Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry". Those who are British citizens take the letters RDI after their names, while those who are not become Honorary RDIs (HonRDI). Everyone who holds the distinction is a Member of The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (founded in 1938). Their work is diverse, ranging from fashion to engineering, theatre to product design, graphics to environmental design. New RDIs are elected annually and the Faculty continues to support initiatives to further excellence in design, including an annual Summer School for innovative young designers. Only 200 designers may hold the distinction RDI at any time and it is regarded as the highest honour to be obtained in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in a diverse range of design disciplines including the field of industrial design. In addition, the RSA may confer HonRDI titles up to a maximum of half the number of people who currently hold the distinction RDI. New RDIs are awarded Diplomas each year at the annual RDI Dinner. Every two years a new Master of the Faculty is elected by the past Masters, who include Dinah Casson, Mike Dempsey, Sir Kenneth Grange, Geoffrey Harcourt, Martin Hunt, Timothy O’Brien, Chris Wise,

Malcolm Garrett Malcolm Leslie Garrett (born 1956) is a British graphic designer, and Creative Director of Images&Co, a communications design consultancy based in London, UK. He is Ambassador for Manchester School of Art and co-founder of the annual Design M ...

and Tristram Carfrae. The current Master is Mark Major.

Current members

The list identifies current RDIs, the date of their award, and the category of design for which they were honoured.

RDIs

HonRDIs

Former members

Past RDIs

Past Royal Designers for Industry * Tony Abbott, Television & theatre design, 1972 * Ken Adam, Film production design, 2009 * Edward Ardizzone, Illustration, 1974 *

Hardy Amies Sir Edwin Hardy Amies KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was an English fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to the Queen. Early life Hardy Amies was born Edwin Amies on 17 July 1909 in ...

, Dress design, 1964 * Edward Abbott, Illustration, 1974 * Jon Bannenberg, Motor yachts, 1978 * Christian Barnard, Transport equipment, 1948 * Edward Bawden, Graphics, 1949 * Gerald Benney, Silversmithing, 1971 * Misha Black, Exhibitions & interiors, 1957 *

John Box John Allan Hyatt Box OBE (27 January 19207 March 2005) was a British film production designer and art director. He won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction on four occasions and won the equivalent BAFTA three times, a record for both awa ...

, Film production design, 1992 *

Bill Brandt Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983)Paul DelanyBill Brandt: A Life was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British ...

, Photography, 1978 * William Brown, Bridge design, 1977 * Stefan Buzas, Exhibitions & interiors, 1961 * Reco Capey, General design, 1937 * Andy Cameron, Interactive design, 2011 * Hugh Casson, Exhibitions, 1961 * Achille Castiglioni, General design, 1986 * Hulme Chadwick, Product design, 1974 *

Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (19 May 1928 – 16 December 1982) was an English design engineer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars. In 1952 he founded the sports car company Lotus Cars. Chapman ...

, Automotive design, 1979 * Wells Coates, General design, 1944 * Christopher Cockerell, Engineering design, 1987 * Douglas Cockerell, Bookbinding, 1936 * Susie Cooper, Pottery, 1940 * Kay Cosserat, Textile design, 1986 *

Edward Gordon Craig Edward Henry Gordon CraigSome sources give "Henry Edward Gordon Craig". (born Edward Godwin; 16 January 1872 – 29 July 1966), sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director a ...

, Stage design, 1937 * Gordon Cullen, Illustration & townscape design, 1975 *

Robin Day Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...

, Furniture & exhibitions, 1959 *

Lucienne Day Désirée Lucienne Lisbeth Dulcie Day OBE RDI FCSD (''née'' Conradi; 5 January 1917 – 30 January 2010) was one of the most influential British textile designers of the 1950s and 1960s. Day drew on inspiration from other arts to develop a ...

, Textiles, 1962 * Richard Eckersley, Book design, 1999 * Tom Eckersley, Posters, 1963 * Alan Fletcher, Graphics & publicity design, 1972 * Uffa Fox, Small boats, 1955 * Barnett Freedman, Graphics, 1949 * Roger Furse, Stage & film design, 1949 *

Abram Games Abram Games (29 July 191427 August 1996) was a British graphic designer. The style of his work – refined but vigorous compared to the work of contemporaries – has earned him a place in the pantheon of the best of 20th-century graphic desi ...

