I was thrilled to be invited to join the jury for the National Design Awards, probably the most significant design awards in the country. The awards are granted by the Smithsonian institution, sponsored by the White House, and prior award winners have included Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, Milton Glaser and Eva Zeisel. John Maeda won the Communications award in 2001. The awards were initially created under the Clinton administration, and carried through in the current administration as well, and hopefully the next. I'm in New York this week at the Cooper Hewitt Museum sitting on the jury. It's been an exhausting, but also exhilarating experience.

One thing that I noticed was there were an insufficient number of number of nominees and/or submissions for digital and online media in the Communications category. I'd love to rectify that, and get any recommendations for people who've had substantial and long-standing careers that have made significant contributions to the state of online or digital design. Someone like Susan Kare for example. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance. I'll be sure to submit them for the 2008 nominations.

Also, it looks like the Chrysler Design Awards were discontinued in 2002. Is this true? Anybody know?

LINK | 4:07 AM | TB

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