COMMUNICATION DESIGN ACROSS GENERATIONS

Explore communication design with some of the world’s most creative minds, with work spanning two centuries. Join 2023 National Design Award winners—Seymour Chwast, Design Visionary; Arem Duplessis, Communication Design; and Beatriz Lozano, Emerging Designer—in a conversation about how changes in communication design have shaped their work, as well as where they see the future of the field. Conversation moderated by Ellen Lupton, Curator Emerita, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Learn more about the winners of the 2023 National Design Awards.

About the Program

This program will be livestreamed on Cooper Hewitt’s YouTube channel. To watch the program live, please visit this link.

Program Length: 90 minutes
Interactivity Level: Low. Participants hear a conversation by a panel of four. Slides will be presented on a large screen. Participants are invited to participate in an optional question and answer session at the end of the conversation.
Intended Audience: People curious about design, communication design, and design history. No previous design or design history knowledge is required.

panelists and moderator

SEYMOUR CHWAST, DESIGN VISIONARY WINNER

Seymour Chwast has been at the forefront of graphic design since the 1950s and continues to explore new frontiers in design and typography. He is a founding partner of the celebrated Push Pin Studios, whose distinct style has had a worldwide influence on contemporary visual communications. His designs and illustrations have been exhibited in major galleries and museums in the United States, Europe, Japan, Brazil, and Russia. Chwast and Push Pin were honored at the Louvre in Paris in a two-month retrospective exhibition titled The Push Pin Style in 1970. His posters are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Cooper Hewitt, The Library of Congress, The Gutenberg Museum, and The Israel Museum, among others. A graduate of The Cooper Union, Chwast holds an honorary PhD in Fine Arts from the Parsons School of Design and The Rhode Island School of Design. He has received numerous awards including the 1985 AIGA Medal and is in the Art Directors Hall of Fame.

AREM DUPLESSIS, COMMUNICATION DESIGN WINNER

Arem Duplessis is a creative director who has led and designed visual narratives that have positive global impact, currently serving as a group creative director at Apple. Previously, Duplessis was design director of the New York Times Magazine, where his department was named Design Team of the Year for three consecutive years by the Art Directors Club. During his tenure at GQ he commissioned the Gotham typeface, which went on to become one of the most recognizable typefaces of a generation. He has received numerous awards, including an Emmy and AIGA Medal. He lectures around the world and has taught within Pratt Institute’s Graduate Design Department, SVA, and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Duplessis received a BA from Hampton University and an MS from Pratt Institute where he was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame as a “Pratt Legend.”

BEATRIZ LOZANO, EMERGING DESIGNER WINNER

Beatriz Lozano is a designer, typographer, and educator exploring how technology can push typography to exist at the intersection of the physical and digital world. Originally on the path to becoming a mechanical engineer, Lozano shifted to graphic design as her involvement in immigrant rights activism exposed her to the power of visual communication. She is dedicated to using design to create social change and bridge the gap in access to resources and knowledge. Lozano’s work has been recognized by the Art Directors Club, Type Directors Club, Communication Arts, and PRINT. In 2023, she was awarded the Art Directors Club Young Gun Award, which recognizes the world’s best creatives under the age of 30. She teaches interaction design at Parsons and was formerly a design director at Sunday Afternoon.

MODERATOR: ELLEN LUPTON, CURATOR EMERITA, COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM

Ellen Lupton has authored and co-authored numerous books about graphic design, including Thinking with Type, Design Is Storytelling, Graphic Design Thinking, Health Design Thinking, and Extra Bold: A Feminist, Inclusive, Anti-Racist, Nonbinary Field Guide for Graphic Designers. She teaches in the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (MICA), where she proudly serves as the Betty Cooke and William O. Steinmetz Design Chair. She is Curator Emerita at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, where her exhibitions included Herbert Bayer: Bauhaus Master and The Senses: Design Beyond Vision.

Accessibility

Location: This program will take place in person in the Lecture Room at Cooper Hewitt (2 East 91st Street, New York, NY). The Lecture Room is on the ground floor of the museum and fully wheelchair accessible. There is an accessible restroom on the same floor. Theater-style seating will be available.
What to Expect: This program will feature a panel with a slideshow presentation followed by an audience Q&A.
Accommodations: For general questions and requests for additional accessibility services or accommodations to support your participation in this program, please email us at CHEducation@si.edu or let us know when registering. Please make your accommodation request as far in advance as possible—preferably at least one week before the program date when possible.

About national design week

National Design Week celebrates the power of design in our everyday world. Launched in 2006, National Design Week is held in conjunction with the National Design Awards. From October 2–8, Cooper Hewitt’s galleries will be free to enter, and programs will welcome all to engage with design. Join us for the presentation of the 2023 National Design Awards, and visit our calendar for a complete listing of programs during National Design Week.

Special Thanks

National Design Awards Partners

Shelby and Frederick Gans
Helen and Edward Hintz

National Design Awards Sponsors
Apple
Alexandra and Paul Herzan
Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer
Crystal and Chris Sacca

National Design Awards Patrons
Kimberly Schuessler
Richard M. Smith and Dr. Soon-Young Yoon
Jon C. Iwata
Agnes Gund
Scott Belsky
Victor Calise
Champions Design
Heller Furniture
Bobby Martin
Thomas Robinson
Margaret Stewart

Design learning at Cooper Hewitt is made possible by eBay Inc., The Hirsch Family Foundation, The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, The Pinkerton Foundation, PwC Charitable Foundation, The Richard and Jean Coyne Family Foundation, with internal Smithsonian Institution funds from the Youth Access Grants for Youth Innovation in Rural America, and public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.