American Prize For Design For 2023 Tell a friend
Stacy Wolff Named The Laureate Of The American Prize For Architecture
Stacy Wolff—Head of Design and Sustainability At Hp Inc.—Named as This Year’s Laureate of the American Prize For Design For 2023
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (March 20, 2023) - The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies have jointly selected Stacy Wolff, principal of HP Design, to receive what is known as America’s highest design honor,” announced architecture critic Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, President/CEO, The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Stacy Wolff, as the Global Leader of Design and Sustainability at HP Inc., is responsible for the company’s leadership and focus on design innovation and sustainable impact, driving design excellence across consumer, commercial, and vertical industries by aligning leading edge technologies with customer insights, aspirations, climate responsibility, and unparalleled experiences.
During his tenure with HP, Stacy has been instrumental in restructuring the design team by taking it from a technology driven developer to a trend-focused design leader.
At HP he transformed design as a function into design as a strategy with record success. He is responsible for the multi award-winning HP Spectre, Dragonfly, Elite, Envy, and Pavilion product lines.
“Inspired by industrial design at an early age, his father was an industrial designer and the biggest influence on how he approaches problems,” as Stacy Wolff reveals in a recent interview with Pavlos Amperiadis, publisher of Global Design News.
"In addition to the personal computer lines, he helped created HP’s Engage line of retail point of sale terminals and as instrumental in the breakthrough innovation within HP Poly communication and collaboration systems."
“Awards and recognition have never been the goal. The key responsibility of design–never design for yourself. Biggest change after 35 plus years for me is learning to listen more and speak less,” Stacy Wolff discloses.
“Design isn’t a job: it’s a passion and enjoying what you do is the true and sometimes only reward,” he continues.
Before joining Compaq in 1995, Wolff served in various roles ranging from lead designer to design manager within other Fortune 100 companies.
“At Compaq, he led the early personalization of computing with the iPAQ and TC1000 tablet computer and rose through the ranks by leading design across every product line,” states Narkiewicz-Laine.
Prior to HP, Wolff was director of design for Hewlett-Packard and Compaq’s computer where he helped deliver several industry firsts, such as the award winning TC1000 Tablet Computer.
“He has designed everything for the home—from children’s products to hardware storage with excellence,” Narkiewicz-Laine continues.
“Stacy Wolff has reinvented what a computer looks like, experimented with hinges, materials and finishes, and how users interact with computing, both traditionally and in new ways.”
Given in conjunction with The Chicago Athenaeum’s historic Good Design Awards, The American Prize for Design honors a specific design practitioner with the highest public accolade for producing design that promotes design excellence, innovation, and lasting design.
Candidates for the Prize are sent to The Chicago Athenaeum by design practitioners, press, and educators from around the world and the Museum’s International Advisory Committee that ultimately selects the winner.
The Committee’s decisions are based on core criteria: design excellence, innovation, and contributions to humanity and to the public good.
Previous recipients of The American Prize for Design include: Gorden Wagener, Chief Designer and Executive Vice President at Daimler AG.; British architect/designer Norman Foster; Italian Ferrari Designer, Flavio Manzoni; American designer Chris Bangle; and Canadian American designer Karim Rashid.
Last year,the Prize for Design was given to Italian designer Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo.
our work to be worthy. It is rewarding to know that our work is meaningful."
"Design has a long tradition at HP. It’s not something we just do, it’s something ingrained in our approach to making products that improve on the way a user’s needs are met or meet needs in ways that weren’t previously possible."
"At HP, we believe all products should be progressive, harmonious, and iconic. Our products are identifiably, uniquely HP, because in many ways, we’re trying to get the appearance of the physical object out of the way of the way, making it one in harmony with the experience."
"Whether it’s through borderless displays, notebooks that weigh 1kg, aluminum bodies that are crafted like an artisan, or anticipate unmet needs by using a network of cameras and sensors to detect emotion and eye focus – the goal isn’t to add more technology but rather ensure the computer is truly personal."
"For HP, design is inseparable from sustainability. The choices we make are interconnected with supply chains, manufacturing, packaging, even to the associated fuel costs from transporting materials at one end and finished product at the other."
"We see ourselves as having many responsibilities; to make designs that have a long useful life, to avoid premature replacement, and to make them as responsibly as possible, using materials that are reclaimed, recycled, or otherwise not single-use. Being recognized has been a great honor. Thank you,” states Wolff.
Stacy Wolff will officially receive The American Prize for Design at a Gala Reception and Awards Dinner in Athens, Greece along with recipients of the 2022 Good Design on March 31.
HP's recent work and over 1,200 winning projects from the 2022 Good Design Awards are published as a catalogue for 2022-2023 Good Design Yearbook edited by Christian Narkiewicz-Laine for Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd.
The catalogue is available through The European Centre by email konstadina@europeanarch.eu and at www. metropolitanartspress.com.
For press information and photographs, contact Jennifer Nyholm at jennifer@chicagoathenaeum.org.
NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: Photos of the 2023 American Prize for Design are available for download. For more details on the award and previous winners, visit The Chicago Athenaeum’s website at chicagoathenaeum.org
About The Chicago Athenaeum (www.chi-athenaeum.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide public education about the significance of architecture and design and how those disciplines can have a positive effect on the human environment.
About The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies (europeanarch.eu) is dedicated to public education concerning all aspects of the built environment—from entire cities to individual buildings - including the philosophical issues of arts and culture that ultimately give the final shape to design. A high emphasis exists on contemporary values and aesthetics, conservation and sustainability, and the theoretical exploration and advancement of art and design as the highest expression of culture and urbanism.
