Bruce Mau Receives Top Design Recognition from Royal Society in London
Bruce Mau, founder of Bruce Mau Design and a distinguished fellow at McCormick's Segal Design Institute, will be recognized for his outstanding contribution to design and society by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).
The RSA will present Royal Designers for Industry (RDI) awards to six of the best designers in the United Kingdom. Mau, who was born in Canada and now resides in the Chicago area, will receive an Honorary RDI award – the only such award to be presented this year. The awards will be presented Thursday, November 17 at a ceremony at the RSA in London.
Mau was chosen for using his influence as a world-class graphic designer to encourage social and political consciousness, the Society said.
"I am honored to be invited into the ranks of the extraordinary group of world-leading innovators,” Mau said. “I look forward to learning from the insight and experience of the exceptional people who have been recognized as Royal Designers to Industry. The prospect of engaging these people in the critical discourse on the potential of design and design education to confront our most pressing challenges is absolutely thrilling.”
Known for tackling a wide range of design challenges with out-of-the-box approaches, Mau has designed everything from brand identities to museum exhibitions to communications strategies for the nation of Guatamala. Mau is the founder of the Institute Without Boundaries, a Toronto-based interdisciplinary postgraduate program that teaches innovative design strategies. The Institute's first project, "Massive Change: The Future of Global Design," showed at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art in 2006.
Other 2011 RDI winners are graphic designer Neville Brody, typographer Margaret Calvert, interactive media designer Andy Cameron, textile designer Mary Restieaux, music industry brand designer Peter Saville, and product and graphic designer Michael Wolff.
The title 'Royal Designer for Industry' (RDI) was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to honor designers of excellence and promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing and industry. The award remains the highest accolade for designers in the UK and is conferred to those who have shown sustained design excellence and work of aesthetic value and significant benefit to society. Only 200 designers may hold the title at any time.
There are currently 138 RDIs and 56 Honorary RDIs spanning a diverse range of design fields.
Read the RSA’s full announcement of the Royal Designers for Industry 2011.