of Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection. The national design collection, which has been part of the Smithsonian since 1967, is a living one that continues to grow and change as new works and ideas that... View full event details here.

Join us for a studio visit to Atlason, a New York City-based design firm and winner of the 2023 National Design Award for Product Design. Atlason is a strategic innovation and industrial design studio founded in 2004 by Hlynur Vagn Atlason. The studio designs consumer products, furniture, and packaging for a range of companies. Their recent designs include a completely recyclable and compostable packaging system for shipping plants, a lounge chair for healthcare settings that resists microbial growth, and an ergonomic refillable razor. View full event details here.

In conjunction with our latest exhibition, Acquired! Shaping the National Design Collection, we invite Cooper Hewitt members to join us for an evening with award-winning designers and weavers Helena Hernmarck and Elizabeth Whelan. In conversation with Acting Director of Curatorial, Matilda McQuaid, Hernmarck and Whelan will discuss the innovations and inspirations which define their practices. A light... View full event details here.