National Design Awards

The American National Design Awards, founded in 2000, are various awards funded and bestowed by the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

There are seven official design categories, and three additional awards when applicable. Any supplemental awards deemed appropriate may be awarded at the discretion of the acting jury or institution.

History

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. 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.

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

thumb|right|200px|[[Frank Gehry, Lifetime Achievement winner in 2000, architect of Disney Concert Hall.]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Paul MacCready, Product Design winner in 2000, AeroVironment Chairman showing a cross section of the AeroVironment/NASA Helios Prototype wing spar.]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Peter Eisenman, Architecture Design winner in 2001, architect for "Cidade da Cultura" in Spain.]]

thumb|right|200px|[[IDEO, Product Design winner in 2001.]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Tom Ford (left), Fashion Design winner in 2003 with actress Julianne Moore.]]

thumb|right|200px|[[Eva Zeisel, Lifetime Achievement winner in 2005.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Award

! scope="col" | Winner

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Finalists

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Ref

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Lifetime Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Frank Gehry

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Apple Computer

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Communications Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Ralph Appelbaum

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Landscape Architecture

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Lawrence Halprin

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Product Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Paul MacCready

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2000

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|American Original

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|John Hejduk and Morris Lapidus

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2001

| Lifetime Achievement

| Robert Wilson

| 2001

| Corporate Achievement

| Tupperware

| 2001

| Architecture Design

| Peter Eisenman

| 2001

| Communications Design

| John Maeda

| 2001

| Landscape Architecture

| Julie Bargmann of D.I.R.T. Studio

| 2001

| Product Design

| David M. Kelley & IDEO

| 2001

| Design Patron

| Stanley Marcus

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Lifetime Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Dan Kiley

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Whirlpool Corporation

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Architecture Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Steven Holl

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Communications Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Lucille Tenazas

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Landscape Architecture

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|James Carpenter

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Product Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Niels Diffrient

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Design Patron

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Andre Balazs

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2002

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|American Original

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Geoffrey Beene

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2003

| Lifetime Achievement

| I.M. Pei

| 2003

| Corporate Achievement

| Target Corporation

| 2003

| Architecture Design

| Billie Tsien and Tod Williams

| 2003

| Communications Design

| Robert Greenberg

| 2003

| Landscape Architecture

| Michael Van Valkenburgh

| 2003

| Fashion Design

| Tom Ford

| 2003

| Product Design

| Herman Miller

| 2003

| Design Patron

| Gordon Segal

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Lifetime Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Milton Glaser

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Aveda Corporation

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Architecture Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Rick Joy and Polshek Partnership

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Communications Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|@radical.media

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Landscape Architecture

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|William A. McDonough and Parrtners

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Fashion Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Yeohlee Teng

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Product Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Yves Béhar

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2004

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Design Patron

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Amanda M. Burden

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2005

| Lifetime Achievement

| Eva Zeisel

| 2005

| Corporate Achievement

| Patagonia

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2006

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Nike, Inc.

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2007

| Corporate Achievement

| Adobe Systems

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2008

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Google, Inc.

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2008

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Fashion Design

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Ralph Rucci

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2009

| Corporate Achievement

| Walker Art Center

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2010

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|U.S. Green Building Council

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2010

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Design Mind

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Ralph Caplan

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2011

| Corporate Achievement

| Knoll

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2012

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Design that Matters

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2013

| Design Mind

| Michael Sorkin

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2014

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Corporate Achievement

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Etsy

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

| 2015

|Director's Award

|Jack Lenor Larsen

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2016

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Director's Award

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Make It Right

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

|2017

|Director's Award

|Susan S. Szenasy

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"| 2018

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Director's Award

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Darren Walker

|style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

|2019

|Design Mind

|Patricia Moore

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2020

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Climate Action

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Sponge Park

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

|2021

|Climate Action

|InVert Self-Shading Window by Doris Sung

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2022

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Climate Action

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|WEDEW by David Hertz

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

|2023

|Climate Action

|Biocement Tiles by Biomason

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|2025

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|Climate Action

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|ilumiNACIÓN by Resilient Power Puerto Rico

| style="background:#CEE0F2;"|

|2026

|Climate Action

|Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman