Amory B. Lovins Amory B. Lovins, an American physicist and 1993 MacArthur Fellow, has been active at the nexus of energy, resources, environment, development and security in more than 50 countries for 40 years, including 14 years based in England. He is widely considered among the world’s leading authorities on energy—especially its efficient use and...

Walker Art Center Through hundreds of groundbreaking exhibitions, publications and presentations by designers worldwide, the Walker Art Center presents the value of design to the general public. Its in-house design studio—widely regarded as a leader in contemporary cultural branding—is the recipient of more than 100 awards and operates one of the longest running fellowship programs...

SHoP Architects SHoP Architects, a 60-person practice, was founded by its five principals in 1996. SHoP has been a leader in the transformation of intricate theoretical design into easily understood construction models by rethinking architectural practice. This think tank has pushed the designer’s realm past form making and into software design, branding, real estate development,...

The New York Times Graphics Department The Communication Design Award, which honors work in graphic or multimedia design, is presented to The New York Times Graphics Department. The New York Times has a long history of groundbreaking information graphics. From Sept. 11, 2001, when the department produced scores of maps and diagrams explaining the attacks...

Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection Francisco Costa has worked since 2002 as creative director of Calvin Klein Collection for women. Named Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2006 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Costa has worked directly with Calvin Klein as well as with other top design houses of Gucci, Balmain...

Perceptive Pixel Perceptive Pixel is dedicated to the research, development and deployment of multi-touch interfaces for the knowledge worker. Their systems enable both novice and expert users to manipulate complex datasets through a new class of intuitive yet powerful and visually rich interface techniques. The company was founded in 2006 by Jeff Han after he...

HOOD Design Hood Design was established by Walter Hood in 1992, in Oakland, Calif. The firm is committed to issues that address the re-construction of urban landscapes within towns and cities. Hood Design’s approach is multi-dimensional, exploring the role of specific landscape typologies and topologies that together reinforce and re-make landscapes that are specific to...

TsAO & McKOWN Architects TsAO & McKOWN Architects, led by partners Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown, has demonstrated that the design of environments can best be served when building design and interior design are conceived as a whole, as evidenced by the unique sense of seamlessness between outside and inside exhibited in their many celebrated...

Boym Partners Boym Partners is a New York-based design studio led by Constantin and Laurene Boym. Boym Partners brings a critical, experimental approach to a range of products that infuse humor and wit into the everyday. Frequently drawing from American iconography, it creates a variety of products and environments for an international roster of companies,...

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Reynold Levy, President, Lincoln Center Since 2002, Reynold Levy has served as President of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, playing in instrumental role in the latest redevelopment of the 16.3-acre urban renewal complex from the 1960s that was also the first attempt to centralize cultural institutions in an American city. The first major phase...

Jane Thompson For sixty years, editor, designer, and planner Jane Thompson has explored how design relates to our well-being, urban life, and global environment. As founding editor of I.D. magazine, Thompson became a critical voice in design, providing a strong female perspective in a male-dominated field. Thompson has pioneered urban revitalization projects such as Faneuil...

Ralph Caplan For more than fifty years, Ralph Caplan has been thinking, writing, and speaking about design and collaborated with designers on exhibitions, films, and publications. His work has addressed the design process as encompassing not only products, but also the larger context in which they are used. Caplan is the author or editor of...

U.S. Green Building Council Through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council promotes a sustainable future for the United States and for the world. Since it was founded in 1993, the not-for-profit organization has developed a variety of programs and services, including the LEED green-building-certification program, a process that rates the design,...

Kieran Timberlake Founded in 1984 by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake, the Philadelphia-based architecture firm KieranTimberlake is noted for its integration of research with design, guided by a deep environmental ethic. Comprised of more than fifty professionals, KieranTimberlake has produced a diverse body of work for arts, civic, educational, government, and residential clients, including Cornell...