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Good Design Awards Program Open

In 2007, the awards program recognized 400 products.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 3/12/2008 12:00:00 AM

In 1950, design masters Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. teamed up to launch the Good Design awards. Sixty-eight years later, and the awards program is still going strong: The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design is now accepting entries, due July 1, to the 2008 program.

Each year, the annual awards program--billed as the world's oldest--honors global product design and graphics. In 2007, a record number of entries piled in, and over 400 products and graphics earned the Good Design seal of approval. Winning designs are selected by a jury of industry professionals based on aesthetic appeal, innovation, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, and sustainability.

Product categories include electronics, medical equipment, materials, furniture, appliances, housewares, automotive, transportation, fashion, building materials, fabrics, textiles, industrial equipment, exhibition design, environments, hardware, tools, kitchen and bath, floorcovering tabletop, office products, graphics/packaging, robotics/bionics, sports equipment, personal effects, lighting, and urban environments.

"Good Design is truly an incomparable design presentation, representing thousands of manufacturers and clients working with thousands of important designers from so many countries," says Ioannis Karalias, museum vice president, director of design, the Chicago Athenaeum. "The program works on many levels—to stimulate designers; encourage manufacturers; and to inform the public about the merits of Good Design."