In celebration of National Design Month, October’s Object of The Week posts honor past National Design Award winners. A version of this post was published on November 13, 2012. Eva Zeisel, a major figure in twentieth-century industrial design, won the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005. Although best known for her contributions to mid-century...
Eva Zeisel Born in Budapest, Hungary, Zeisel’s career is international in scope and spans more than 75 years. Known for lyrical and shapely ceramics, she has produced over 100,000 objects. She describes her approach to design as “the playful search for beauty.” In 1946, she was the first designer in America to create an all-white...
Katherine and Michael McCoy The McCoys are internationally recognized for their unique multi-disciplinary design education methods, which provide designers the tools to collaborate in creating compelling design experiences. Together they organize professional education programs for High Ground and Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Previously directors of design at Cranbrook Academy of Art for...
Mayor Richard M. Daley Richard M. Daley has been the mayor of Chicago since 1989 and has been working to make Chicago the greenest city in America. Since he became mayor, the city has planted 400,000 trees and begun an effort to attract renewable energy companies and create a sustainable landscaping industry. Millennium Park, the...
Patagonia Patagonia, a sports apparel company, based in Ventura, Calif was founded in 1973. The company creates high-quality outdoor sportswear for mountaineering, skiing, and extreme sports, with a focus on functionality. Patagonia works with manufacturers to develop new fabrics, such as Capilene and H2No Strom, which meet athletes’ strict demands, and implements numerous environmental initiatives,...
Sergio Palleroni Sergio Palleroni a research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at University of Texas at Austin, who runs ten-week-long design/build studios around the world in marginalized communities. Established in 1995 at the University of Washington, these pioneering design/build programs combine innovative architectural training with cross-cultural immersion, social activism, and environmental science. Students...
Diller, Scofidio + Renfro Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is an interdisciplinary studio that fuses architecture with the visual and performing arts. The work of DS+R includes architectural commissions, temporary and permanent site-specific installations, multi-media theater, electronic media and print. Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio founded D+S in 1979. Charles Renfro, a collaborator in the...
Stefan Sagmeister A major force in the design world since arriving in New York on a Fulbright grant in 1987, Austrian born Stefan Sagmeister strives to create design that has the ability to touch the viewer’s heart. He established Sagmeister Inc. in 1993, with an emphasis on concept over style. His work is primarily based...
Toledo Studio Established in 1984 by fashion designer Isabel Toledo and artist Ruben Toledo, Toledo Studio comprises clothing design, ad campaigns, hotel promotion and mannequin design. The company’s driving goal has been to infiltrate their ideas into everyday life. Ms. Toledo’s appreciation of machinery, practicality and comfort and Mr. Toledo’s instinctive approach to art combine...
