The IDSA Awards 2016 winners were announced August 19 at the 2016 International Conference at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. Photos can be viewed here. Video can be viewed here.
Pascal Malassigné, FIDSA, senior professor and chair of industrial design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design who served as the chair of the IDSA Awards Committee, revealed the newest inductees into the IDSA Academy of Fellows:
- Stephen Melamed, FIDSA, clinical professor of interdisciplinary product development and industrial design at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and founder of Plus D2; designer, educator and author whose 40-year career has spanned the manufacturing, corporate, not-for-profit and consulting sectors.
- Mary Beth Privitera, PhD, FIDSA, director of the Center for Collaborative Medical Device Design at the University of Cincinnati and the chair of IDSA’s first Medical Design Conference; former IDSA Board member who “has become a source of knowledge for practices supporting medical design.”
- Kevin Shinn, FIDSA, vice president of industrial design of Altair Thinklabs; College for Creative Studies alumnus who “has a proven track record of successfully integrating design into corporate strategy.”
IDSA Board of Directors Chair John Barratt announced the winners of the IDSA Personal Recognition Award—the late Carl Sundberg and Montgomery “Monte” Ferar of Sundberg Ferar, a product innovation studio in Walled Lake MI. “This legendary design firm has been putting the “D” in design since 1934,” said Barratt. “Sundberg and Ferar mentored many of today’s ID leaders. They retired in 1975 and passed away less than a week apart in 1982, but their legacy endures.”
The award was accepted on the firm’s behalf by Curt Bailey, IDSA, president of Sundberg Ferar, and Jeevak Badve, IDSA, vice president of strategic growth at Sundberg Ferar and the IDSA International Conference 2017 chair.
Barratt also delivered the IDSA Special Award to Chief Curator and IDSA International Design Excellence Award 2016 Juror Marc Greuther, who accepted on behalf of Henry Ford Museum—the site of IDSA’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2016. “The Henry Ford is an internationally recognized cultural destination that immerses more than one-and-a-half-million visitors a year in stories of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation,” said Barratt. “The museum is a national historic landmark with an unparalleled collection of artifacts from 300 years of US history. IDSA values the generosity of The Henry Ford as a valuable IDEA partner in support of design excellence.”
John McCabe, IDSA, of SHiFT Design Camp and Aether Learning, earned Young Educator of the Year. “Whether in or out of the classroom, John is an inspiration to the next generation of designers,” said Scott Shim, IDSA Board of Education VP and ID professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Mark Evans, PhD, A/IDSA, of Loughborough University in England, was honored as IDSA Education Award. “As a Reader at Loughborough, Mark holds an established record of academic distinction and leadership—including the ability to stimulate and inspire others—and an international reputation in scholarship and research while producing significant work,” said Shim.
The IDSA Awards 2016 Committee also included Austen Angell, FIDSA; Julie Heard, FIDSA; Bob Schwartz, FIDSA; and Craig Vogel, FIDSA.
Through the Design Foundation, IDSA grants an Undergraduate Scholarship each year. For the second year in a row, this scholarship was awarded to a Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design student. This year’s winner is Emily Siira, S/IDSA. “She initially worked on a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, when she realized industrial design was her true calling,” said Shim. “Emily transferred to MIAD. She’s also working at EWI—a worldwide design firm.”
Shim then announced the winner of the Gianninoto Graduate Scholarship—named for the late Francesco Gianninoto, an IDSA Fellow. Ben Coble, S/IDSA, is pursuing a master’s degree in integrated design and management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Coble’s passion for balancing design, engineering and business drew him to the MIT program,” said Shim. Coble earned his undergraduate ID degree from Virginia Tech, where he also served as an active member of the IDSA Student Chapter.
The IDSA Student Merit Award (SMA) winners were honored on stage by Justin Burton, Solidworks senior product portfolio manager from Dassault Systèmes, which served as the SMA sponsor:
- Patrick Shields, IDSA, Kendall College of Art and Design, IDSA Central District
- Tanner Wills, IDSA, Arizona State University, IDSA West District
- Elvin Chu, IDSA, Georgia Tech, IDSA South District
- Lino Cantarella, IDSA, Wentworth Institute of Technology, IDSA Northeast District
- Nick Savidge, IDSA, University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC), IDSA Midwest District (third year in a row that a UIC student has won the Midwest District SMA)
“These five young designers are the best and brightest of the class of 2016,” said Burton.