, Posters, 1959 * James Gardner, Exhibitions, 1947 * J Laurent Giles, Yachts, 1951 * Eric Gill, Typography & wood engraving, 1936 * Robert Goodden, General design, 1947 *

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major i ...

, Printed textiles, 1941 * Eileen Gray, Furniture & interiors, 1972 * Milner Gray, Packaging, 1937 * E W Grieve, Shop window display, 1940 * Jacqueline Groag, Textile design, 1964 * Edmund Happold, Engineering design, 1983 *

Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, ...

, Aircraft, 1944 * Ashley Havinden, Graphics, 1947 * Lionel Haworth, Engineering design, 1976 *

Ambrose Heal Sir Ambrose Heal (3 September 1872 – 15 November 1959) was an English furniture designer and businessman in the first half of the 20th century. He served as the chairman of Heal's (then called Heal & Son) from 1913 to 1953. Early life Hea ...

, Furniture, 1939 * F H K Henrion, Packaging & graphics, 1959 * Jocelyn Herbert, Theatre & cinema design, 1971 * Robert Heritage, Furniture, 1963 * George Him, Graphic design, 1977 * James Hogan, Glass & stained glass, 1936 * Paul Hogarth, Illustration, 1979 *

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, Transport equipment, 1943 * Jack Howe, Products and industrial equipment, 1961 * Allen Hutt, Typographic & Newspaper design, 1970 * James Irvine, Product design, 2004 * Laurence Irving, date tbc *

Alec Issigonis Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and voted the second most influential car of t ...

, Motor cars, 1964 * Ralph Koltai, Theatre design, 1984 * Natasha Kroll, Shop display and television design, 1966 *

Lynton Lamb Lynton Lamb Royal Designers for Industry, RDI, Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, FSRA, FSIA (15 April 1907 – 4 September 1977) was an English artist-designer, author, lithography, lithographer and illustrat ...

, Book design & illustration, 1974 *

Osbert Lancaster Sir Osbert Lancaster, CBE (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian, stage designer and author. He was known for his cartoons in the British press, and for his lifelong work to inform the general p ...

, Illustration, 1979 * Margaret Leischner, Textiles, 1969 * Richard Levin, Television design, 1971 * Noel London, Engineering product design, 1973 *

William Lyons Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the co ...

, Motor cars, 1964 * Ethel Mairet, Woven textiles, 1937 (first woman)Margot Coatts, ‘Mairet , Ethel Mary (1872–1952)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 200
accessed 19 Oct 2015
/ref> * Eric de Maré, Photography, 1997 *

Enid Marx Enid Crystal Dorothy Marx, RDI (20 October 1902 – 18 May 1998), was an English painter and designer, best known for her industrial textile designs for the London Transport Board and the Utility furniture Scheme. Marx was the first female eng ...

, Pattern design, 1944 * J H Mason, 1936 * James McNeill, Ships, 1950 * David Mellor, Silver, cutlery & lighting, 1962 * Percy Metcalfe, Medals & coinage, 1937 * Francis Meynell, Typography, 1940 *

Bill Moggridge William Grant Moggridge, RDI (25 June 1943 – 8 September 2012) was an English designer, author and educator who cofounded the design company IDEO and was director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York. He was a pionee ...

, Product design, 1988 *

Edward Molyneux Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...

, Dress, 1950 *

Stanley Morison Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces o ...

, Type design & typography, 1960 * Alastair Morton, textiles, 1960 *

Alex Moulton Alexander Eric Moulton (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design. Early life and education Moulton's father, John Coney Moulton, was a naturalist working in the Far East. Alex ...

, Engineering Products, 1968 *

Jean Muir Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer. Early life and career Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father ...

, Dress design, 1972 * H G Murphy, Goldsmithing, 1936 * Keith Murray, Glass, pottery & silver, 1936 * Charles Nicholson, Yachts, 1944 * Julia Trevelyan Oman, Theatre & film design, 1977 *

Brian O'Rorke Edward Brian O'Rorke (1901 – 1974) was a New-Zealand-born British architect and interior designer. Early life and education Brian O'Rorke was born at Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand, on 14 June 1901, the third son of Edward Dennis O'Ror ...

