Meet the 2021 Cooper Hewitt National Design Awardees

This year's National Design Awards recipients showcase an array of firms and individuals who have dedicated their work towards enriching the definition of design impacts in daily life. 

Individuals and firms are nominated, and an esteemed jury from various design backgrounds evaluates their portfolios. This year's jury consisted of notable design practitioners like Kofi Boone, FASLA; Billy Flemming, Joe Gebbia, Kristine Johnson, Grace Jun, and Patricia Saldaña Natke FAIA. This year's jury members selected the following nine category winners. 

The 2021 award recipients in their respective categories are:

• Architecture and Interior: Ross Barney Architects
• Landscape Architecture: Studio MLA
• Climate Action: Doris Sung
• Emerging Designer: Colloqate Design
• Communication Design: Imaginary Forces
• Digital Design: Behnaz Farahi
• Fashion Design: Becca McCharen-Tran
• Product Design: BioLite
• Design Visionary: Cheryl D. Miller

Out of the nine design categories, five of the recipients hold important positions and involvement within architectural practice and academia. Below is an overview of these designers and their steadfast contributions to architecture and adjacent fields of study such as technology/media, social and political design, and experimental fashion. 

With First Lady Jill Biden serving as the Honorary Patron for this year's National Design Awards, this year's class of winners will take part in a series of virtual talks, tours, workshops, and more in honor of celebrating National Design Month this October. To learn more about this year's winners click here.