Sixty Six Years of Iconic Design Tell a friend

For over half a century nearly seven decades now 66 years as...

The World's Foremost Public Mark for Global Innovation and Design Excellence

HISTORY 1950-2016 - SIXTY SIX YEARS

The GOOD DESIGN exhibition program began as a partnership between the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and is continued today by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. It was the first time that an art museum and a wholesale merchandising center joined forces to present “the best new examples in modern design in home furnishings.”

The program called for three shows a year: one during the Chicago winter furniture market in January, another coinciding with the June summer market, and a November show based on the previous two exhibitions. Each year, a different prestigious designer was selected to curate the installation. Charles and Ray designed the 5,300-square-foot space for the inaugural installation in 1950, followed by Finn Juhl, Paul Rudolph, and Alexander Girard.

Now in its 66th year, GOOD DESIGN is the oldest and the most prestigious Awards Program organized worldwide. Founded in Chicago in 1950 by the former MoMA curator Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., together with such pioneers in modern design as Charles and Ray Eames, Russel Wright, George Nelson, and Eero Saarinen, GOOD DESIGN honors the yearly achievements of the best industrial and graphic designers and world manufacturers for their pursuit of extraordinary design excellence.

For over six decades since its inception, The Chicago Athenaeum continues the organization of the program to create a revived awareness about contemporary design and to honor both products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing that have chartered new directions and pushed the envelope for competitive products in the world marketplace.

Every year, designers and manufactures in about 50 nations are honored for their singular achievements in producing hallmarks of contemporary design. For 65 years, everything and anything produced in and for the environment from a paperclip to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner or NASA Space Ship have been honored.

The GOOD DESIGN logo was designed by Chicago designer, Mort Goldsholl, in 1950. The black dot and square-shaped logo is used globally by winning companies to publically announce that their products and graphic designs have met the most strident and professional criteria and highest standard for international Design Excellence.

Since 1950, the Museum has awarded approximately 40,000 GOOD DESIGN Awards for design and innovation, sustainability, creativity, branding, ecologically responsible design, human factors, materials, technology, graphic arts, packaging, and universal design by various industrial design and graphic design firms working for the world’s major manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies in over 50 countries.

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