The Sir Misha Black Awards commemorate the life of

Misha Black Sir Misha Black (16 October 1910 – 11 October 1977) was a British-Azerbaijani architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation that became the Artists' International Association. In 1943, with Milner Gray ...

, whose work played an important role in the development of design in Britain. They are given to individuals and institutions, to honor them in their role within design education. There are two awards – the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education, which is awarded to design educators working around the world, and the Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education, which is given to UK-based educational institutions, organizations or individuals. Established by six founding bodies, the

Design and Industries Association The Design and Industries Association is a United Kingdom charity whose object is to ''engage with all those who share a common interest in the contribution that design can make to the delivery of goods and services that are sustainable and enhance ...

, the

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, the Faculty of

Royal Designers for Industry 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 ...

(RDI) at the RSA, the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

, the

College of Medallists The College of Medallists is an association of recipients of The Sir Misha Black Awards, The Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services in Design Education. Misha Black (1910–1977) was a pioneer of design in United Kingdom, Britain. The ...

and the

Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 is an institution founded in 1850 to administer the international exhibition of 1851, officially called the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations. The Great Exhibition was held ...

. These are the only awards in the world to recognize design education. The Sir Micha Black Awards and its medal ceremony started as a biennial event but later became an annual event, recognized by the design world. Nominations for the awards are welcomed from anyone with knowledge and appreciation of the value of design education. Nomination forms can be found on th
Sir Misha Black Awards website

The Sir Misha Black Medal

The Sir Misha Black Medal, first awarded in 1978, was created to honor individuals across the globe who, throughout their career, have made a significant contribution to design education. The Sir Misha Black Medal is awarded collaboratively by Britain’s leading design organizations. Recipients of The Sir Misha Black Medal are automatically enrolled in the

The Sir Misha Black Award

The Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in

Design Education Design education is the teaching of theory and application in the design of products, services and environments, and focusses on the development of both particular and general skills for designing. It is primarily orientated to preparing students fo ...

, first awarded in 2001, was created to honor the exceptional work of a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

, department, or course within educational establishments in the UK for innovation in design education. The award exists to acknowledge the collective excellence and leadership in design education within the United Kingdom that has long been held in high regard internationally, but has received little formal recognition.

The Awards Committee

The

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

comprises leading industry design educators and representatives of renowned associations. The current committee as of 2020 includes: Mary V. Mullin (Chairman) – The

, Professor Peter Childs, FREng, FIMechE, FASME - The

Imperial College of London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

, Professor

Sir Christopher Frayling Sir Christopher John Frayling (born 25 December 1946) is a British educationalist and writer, known for his study of popular culture. Early life and education Christopher Frayling was born in Hampton, a suburb of London, in affluent circumstance ...

–

, Professor

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 ...

MBE RDI, FISTD – The Faculty of

, Professor Geoffery Kirk RDI, FREng –

The Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

, Professor Chris Wise, RDI, FREng -

, and Dr Nick de Leon – Co-Opted Member.

Recipients of the Sir Misha Black Medal

Recipients of The Sir Misha Black Award

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Misha Black Awards, The Design awards Educational awards in the United Kingdom Awards established in 1978 1978 establishments in the United Kingdom