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At Design Awards, The Extraordinary That Touches The EverydayThe swooping white big top made the lawn of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum resemble a giant Dairy Queen cone, but design is a big tent. At the fifth annual National Design Awards, presented here Tuesday night, exotic fashions, inspired buildings, dazzling computer graphics and even the packaging for a lipstick tube were honored.
Images exploded into view as video screens transmitted the work of 18 designers and design-friendly companies. By the finale, eight were clutching spiraling avant-garde trophies.
But it was left to graphic artist Milton Glaser, winner of the lifetime achievement award and, at 75, a true dean of design, to explain once and for all what "design" is.
"Design is moving from an existing condition to a preferred one," he said before dinner. It should be no more difficult to grapple with than "love, sex and beauty."
The awards night attracted a record crowd of 520 and raised $750,000 for the museum. At dinner, guests were seated on plastic chairs designed by Mario Bellini, each accessorized with a tote bag designed by architect Richard Meier and produced in three weeks by Coach, which Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small noted was "exceptionally helpful as the sole financial sponsor" of the event. Honorary patron Laura Bush was absent.
"Every American benefits from th
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22/10/2004 | Viewed 15,472 time(s)
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