National Design Awards

Origins In 2000, the awards and associated programs were introduced as an official project of the White House Millennium Council. In 2025, the award program celebrated its twenty-fifth year. Jury The 2023 National Design Awards jury, chaired by Dung Ngo, editor in chief, August Journal, also included Tiffany Chu, chief of staff to the mayor, City of Boston; Carla Fernández Tena, creative director, Carla Fernández; Noah Schwarz, director of product design, Herman Miller; and Sara Zewde, principal and assistant professor of practice, Studio Zewde and Harvard University. In 2025, the selection committee was helmed by Smithsonian Design Museum director Maria Nicanor and Maurice Cox, chair of the 2025 National Design Awards jury. The 2026 jury was chaired by Aric Chen, director of the Zaha Hadid Foundation, and also included Liz Danzico, vice president of design at Microsoft AI; Patricia Moore, president of MooreDesign Associates; Henk Ovink, executive director of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water; Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology; and Thomas Woltz, senior principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. == Awards ==

The ten official design categories include: • Architecture • Communication Design • Digital Design • Fashion Design (created in 2003) • Interior Design (created in 2005) • Interaction Design (created in 2009) • Landscape Architecture • Product Design • Design Visionary • Climate Action • Emerging Designer The three additional awards categories are: • Lifetime Achievement • Design Patron (created in 2001) • Design Mind (2005–2019) Past supplemental categories have included: • People's Design Award (2006–2010) • Special Commendation (Awarded in 2008) • Special Jury Commendation (created in 2005, but omitted in 2008) • American Original (Awarded in 2000 and 2002 only) In 2006, the People's Design Award was created with the intent to provide the general public with the chance to nominate and vote for their favorite design. Individuals can nominate and vote for their favorite designers via the official website. The award was last given in 2010. == Candidate selection criteria ==

Individual candidates must be citizens or long-term residents of the United States and have been practicing design for at least 7 years. For any corporation or institution, it must have its headquarters in the United States. The honorees are selected upon a body of realized work, not for any one specific project. Potential candidates are proposed by an official Nominating Committee and are invited to submit materials for a jury's review. Submissions consist of resumes, portfolios, publications by and about the candidates, and professional-quality audio-visual samples. The award recipients come from a range of design disciplines, including architecture, landscape architecture, fashion, communications, media, interiors, digital, and production design. == Objectives ==

With its public programs, including ones skewed toward students, the National Design Awards are meant to highlight how design impacts daily life According to the Smithsonian, the awardees "are recognized for design innovation and impact in improving the world." The National Design Awards program include a ceremony and gala. == Recipients ==

, Lifetime Achievement winner in 2000, architect of Disney Concert Hall. , Product Design winner in 2000, AeroVironment Chairman showing a cross section of the AeroVironment/NASA Helios Prototype wing spar. , Architecture Design winner in 2001, architect for "Cidade da Cultura" in Spain. , Product Design winner in 2001. (left), Fashion Design winner in 2003 with actress Julianne Moore. , Lifetime Achievement winner in 2005. == See also ==