2009 National Design Award Winners

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First Lady Michelle Obama

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That’s an unexpected statement for an arts professional to make. But Northrop has the reasoning to back it up: “Design is the most accessible form of visual culture — we touch it. We use it everyday. It’s based on solving a particular problem.”

And the museum has plans to make the art of design (or just plain “design,” as the case may be) even more available. On July 24, in conjunction with a White House luncheon thrown by the first lady and an awards ceremony to honor the winners of this year’s National Design Awards (announced in April), the New York–based Cooper-Hewitt will host a number of public programs aimed at educating the public about the field. A series of panel discussions sprinkled throughout Washington, D.C., the events are part 10-year anniversary celebration for the awards, part obvious measure to encourage the general public’s growing interest in design.

The discussions will all be held tomorrow morning from 10 to 11 a.m., and most do not require pre-registration. White House officials will moderate the talks, which will highlight the winners of this year’s awards: 2009 fashion design and interior design winners Francisco Costa, Calvin Tsao, and Zack McKown plan to discuss the influence of materials in their work; Boym Partners (the Product Design winner) and Steve Duenes of the New York Times Graphics Department (which won the Communication Design award) will demonstrate how design helps inform people about current events; and Jeff Han of Perceptive Pixel and Corporate and Institutional Achievement winner Andrew Blauvelt of the Walker Art Center will talk to U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra about how interactive design will change in the future (or simply, how it will change the future).

In a cultural climate where networks like Bravo TV are reaching broad audiences with their Project Runway-esque design shows (see Top Design, or HGTV’s Design Star), it’s easy to see why awareness is up: Design is becoming a more and more recognized part of everyday life. The National Design Awards, introduced in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, get bigger ever year; this year, an award for interactive design was added to the roster. (Perceptive Pixel took home the prize. You’re familiar with its work: The company created the massive multi-touch screens featured on CNN, ABC, and Fox during 2008’s historic election night.)

But why the events, and why now? Fittingly enough, “Michelle Obama was the impetus behind the events,” says Northrop. “You know, she’s very concerned with service and reaching communities, and design does that” — a sentiment echoed in program titles like “Design X Community: Transform Your Neighborhood” and “Design X Tomorrow: The Future of Technology and Sustainability.” In keeping with tradition, Obama will also serve as patron of the awards. (A minor scandal known as the “NDA Five,” when a group of five winners refused an invitation to Laura Bush’s awards breakfast in 2006 because of concerns over her husband’s politics, had no lasting effect on the process.)

It can’t hurt, either, that Obama has an obvious personal interest in design and a penchant for effortlessly promoting American fashion designers. Check out Women’s Wear Daily any day, and within moments you’ll know who the fashion-forward first lady wore to dinner the night before.

As for the events, “We’re looking to attract people from all walks of life; it’s not about developing a career in design,” explains Northrop, though she adds that a program for high school students focused on just that is in the works for October. “It’s about exposing people to design.”