NEW YORK, October 10, 2014 — Leaders from New York State’s design industry received four of the 10 National Design Awards presented at yesterday’s gala dinner in New York City honoring the 2014 winners. The 15th annual National Design Awards are presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum to recognize excellence and innovation across a variety of design disciplines.

This year’s New York State recipients are Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar for Lifetime Achievement; Etsy for Corporate & Institutional Achievement; Narciso Rodriguez for Fashion Design; Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors for Interior Design.

“On behalf of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Council of the Arts, I congratulate this year’s National Design Award recipients. The winners are at the forefront of their respective fields on both the state and national levels,” said Mr. Aby Rosen, Chair, New York State Council on the Arts. “They represent New York State’s deep pool of innovative, diverse and creative design industry leaders and demonstrate, once again, that the work of artists is fundamental to our state’s vitality, identity and economic prosperity.”

A peer jury of design leaders and educators from across the country, convened by Cooper-Hewitt, reviewed submissions resulting from nominations by the general public. Winners are selected based on the level of excellence, innovation and public impact of their body of work.

The trophies presented to all National Design Award winners are also a product of New York State, created by the Corning Museum of Glass located in Corning, NY. In 2011, The Corning Museum of Glass worked with a team from Cooper-Hewitt to design a new glass award and Corning continues to produce the awards’ trophies today. Each trophy is hand-polished and its fabrication takes six to eight hours to complete.

New York State’s 2014 National Design Award recipients are:

Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar: Lifetime Achievement

Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar are founding partners of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, a New York-based brand design firm behind many of the world’s most iconic and recognizable trademarks. Since 1958, Chermayeff and Geismar have pioneered the modern movement of idea-driven graphic design across every discipline, specializing in brand identities, exhibitions, print and motion graphics, and art in architecture. They have created more than a hundred identities through their designs, working with clients such as Chase Manhattan Bank, Mobil Oil, New York University, PBS and Xerox. Chermayeff and Geismar have been awarded nearly every recognition bestowed by the profession, including the AIGA Gold Medal, the Yale Arts Medal and the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame honor, and their work continues to receive worldwide acclaim.

Etsy: Corporate & Institutional Achievement

Etsy is an online marketplace where people connect to buy and sell unique goods. Since the company’s founding in New York in 2005, Etsy has empowered people to start and grow creative businesses with a mission to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world. Today, Etsy supports more than 1 million shops around the world, and in 2013 alone, these shops sold more than $1.35 billion of merchandise. Etsy’s business model allows sellers to keep 96.5 percent of every item sold. Creativity, the joy of making and inspired design are integral to Etsy and its 30 million member community.

Narciso Rodriguez: Fashion Design

Narciso Rodriguez has redefined American style for the past two decades, playing a singular role in global fashion through his structured and elegantly minimal designs. Based in New York City where he shows his women’s ready-to-wear collections, Rodriguez incorporates a simple, sophisticated sensibility—he makes modern classic clothing that functions both practically and aesthetically. He has received numerous accolades, including three CFDA Awards, Pratt Institute’s Fashion Icon Award and being named one of the “25 Most Influential Hispanics in America” by Time magazine. Rodriguez has collaborated with artists and on several films, and most recently designed costumes for the Stephen Petronio Company’s 30th anniversary season.

Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors: Interior Design

New York-based Roman and Williams was founded in 1998 by Hollywood set designers Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch. The pair began by designing celebrity residences. In 2009, the firm completed the award-winning Ace and Standard Hotels in New York as well as the notable residential building at 211 Elizabeth Street. Their lauded projects include The Dutch and Lafayette with chef Andrew Carmellini, the Freehand Hotel in Miami, the 30-story Viceroy Hotel in New York and a product line with Waterworks and Lalique. Recent projects include an eatery for Facebook, a restaurant with Alain Ducasse and the newsroom and set for Huffington Post Live. Each Roman and Williams project demonstrates a comprehensive design vision, marking their work as a unique user experience.

About the New York State Council on the Arts

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), founded by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960, is an agency of the Executive Branch of the New York State Government dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York's citizens. In FY2013-2014, NYSCA awarded approximately 1,875 grants valued at $36 million to 1,250 cultural non-profit organizations. For more information on NYSCA, please visit: www.arts.ny.gov