A woman stands beneath a blue and red woven tunnel that serves as a public art installation.
Colloqate Design, Storia Project: Delta, provides a process and platform for communities and organizations to create spaces that honor their stories and focus on building the connections and capacity of residents to support the community’s aspirations for the neighborhood (New Orleans, Louisiana, 2021). Photography courtesy of Colloqate Design.

September 3, 2021

Words: Carlene Olsen

Cooper Hewitt Announces 2021 National Design Awards Winners

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum announced the winners of the 2021 National Design Awards this week, honoring innovations across nine categories from digital design to fashion. First established in 2000 by the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards spotlight the diverse range of talent in the industry, building on its decades-long vision.   

“The 2021 National Design Award winners challenge the boundaries of their fields—from community and future-focused to socially responsible design,” Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, interim director of the museum, said in a statement. “These designers fill us with an optimism for the future by demonstrating the transformative capacity of design.”

Up next, Cooper Hewitt will kick off its National Design Month in October to further celebrate this year’s winners. Programming includes virtual and in-person events such as talks, tours, workshops, and short films. Organizations around the country working to advance access to design also will be recognized during the festivities.

“Our philosophy is that design matters all the time,” says Carol Ross Barney, founder and design principal of her namesake firm, which won the 2021 Architecture and Interior Design Award. “Through the National Design Awards program, Cooper Hewitt strives to make people aware of the importance and impact of design on daily life. It is amazing to have our work recognized with this award.”

Jury members for the 2021 National Design Awards included: Kofi Boone, professor at North Carolina State University; Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director at the McHarg Center, University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design; Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb; Kristine Johnson, co-founder and chief design strategist at Cognition Studio; Grace Jun, assistant professor of graphic design at University of Georgia and CEO of Open Style Lab; and Patricia Saldaña Natke, principal at Urban Works Ltd.

Explore work by the nine winning designers below.

Digital Design: Behnaz Farahi

Thin white fibers form a collar around the face of an expressive person, the wearable design can recognize and respond to facial expressions.
Behnaz Farahi, Opale is an emotive wearable that can recognize and respond to the facial expressions of people around by displaying different behaviors. Garments such as these can benefit those with autism who have difficulties in recognizing facial expressions (Los Angeles, California, 2017). Photography courtesy of Behnaz Farahi.

Architecture and Interior Design: Ross Barney Architects

Ross Barney Architects, Lincoln Park Zoo Searle Visitor Center, a new pavilion for one of the oldest zoos in the country.
Ross Barney Architects, Lincoln Park Zoo Searle Visitor Center, a new pavilion for one of the oldest zoos in the country. Tucked behind a natural landscape, it is comprised of an entry gate, visitor center, administrative offices, membership lounge, and public washrooms (Chicago, Illinois, 2018). Photography by Kendall McCaugherty, Hall + Merrick Photographers

Climate Action: InVert Self-Shading Window by Doris Sung

A self-shading window system pictured in use on a skyscraper with floor-to-ceiling windows.
The InVertô Self-Shading Windows reduce the need for dark coatings, allowing high levels of natural daylight and color spectrumóboth essential for human wellnessóto enter the building. Photography courtesy of DOSU Studio Architecture.

Emerging Designer: Colloqate Design

A woman stands beneath a blue and red woven tunnel that serves as a public art installation.
Colloqate Design, Storia Project: Delta, provides a process and platform for communities and organizations to create spaces that honor their stories and focus on building the connections and capacity of residents to support the community’s aspirations for the neighborhood (New Orleans, Louisiana, 2021). Photography courtesy of Colloqate Design.

Fashion Design: Becca McCharen-Tran

Becca McCharen-Tran, SS16 Momentum, a 3D-printed Adrenaline Dress with responsive carbon fiber structure that reacts to the wearer’s adrenaline nervous system inspired by biomimicry
Becca McCharen-Tran, SS16 Momentum, a 3D-printed Adrenaline Dress with responsive carbon fiber structure that reacts to the wearer’s adrenaline nervous system inspired by biomimicry (New York, New York, 2015). Collaboration with Intel and Francis Bitonti. Photography courtesy of Christelle Castro.

Communication Design: Imaginary Forces

The Marvel Studios logo in red, which seems to pop off the page.
Imaginary Forces, Marvel Studios Logo Design, an iconic opening sequence for Marvel films was designed first in 2002, then again in 2013 as Marvel became a full-fledged studio (2002; 2013). Photography courtesy of Imaginary Forces

Landscape Architecture: Studio-MLA

A natural landscape with trees and various grasses and plants at the Natural History Museum of L.A.
Studio-MLA, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Nature Gardens and Urban Ecological Laboratory is a 3.5-acre immersive series of interpretive gardens for visitors to witness nature up close. The Gardens are home to over 400 plant species, most native to Southern California, which provide habitat for insects, birds, and mammals, and serve as a research extension that extends the Museum’s mission to the outdoors (Los Angeles, California, 2012). Photography courtesy of Tom Bonner.

Product Design: BioLite

A portable, smokeless wood-burning stove that turns fire into electricity and cooks your meals at the same time.
BioLite CampStove, a portable, smokeless wood-burning stove that turns fire into electricity and cooks your meals at the same time (Moab, Utah, 2017). Photography by Scott Markewitz for BioLite.

Design Visionary: Cheryl D. Miller

Cheryl D. Miller, Back to School Jam! advertorial insert for YSB magazine (New York, New York/Rosslyn, Virginia, 1993). Client: McDonaldís Corporation. Photography courtesy of Cheryl D. Miller.
Cheryl D. Miller, Back to School Jam! advertorial insert for YSB magazine (New York, New York/Rosslyn, Virginia, 1993). Client: McDonaldís Corporation. Photography courtesy of Cheryl D. Miller.

To register for programs and learn more, visit: www.cooperhewitt.org/Awards.

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