Rise of the Citizen Designer

Tsunami disaster relief, water conservation, finding new ways to honor and inter the dead while preserving a city’s architectural legacy—this was the scope of ideas submitted to the 2005 Next Generation® Design Competition. Fifteen finalists were selected by a six-person jury that included the winner of our 2004 competition, John Hong of Single Speed Design; Wendy Brawer, founder of the Green Map System; Shashi Caan, head of the interior-design department at Parsons School of Design; Timothy diFiebre, furniture designer; Adrienne McNicholas, cofounder of the design consultancy Klinik; and Susan S. Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis. The judges were impressed by the social responsibility displayed by these 15 up-and-comers. Bravo to the next generation of citizen designers.