, Interiors, 1939 * Eric Carlton Ottaway, Road passenger vehicles, 1949 * Derek Prime, Engineering design, 1982 * Ian Proctor, Boats & small craft, 1969 * Tom Purvis, Commercial art, 1936 * Ernest Race, Furniture, 1953 * A B Read, Light fittings, 1940 * A A Rubbra, Engineering design, 1977 * Gordon Russell, Furniture, 1940 * R D Russell, Furniture, 1944 * Hans Schleger, Exhibition display & packaging, 1959 * Hans Schmoller, Typography, 1976 * Douglas Scott, Industrial designer, 1974 *

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...

, Illustration, 1991 * George Sheringham, Interior decoration & textiles, 1936 * Peter Simpson, Woven Textile design, 1974 * Percy Delf Smith, Lettering, 1940 * Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, Photography, 1986 *

Basil Spence Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...

, Exhibitions & interiors, 1960 * Herbert Spencer, Typography, 1965 * Harold Stabler, Pottery, Enamelling & silversmithing, 1936 * Richard Stevens, Product design, 1973 * Reynolds Stone, Lettering, 1956 * Marianne Straub, Woven textiles, 1972 * Derek Sugden, Engineering design, 2009 * Fred Taylor, Graphics, 1936 * Philip Thompson, Graphics & illustration, 1997 *

Walter Tracy Walter Valentine Tracy RDI (14 February 1914 – 28 April 1995) was an English type designer, typographer and writer. Biography Walter Tracy was born in Islington, London and attended Shoreditch Secondary school. At the age of fourteen he wa ...

, Type design, 1973 * Howard Upjohn, Engineering product design, 1973 * C F A Voysey, Interior decoration, furniture & fabrics, 1936 * Barnes Wallis, Aircraft, 1943 * Allan Walton, Printed textiles, 1940 * Neville Ward, Interior design & ship interiors, 1971 * John Waterer, Leather Goods, 1953 * Hans Wegner, Furniture, 1969 * Robert Welch, Product design & silversmithing, 1965 *

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...

, Engineering design, 1985 * Berthold Wolpe, Typefaces & lettering, 1959 *

Anna Zinkeisen Anna Katrina Zinkeisen (29 August 1901 – 23 September 1976) was a Scottish painter and artist. Biography Zinkeisen was born in Kilcreggan, the daughter of Clare Bolton-Charles and Victor Zinkeisen, a timber merchant. The family moved to Mid ...

, Graphics & mural painting, 1940

Past Honorary RDIs

Past Honorary Royal Designers for Industry * Edward McKnight Kauffer, Commercial art, 1936 * Alvar Aalto, General design, 1947 *

Franco Albini Franco Albini (17 October 1905 – 1 November 1977) was an Italian Neo-Rationalist architect, designer and university instructor in design. A native of Robbiate, near Milan, Albini obtained his degree in architecture at Politecnico di Milano U ...

, Interiors, exhibitions & furniture, 1971 * Gordon Andrews, General design, 1987 *

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...

, Film & TV graphics, 1964 *

Herbert Bayer Herbert Bayer (April 5, 1900 – September 30, 1985) was an Austrian and American graphic designer, painter, photographer, sculptor, art director, environmental and interior designer, and architect. He was instrumental in the development of the ...

, Graphic design, 1984 *

Richard Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American people, American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, ...

, Architecture & design, 1980 * Nanna Ditzel, Product design, 1996 * Charles Eames, Furniture, exhibitions & interiors, 1960 *

Jean-Michel Folon Jean-Michel Folon (1 March 1934 – 20 October 2005) was a Belgian artist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor. Early life Folon was born on 1 March 1934 in Uccle, Brussels, Belgium in 1934. He studied architecture at the Institut Saint-Luc. C ...

, Illustration, 1981 * André François, Graphics 1974 * Shigeo Fukada, Graphic design, 1986 *

Alexander Girard Alexander Girard (May 24, 1907 – December 31, 1993), affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer. Early life He was born in New York City to an America ...

, Interiors, exhibitions & furnishing textiles, 1965 *

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one ...

, General design, 1947 *

Edward Hald Edward Hald (17 September 1883 – 4 July 1980) was a Swedish sculptor. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1932 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936 ...

, Glass, 1939 *

Walter Herdeg Walter Herdeg (January 3, 1908 – 1995) was a Swiss people, Swiss graphic designer, noted for his travel posters and work with ''Graphis Inc., Graphis Magazine'', who was awarded an AIGA medal in 1986. Early life Walter Herdeg was born on Januar ...

