NEW YORK, NY.- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum announced today the winners of the 2026 National Design Awards. Launched in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards celebrate excellence and leadership in design, recognizing the innovation and impact of individual designers and organizations across 10 categories. Award recipients are selected by a multidisciplinary jury of practitioners, educators and leaders from a wide range of design fields and will be honored at the Smithsonian National Design Awards Gala May 19 in New York City.

This year’s National Design Award recipients are:

• Design Visionary: Robert Earl Paige
• Climate Action: Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman
• Emerging Designer: Mattaforma
• Architecture: Frida Escobedo Studio
• Communication Design: Thought Matter
• Digital Design: Laura Kurgan
• Fashion Design: Josh Tafoya
• Interior Design: Charlap Hyman & Herrero
• Landscape Architecture: Ten Eyck Landscape Architects
• Product Design: Berea College Student Craft

“At Cooper Hewitt, we celebrate design not only for its impact and innovation, but also for its role as a civic force—one that reflects shared values rooted in the common good, fuels creativity and shapes everyday life,” said Maria Nicanor, director of Cooper Hewitt.

“The National Design Awards demonstrate the potential and possibilities of American design, shining a spotlight on the designers and communities whose talent and creativity speak of the pluralistic richness of America at its best,” said Aric Chen, chair of the 2026 National Design Awards jury.

Public programming featuring the contributions and voices of the winners has been a hallmark of the National Design Awards program since its inception. A new series of public conversations between the winners and Nicanor, kicking off this spring, will expand the awards’ reach and the public’s access to the expertise of winners across all categories.

In addition to the National Design Awards, Cooper Hewitt will also mark this momentous year with a major multi-year installation of the museum’s permanent collection—a selection of which will be brought out of storage to be made widely and more permanently accessible to the public. Opening this summer, “Design Across Time: Exploring the Smithsonian’s Design Collection” will occupy the entire first floor of the museum’s Carnegie Mansion and feature historic and contemporary works across disciplines—including product design and graphic design, fashion and textiles, digital and interaction design, wall coverings and architecture—highlighting the scope of the national design collection and the varied creative processes designers use to shape the world and people’s daily lives.