The jury has spoken, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum has just announced the winners of the 2008 National Design Awards, which gives you just over five months to figure out what you'll wear to the October gala. This year's "Design Mind" award recipient is none other than Michael Bierut, a "visionary individual that has affected a shift in design thinking or practice through writing, research, and scholarship" if ever there was one. Meanwhile, we're thrilled that our tireless campaign to see the 2008 NDA for fashion design in the hands of Ralph Rucci has succeeded (although we would have worn Rucci-designed frocks for the duration of National Design Week even if the award had gone to someone else). Meanwhile, Scott Stowell of open takes the communication design category. "I'm deeply honored and shocked and thrilled," notes Stowell. "I'm also relieved that we don't have to keep it a secret any longer! Whew." Below, the full list of winners and finalists:
Lifetime Achievement: Charles Harrison
Design Mind: Michael Bierut
Finalists: Bruce Nussbaum, Michael Sorkin
Corporate Achievement:
Google
Finalists: JetBlue, OXO International
Architecture Design:
Tom Kundig
Finalists: LOT-EK, Weiss/Manfredi
Communications Design: Scott Stowell
Finalists: Stephen Doyle, Prologue Films
Fashion Design: Ralph Rucci
Finalists: Thom Browne, Zac Posen
Interior Design:
Rockwell Group
Finalists: Deborah Berke & Partners, Diane Lewis
Landscape Design: Olin Partnership
Finalists: Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Stoss Landscape Urbanism
Product Design: Antenna Design
Finalists: Boym Partners, Karim Rashid