, Graphic design, 1976 * Christian Joachim, Pottery, 1939 * CL 'Kelly' Johnson, Aircraft design, 1984 * Finn Juhl, Furniture & interiors, 1978 * Dora Jung, Woven textiles, 1979 * Kaare Klint, Furniture, 1949 *

Takashi Kono is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings The name Takashi can have multiple different meanings depending on which kanji is used to write it. Some possible writings of the name include: *江詩 - "estuary , inlet, poem" *隆 - "prosp ...

, Graphics, 1983 * Raymond Loewy, General design, 1939 *

Vico Magistretti Vico Magistretti (October 6, 1920 – September 19, 2006) was an Italian architect who was also active as an industrial designer, furniture designer, and academic. As a collaborator of humanist architect Ernesto Nathan Rogers, one of Magistretti ...

, General design, 1992 * Pierre Mendell, Graphic design, 1999 * Bruno Mathsson, Furniture, 1978 * Herbert Matter, Graphics & photography, 1982 * Norman McLaren, Film Animation, 1986 * Børge Mogensen, Furniture, 1972 *

Josef Muller-Brockmann Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

, Graphic design, 1988 * George Nelson, General design, 1973 * Marcello Nizzoli, Typewriters & calculating machines, 1961 * Antti Nurmesniemi, General design, 1986 *

Sigurd Persson Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...

, General design, 1987 *

Battista Farina Battista "Pinin" Farina (later Battista Pininfarina; 2 November 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an Italian automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well known postwar ca ...

, Motor cars, 1954 *

Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum; August 15, 1914 – November 26, 1996) was an American art director and graphic designer, best known for his corporate Logotype, logo designs, including the logos for IBM, United Parcel Service, UPS, Enron, Morn ...

, Graphics, 1973 *

Steen Eiler Rasmussen Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Hon. FAIA (9 January 1898 – 19 June 1990) was a Danish architect and urban planner who was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and a prolific writer of books and poetry. He was made a Royal Designer ...

, General design, 1947 * Astrid Sampe, Textile design, 1949 * WHJB Sandberg, Exhibition & museum display, typography, 1971 * Timo Sarpaneva, Pottery & textiles, 1963 * Carlo Scarpa, Exhibitions, interiors & museum design, 1969 * Saul Steinberg, Illustration, 1980 *

Olin Stephens Olin James Stephens II (April 13, 1908 – September 13, 2008) was an American yacht designer. Stephens was born in New York City, but spent his summers with his brother Rod, learning to sail on the New England coast. He also attended the Massa ...

, Yacht design, 1975 * Josef Svoboda, Theatre design, 1989 *

Ilmari Tapiovaara Yrjö Ilmari Tapiovaara (September 7, 1914 – January 31, 1999) was a Finnish designer noted for his furnishings and textiles. Education and work In 1937 he graduated in interior design and in the following year worked for Asko. He would count ...

, Furniture, 1969 *

Walter Dorwin Teague Walter Dorwin Teague (December 18, 1883 – December 5, 1960) was an American industrial designer, architect, illustrator, graphic designer, writer, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Dean of Industrial Design", Teague pioneered in the ...

, General design, 1951 * Henryk Tomaszewski, Graphics, 1975 * Roland Topor, Illustration, 1988 *

Jan Tschichold Jan Tschichold (born Johannes Tzschichhold, also known as Iwan Tschichold, or Ivan Tschichold; 2 April 1902 – 11 August 1974) was a German calligrapher, typographer and book designer. He played a significant role in the development of gra ...

, Typography & book design, 1965 *

Tapio Wirkkala Tapio Veli Ilmari Wirkkala (2 June 1915 – 19 May 1985) was a Finnish designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design. Life and work Wirkkala was born in Hanko in 1915. He attended the Töölö co-educational school in Helsinki. His fa ...

, Glass, wood & silver, 1964 * Henry Wolf, Graphic design, 1990 *

Piet Zwart Piet Zwart (; 28 May 1885 – 24 September 1977) was a Dutch photographer, typographer, and industrial designer. Biography Early life Piet Zwart was born on May 28, 1885 in Zaandijk. He trained as an architect, and began graphic design proje ...

, Typography, 1966

References

External links

* {{Official website
University of Brighton Design Archives
1936 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1936 Royal Society of Arts Design awards