The Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design is a part of the Smithsonian’s extraordinary network of museums and leads the annual National Design Awards program. The program was established to promote excellence and innovation in design and is accompanied each year by educational initiatives and workshops.

This year, our very own John Jay was asked for the huge honor of being the Jury Chairman along with other design and education leaders. He spent two days in Washington, D.C. viewing the best in architecture, industrial design, fashion, landscape design, communications and interactive with a top practitioner of each design discipline. In what John has said “was an amazing experience” and “a humbling reminder of just how little I know”- the jury selected ten outstanding recipients including a Lifetime Achievement honor to Richard Saul Wurman.

Learn about the other recipients here, and read a little more about Evan Roth, founder of the Graffiti Research Lab who helped design the EyeWriter.