The Sir Misha Black Awards

The Sir Misha Black Awards
Sir Misha Black Medal

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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 honour them in their role within design education.

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

Established 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. The awards are the only ones anywhere in the world that recognise design education.

The ceremony to present the Medal began life as a biennial event but has since become an annual date recognised within the design world calendar. Nominations for the awards are welcomed from anyone with knowledge and appreciation of the value of design education. Nomination forms can be found on the Sir Misha Black Awards website.[3]

The Sir Misha Black Medal[]

The Sir Misha Black Medal, first awarded in 1978, was created to honour individuals across the globe who, throughout their career, have made a significant contribution to design education. The Sir Misha Black Medal is awarded collaboratively by Britain’s leading design organisations. 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 honour 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 that has long been held in high regard internationally, but has received little formal recognition.

The Awards Committee[]

The committee comprises leading industry design educators and representatives of renowned associations. The current committee as of 2020 includes:

Mary V. Mullin (Chairman) – The Design and Industries Association, Professor Peter Childs, FREng, FIMechE, FASME - The Imperial College of London, Professor Sir Christopher Frayling – College of Medallists, Professor Malcolm Garrett MBE RDI, FISTD – The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry, Professor Geoffery Kirk RDI, FREng – The Royal Academy of Engineering, Professor Chris Wise, RDI, FREng - Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and Dr Nick de Leon – Co-Opted Member.

Recipients of the Sir Misha Black Medal[]

Recipients of The Sir Misha Black Award[]