Sir Misha Black Awards Explained

The Sir Misha Black Awards

The Sir Misha Black Awards commemorate the life of Misha Black, whose work played an important role in the development of design in Britain. They are given to individuals and institutions to honor them in their role within design education.[1]

There are two awards – the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education, which is awarded to design educators working around the world, and the Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education, which is given to UK-based educational institutions, organizations or individuals.

The awards were established in 1978 by six founding bodies: the Design and Industries Association, the Imperial College, the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (RDI) at the RSA, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the College of Medallists and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851. These are the only awards in the world to recognize design education.

The Sir Misha Black Medal

The Sir Misha Black Medal, first awarded in 1978, was created to honor individuals across the globe who have made a significant contribution to design education throughout their career. The Sir Misha Black Medal is awarded collaboratively by Britain’s leading design organizations. Recipients of The Sir Misha Black Medal are automatically enrolled in the College of Medallists.

The Sir Misha Black Award

The Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education, first awarded in 2001, was created to honor the exceptional work of a teacher, team, department, or course within educational establishments in the UK for innovation in design education. The award exists to acknowledge the collective excellence and leadership in design education within the United Kingdom.

The Awards Committee

The current awards committee as of 2023 includes:

Recipients of the Sir Misha Black Medal

YearNameCountry
2022Prof. Elizabeth TurnstallCanada
2021 Prof. Don Norman USA
2020 Prof. Birgit Mager Germany
2018 Prof. P John Clarkson UK
2016 Margaret Calvert OBE RDI UK
2015 Ravi Naidoo South Africa
2014 Prof. Michael Twyman UK
2013 Prof. Santiago Aránguiz Sánchez Chile
2012 Prof. Ezio ManziniItaly
2011 Prof. Kumar Vyas India
2009 Judy Frater India/USA
2008 Mexico
2007 Alison Chitty RDI UK
2006 Prof. Geoffrey Kirk RDI UK
2005 USA
2004 USA
2003 UK
2002 Spain
2001 Yuri Soloviev Russia
2000 Robert Gooden UK
1999 Italy
1998 William Walsh Ireland
1997 Dr. Alexander Moulton RDI UK
1995 Japan
1993 Arthur Pulos USA
1993 Dr. Marianne Straub RDI Switzerland
1991 UK
1988 UK
1986 Frank Height UK
1985 Ashoke Chatterjee India
1982 Max Bill Switzerland
1980 USA
1978 UK

Recipients of The Sir Misha Black Award

2022Judah Armani
2020 Oliver Broadbent
2020 FixEd – Dee Halligan & Prof. Daniel Charny
2018 University of Brighton Design Archives
2016 Arts University Bournemouth
2016 Prof. Catherine McDermott
2015 Prof. Rachel Cooper OBE - Lancaster University
2014 National Art&Design Saturday Club – The Sorrell Foundation
2012 Manchester School of Art – Manchester Metropolitan University
2011 Creative Research into Sound Arts Practice (CRiSAP) – London College of Communication
2009 Prof. Anthony Dunne – Royal College of Art
2007 Department of Industrial Design – Coventry University School of Art & Design
2006 Design Against Crime Research Centre – Central St Martins School of Art
2004 Jane McCann – University of Derby
2003 Prof. Adrian Forty
2002 Prof. Ken Wallace – Cambridge University
2001 Prof. Roger Coleman and Dr Paul Ewing – Royal College of Art / Imperial College, London

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Sir Misha Black and the Awards Misha Black Awards . 2023-07-10 . www.mishablackawards.org.uk.