Call for Nominations National Design Awards

Deadline: December 9, 2013 (ONLINE)


Call for Nominations
National Design Awards
Smithsonian
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
New York, NY
Announcement of Honorees: by June 2014



The defining criteria of the National Design Awards are excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life.

2014 National Design Awards Timeline
Nomination Deadline: December 9, 2013
Submission Deadline: February 7, 2014 (Nominees will be contacted in late December 2013 with submission guidelines.)
Announcement of Honorees: by June 2014

Nominations & Submissions
Each fall, the process begins with an open call for nominations, which are solicited from leading designers, educators, journalists, cultural figures, corporate leaders, and design enthusiasts from every state in the nation. Nominees are invited to submit materials for the jury’s review according to specifications provided by the National Design Awards office. Submissions generally consist of resumes, design statements, portfolios of work, and professional-quality visual samples.

Eligibility

Eligibility is restricted to citizens or long-term residents of the United States. Firms, corporations, or institutions must have their corporate headquarters in the United States and must have been established for a minimum of seven years. Individual nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of seven years; Lifetime Achievement nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of twenty years. Winners of a National Design Award in a Design Category will be eligible for the Lifetime Achievement, Design Mind, or Corporate and Institutional Achievement categories ten years of receiving their award. Cooper-Hewitt employees and trustees and their families and household members are not eligible. Awards are given for a body of realized work, not for any specific project.

Jury Process
The jury meets over a two-day period to thoroughly review every submission and consider each nominee, with the challenging task of determining the work that best embodies the Awards’ mission. The jurors assess portfolios in terms of the works’ relationship to and impact on contemporary daily life. Extraordinary originality in identifying, shaping, and solving problems is highly valued, and nominees whose work significantly broadens the conventions of their discipline, introduces formal innovation, and exhibits consistently high levels of imagination and insight are given special consideration. Finally, in keeping with Cooper-Hewitt's definition of design as a force of change, the extent to which the general public has benefited from the explorations and achievements of the nominee is weighed.

The jury is briefed by the Museum staff on the mission of and review criteria for the Awards, but Museum staff does not participate in the selection process. Jurors are asked to base their decisions primarily on the core criteria: excellence, innovation, and enhancement of the quality of life. They are also asked to consider the broad spectrum of the design community—geographically, culturally, and artistically. All jury deliberations are kept confidential.

Award Categories: Reflecting the ever-growing scope of design, the National Design Awards now includes ten jury-selected award categories.

Lifetime Achievement
Design Mind
Corporate & Institutional Achievement
Architecture Design
Communication Design
Fashion Design
Interaction Design
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture
Product Design
Design Patron
People's Design Award

Learn more about the National Design Awards program, including information on award categories and eligibility requirements: http://www.cooperhewitt.org/selection-process

Submit a nominiation: http://www.cooperhewitt.org/national-design-awards/nominate


Questions? Email us at designawards@si.edu or call (212) 849-8337.