Thea Angella Tenorio, grade 12 Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA My design addresses the struggle of amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. The lack of these voices perpetuates a society built to benefit those who are privileged, without making room for other people. I’ve experienced this marginalization and hope to create a better environment for...
Renee Wang, grade 10 The Bishop’s School, La Jolla, CA Millions of people worldwide are denied the basic human right to a home. The typical homeless shelter fails to cater to individuals’ needs because they do not support independent and private living. However, tiny homes offer comfortable living, permanent housing, a sense of community, and...
Lake Wiesmayr-Cheuk, grade 11 Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, New York, NY Living in New York’s Chinatown, I’ve learned from personal experience that ignorance creates prejudice. I took the idiom, “Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes,” as inspiration for my design. In order to empathize with another person it is helpful...
Design Visionary Cheryl D. Miller Cheryl D. Miller is a graphic designer, author, and theologian who is best known for her advocacy on racial, cultural, and gender equity, diversity, and inclusion. An accomplished, award-winning designer and businesswoman, Miller established one of the first Black women-owned design firms in New York City in 1984. Cheryl D....
Climate Action InVert™ Self-Shading Window by Doris Sung Designed by Doris Sung, the InVert™ Self-Shading Window uses smart thermobimetal pieces inside the cavity of a standard double-glazed window to shade a building in a magical way—with a kaleidoscope of fluttering butterfly-like pieces. By responding to the sun, it dynamically blocks solar radiation from heating the...
Emerging Designer Colloqate Design Founded in 2017, Colloqate Design is a multidisciplinary nonprofit design justice practice based in New Orleans with a focus on expanding community access to, and building power through, the design of social, civic, and cultural spaces. Its mission is to intentionally organize, advocate, and design spaces of racial, social, and cultural...
Architecture and Interior Design Ross Barney Architects Founded in Chicago in 1981, Ross Barney Architects’ mission is to create well-designed spaces for everyone. The studio is dedicated to the design of “noble” projects, without the most generous budgets or the most sought-after commissions, but those that are important to daily life and require innovative interventions....
Communication Design Imaginary Forces Founded in 1996 in Los Angeles, Imaginary Forces is an award-winning studio specializing in design-based visual storytelling. Led by Peter Frankfurt, Chip Houghton, Karin Fong, Tosh Kodama, Alan Williams, Ronnie Koff, Anthony Gibbs, and Grant Lau, Imaginary Forces takes its name from the prologue of Shakespeare’s Henry V, where the narrator summons...
Digital Design Behnaz Farahi Based in Los Angeles, Behnaz Farahi is an award-winning designer whose work is situated at the intersection of digital design, architecture, fashion, and interactive design, ranging from the scale of wearables to architectural installations. Farahi explores how materials in the environment can be imbued with artificial intelligence and life-like behaviors, incorporating...
