Nov

Cooper-Hewitt director awarded Designers Prize

Bill Moggridge, director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, was awarded the 2010 Prince Philip Designers Prize Nov. 9. The U.K.’s most prestigious design prize is awarded annually to recognize a lifetime contribution to design.

Bill Moggridge

The jury, chaired by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, determined that Moggridge, as one of the pioneering designers of the 20th century, has been central to how design helps people understand and use technology. “I am astonished to have been chosen when my fellow short-listed candidates have achieved such amazing work,” said Moggridge.

The Prince Philip Designers Prize is Britain’s longest-running design award. It recognizes designers for raising the status of design and improving everyday life by turning ideas into commercial reality. Winners are selected based on the quality, originality and commercial success of their work, as well as the designer’s overall contribution to the standing of design and to design education.

The Grid Compass

Moggridge designed the first laptop computer, the Grid Compass, launched in 1982. He describes his career as having three phases: first as a designer with projects for clients in 10 countries, second as a co-founder of IDEO, where he developed design methods for interdisciplinary design teams, and third as a spokesperson for the value of design in everyday life—supported by the historical depth and contemporary reach of Cooper-Hewitt.