This November, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum will present the fourth installment of its Design by Hand series, which celebrates the craftsmanship, innovations and merits of pioneering design organizations. Held Nov. 12–14, the fall series will spotlight and feature creative staff from Pixar Animation Studios, and takes place in conjunction with “Pixar: The Design of Story,” on view in the museum’s Process Lab through Aug. 7, 2016.

“As seen in Cooper Hewitt’s current installation ‘Pixar: The Design of Story,’ Pixar’s design process most often commences with hand sketches, paintings and models, which inform their imaginative characters and films,” said Caroline Baumann, director of Cooper Hewitt. “Because of this critical role of the hand, they are a fitting partner for our Design by Hand series, which offers the public a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be inspired by the world’s leading designers.”

“We are very proud to partner with Cooper Hewitt on the latest Design by Hand series focused on Pixar Animation Studios,” said Nicolas Bos, CEO and Creative Director of Van Cleef & Arpels. “Pixar’s approach to storytelling through innovation, imagination, and art is one that resonates deeply with our own creative process at Van Cleef & Arpels, and has helped introduce the next generation to the endless possibilities of craftsmanship and design.”

The programs launch Nov. 12 with a public lecture by John Lasseter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, who will be joined by Michael Bierut, partner in the New York design firm Pentagram. Subsequent workshops for families and teens will focus on collaging techniques and character development, while workshops for college students and adults will examine spatial relations in film sets as they evolve from 2-D drawings to 3-D models. All workshops will be led by members of Pixar’s creative team.

As part of the Design by Hand programs, Pixar will also be leading design workshops for fourth- and fifth-grade students at P.S. 102 Jacques Cartier School in New York Nov. 12. Using the characters from Inside Out as inspiration, students will work with and learn from Pixar designers on how collaging and 3-D modeling are used to create a character.

Launched in partnership with Van Cleef & Arpels in 2013, the Design by Hand series was developed to educate audiences on the intricacies of exceptional craftsmanship across various design disciplines. Previous series featured programs with Marimekko (2013), Heath Ceramics (2014) and Ralph Rucci (2015).

Design by Hand is made possible by the support of Van Cleef & Arpels.

DESIGN BY HAND PROGRAMS, NOV. 12–14
Public Lecture with John Lasseter
Thursday, Nov. 12; 7–8:30 p.m.
$15, $10 members, $8 students
El Museo del Barrio (1230 Fifth Ave., New York City)
John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, joins Pentagram’s Michael Bierut for a discussion of Pixar’s collaborative design process. Lasseter has served as Pixar’s creative leader since its inception, spearheading the studio’s use of the design processes of traditional animation in combination with cutting-edge technology to create a unique style of animated storytelling.

College Student Workshop
Friday, Nov. 13; 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Free with registration
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st St., New York City)
Students will explore spatial relations in film sets as they evolve from drawings to 3-D models. Using polyurethane foam, participants will build and paint models to examine how texture, pattern and color inform the set design. Led by Bryn Imagire, shading art director, Pixar Animation Studios.

Teen Workshop
Friday, Nov. 13; 4–6 p.m.
Free with registration
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st St., New York City)
In this hands-on workshop, teens will focus on character design in Inside Out. Using collaging methods, teens will work with Pixar designers to learn how to better understand shape, depth and feel of a character. Led by Chris Sasaki, character designer, and Albert Lozano, character art director, Pixar Animation Studios. Free with registration.

Family Workshop
Saturday, Nov. 14
Session 1: 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Session 2: 1:30 p.m.–3 p.m.
Free with registration
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st St., New York City)
Inspired by the characters in Pixar’s Inside Out, children ages 7–12 will work with and learn from Pixar designers how collaging methods are used to create and inspire a character.

Adult Workshop
Saturday, Nov. 14; 1–3 p.m.
$15, $10 members, $8 students.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st Street, New York)
Students will explore spatial relations in film sets as they evolve from drawings to 3-D models. Using polyurethane foam, participants will build and paint models to examine how texture, pattern and color inform the design. Led by Bryn Imagire, shading art director, Pixar Animation Studios.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION
All programs require advance registration at cooperhewitt.org/events. For further information, call (212) 849-8353.

ABOUT COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM
Founded in 1897, Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design. On Dec. 12, 2014, Cooper Hewitt opened in the renovated, restored Carnegie Mansion, which offers 60 percent more exhibition space to showcase one of the most diverse and comprehensive collections of design works in existence. The renovation of the Carnegie Mansion and museum campus was recognized in 2015 with LEED Silver certification. Currently on view are 10 exhibitions and installations featuring more than 650 objects throughout four floors of the mansion, many of which draw from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 210,000 objects that span 30 centuries. For the first time in the museum’s history, the entire second floor is dedicated to showcasing the permanent collection through a variety of exhibitions. Visitors can experience a full range of new interactive capabilities, including the opportunity to explore the collection digitally on ultra-high-definition touch-screen tables, draw their own designs in the Immersion Room and solve real-world design problems in the Process Lab.

Cooper Hewitt is located at 2 East 91st St. at Fifth Avenue in New York City. Hours are Sunday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Public transit routes include the Lexington Avenue 4, 5 and 6 subways (86th or 96th Street stations) and the Fifth and Madison Avenue buses. Adult admission, $18; seniors, $12; students, $9. Cooper Hewitt members and children younger than age 18 are admitted free. Pay What You Wish every Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m. The museum is fully accessible.

For further information, call (212) 849-8400, visit Cooper Hewitt’s website at www.cooperhewitt.org and follow the museum on www.twitter.com/cooperhewitt, www.facebook.com/cooperhewitt and www.instagram.com/cooperhewitt.

ABOUT VAN CLEEF & ARPELS
Van Cleef & Arpels was established in Paris’s Place Vendôme in 1906, following Alfred Van Cleef’s marriage to Estelle Arpels in 1895. Van Cleef & Arpels has become a worldwide reference through its creative designs, its choice of exceptional stones and its virtuoso craftsmanship. In 2011, Cooper Hewitt mounted the exhibition “Set in Style: The Jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels,” which explored the historical significance of the house’s contributions to jewelry design in the 20th century.