by John Rouse
This week marks the first time in 42 years that the Interiors Awards, featuring “The Designer of The Year,” will not be celebrated.
They were and remain the only awards juried by an elite group of professionals presented for singular and collective design achievement. They were the standard.
The Designers of the Year are, for the most part, imminently recognizable brands today. Many elevated to icon status. At the time they were discovered most of their best work was ahead of them. The accompanying, amateurish photograph taken by the author depicts just a few of the design professionals who are extremely successful and also have mentored design talent we have yet to appreciate. I’ll add that most have truly given back to the community in terms of pro-bono work and education.
There are many not pictured that deserve mention including John Saladino, Orlando Diaz -Ascuy, KPF, William McDonough, Ralph Appelbaum, Richard+Bauer to mention a few. There are also a few who have left us including Michael Graves, Charles Pfister, Neville Lewis and Phil Freelon. I trust those I didn’t mention will forgive.
Countless editorial and marketing professionals made it all possible. Beverly Russell merits a most deserved callout as the creator of the awards. Taking chances on undiscovered talent in the early 80’s was risky business in design publishing. Following Beverly at Interiors were Paula Rice Jackson, M.J. Madigan and Julie Lasky. Continuing the tradition at Contract were Jennifer Busch, John Czarnecki and Paul Makovsky.
The marketing firms that helped execute the Breakfast are too numerous to mention, and my bandwidth doesn’t allow for it, but The Moderns, Grant Design Collaborative, Rick Valicenti of Thirst and Pentagram are a few of the heavyweights that created the dramatic visuals that entertained on the last Friday of January.
I would also like to mention Dennis Cahill, Jeffrey Zink and Karen Donaghy as the business people who found imaginative ways to support and promote the concept.
I hope there are an august group of self-assured and progressive sponsors who might wish to renew these industry standards to maintain the prominence that design continues to gain in our everyday existence. Perhaps there is a design patron, or an unknown publisher waiting in the wings to refresh and reimagine the awards.
Finally, an overwhelming thanks to the design community at large. Without your support the awards and the talent responsible may never have been found.
For me personally, it was and is a privilege to be associated with such a vital and collegial industry. Stay safe and well.
John Rouse was the Publisher of Interiors and Contract Magazines from 1994 to 2016. He is currently a Partner at Perception Studio (www.perception.studio)