Stacy Wolff, as the Global Leader of Design and Sustainability at HP Inc., is responsible for the company’s leadership and focus on design innovation and sustainable impact, driving design excellence across consumer, commercial, and vertical industries by aligning leading edge technologies with customer insights, aspirations, climate responsibility, and unparalleled experiences.
During his tenure with HP, Stacy has been instrumental in restructuring the design team by taking it from a technology driven developer to a trend-focused design leader.
At HP he transformed design as a function into design as a strategy with record success. He is responsible for the multi award-winning HP Spectre, Dragonfly, Elite, Envy, and Pavilion product lines.
“Inspired by industrial design at an early age, his father was an industrial designer and the biggest influence on how he approaches problems,” as Stacy Wolff reveals in a recent interview with Pavlos Amperiadis, publisher of Global Design News.
"In addition to the personal computer lines, he helped created HP’s Engage line of retail point of sale terminals and as instrumental in the breakthrough innovation within HP Poly communication and collaboration systems."
“Awards and recognition have never been the goal. The key responsibility of design–never design for yourself. Biggest change after 35 plus years for me is learning to listen more and speak less,” Stacy Wolff discloses.
“Design isn’t a job: it’s a passion and enjoying what you do is the true and sometimes only reward,” he continues.
Before joining Compaq in 1995, Wolff served in various roles ranging from lead designer to design manager within other Fortune 100 companies.
“At Compaq, he led the early personalization of computing with the iPAQ and TC1000 tablet computer and rose through the ranks by leading design across every product line,” states Narkiewicz-Laine.
Prior to HP, Wolff was director of design for Hewlett-Packard and Compaq’s computer where he helped deliver several industry firsts, such as the award winning TC1000 Tablet Computer.
“He has designed everything for the home—from children’s products to hardware storage with excellence,” Narkiewicz-Laine continues.
“Stacy Wolff has reinvented what a computer looks like, experimented with hinges, materials and finishes, and how users interact with computing, both traditionally and in new ways.”
Given in conjunction with The Chicago Athenaeum’s historic Good Design Awards, The American Prize for Design honors a specific design practitioner with the highest public accolade for producing design that promotes design excellence, innovation, and lasting design.
Candidates for the Prize are sent to The Chicago Athenaeum by design practitioners, press, and educators from around the world and the Museum’s International Advisory Committee that ultimately selects the winner.
The Committee’s decisions are based on core criteria: design excellence, innovation, and contributions to humanity and to the public good.
Previous recipients of The American Prize for Design include: Gorden Wagener, Chief Designer and Executive Vice President at Daimler AG.; British architect/designer Norman Foster; Italian Ferrari Designer, Flavio Manzoni; American designer Chris Bangle; and Canadian American designer Karim Rashid.
Last year,the Prize for Design was given to Italian designer Mauro Porcini, Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo.
our work to be worthy. It is rewarding to know that our work is meaningful."
"Design has a long tradition at HP. It’s not something we just do, it’s something ingrained in our approach to making products that improve on the way a user’s needs are met or meet needs in ways that weren’t previously possible."
"At HP, we believe all products should be progressive, harmonious, and iconic. Our products are identifiably, uniquely HP, because in many ways, we’re trying to get the appearance of the physical object out of the way of the way, making it one in harmony with the experience."
"Whether it’s through borderless displays, notebooks that weigh 1kg, aluminum bodies that are crafted like an artisan, or anticipate unmet needs by using a network of cameras and sensors to detect emotion and eye focus – the goal isn’t to add more technology but rather ensure the computer is truly personal."
"For HP, design is inseparable from sustainability. The choices we make are interconnected with supply chains, manufacturing, packaging, even to the associated fuel costs from transporting materials at one end and finished product at the other."
"We see ourselves as having many responsibilities; to make designs that have a long useful life, to avoid premature replacement, and to make them as responsibly as possible, using materials that are reclaimed, recycled, or otherwise not single-use. Being recognized has been a great honor. Thank you,” states Wolff.
Stacy Wolff will officially receive The American Prize for Design at a Gala Reception and Awards Dinner in Athens, Greece along with recipients of the 2022 Good Design on March 31.
HP's recent work and over 1,200 winning projects from the 2022 Good Design Awards are published as a catalogue for 2022-2023 Good Design Yearbook edited by Christian Narkiewicz-Laine for Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd.
The catalogue is available through The European Centre by email konstadina@europeanarch.eu and at www. metropolitanartspress.com.
For press information and photographs, contact Jennifer Nyholm at jennifer@chicagoathenaeum.org.
NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: Photos of the 2023 American Prize for Design are available for download. For more details on the award and previous winners, visit The Chicago Athenaeum’s website at chicagoathenaeum.org
About The Chicago Athenaeum (www.chi-athenaeum.org) is a global nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide public education about the significance of architecture and design and how those disciplines can have a positive effect on the human environment.
About The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies (europeanarch.eu) is dedicated to public education concerning all aspects of the built environment—from entire cities to individual buildings - including the philosophical issues of arts and culture that ultimately give the final shape to design. A high emphasis exists on contemporary values and aesthetics, conservation and sustainability, and the theoretical exploration and advancement of art and design as the highest expression of culture and urbanism.
The American Prize for Design® is a registered trademark of The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Center together with Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd.
