The Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will celebrate outstanding achievement in design this fall with its 10th annual National Design Awards program. Cooper-Hewitt has announced the winners and finalists as well as the presentation of the "Design USA: Contemporary Innovation" exhibition, which celebrates the work of the honorees from the first 10 years of the prestigious National Design Awards program.

First launched at the White House in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards were established to promote excellence and innovation in design. The 2009 National Design Awards nominations were solicited from a committee of more than 2,500 designers, educators, journalists, cultural figures and corporate leaders from every state in the nation.

The 2009 jury was composed of a diverse group of previous winners of the National Design Awards, including: John Maeda, chair, president, Rhode Island School of Design; Stephen Frykholm, vice president and creative director, Herman Miller; Michael Maharam, principal, Maharam; Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, Google Inc.; Sigi Moeslinger, partner, Antenna Design; Monica Ponce de Leon, dean, University of Michigan (TCAUP) and principal, Office dA; Ralph Rucci, principal, Chado Ralph Rucci; Margaret Stewart, user experience manager, YouTube, a subsidiary of Google Inc.; Marc Tsurumaki, principal and co-founder, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis; Michael Van Valkenburgh, principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.

The 2009 National Design Awards recipients are:

Lifetime Achievement: Bill Moggridge

Design Mind: Amory B. Lovins

Corporate Achievement: Walker Art Center
Finalists: Dwell Magazine and Heath Ceramics

Architecture Design: SHoP Architects
Finalists: Architecture Research Office and Michael Maltzan

Communication Design: The New York Times Graphics Department
Finalists: Hoefler & Frere-Jones and Project Projects

Fashion Design: Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection
Finalists: Thom Browne and Rodarte

Interaction Design: Perceptive Pixel Inc.
Finalists: Potion and Lisa Strausfeld

Interior Design: TsAO & McKOWN Architects
Finalists: Ali Tayar and Work AC

Landscape Design: Hood Design
Finalists: Andrea Cochran and Rios Clementi Hale Studios

Product Design: Boym Partners
Finalists: Salvor Projects and Smart Design

The 2009 National Design Week and the National Design Awards are sponsored by Target.

"Design USA: Contemporary Innovation" celebrates the accomplishments of the winners honored during the first ten years of the prestigious National Design Awards. The exhibition features outstanding contemporary achievements in American architecture, landscape design, interior design, product design, communication design, corporate design, interaction design, and fashion. On view in the first-floor galleries from Oct. 16 - April 4, 2010, the opening coincides with the fourth annual National Design Week, held Oct. 18-Oct. 24.

The exhibition explores the sweeping and personal impact of design by displaying the work of a diverse roster of winners that includes everything from Tom Ford to Tupperware. Rather than a survey of the work of the past, the exhibition is a celebration of design innovation, examined through the lenses of technology, material, method, craft and experience. These themes reflect the multiple scales of interaction between design and the way we experience the world around us.

Developed in collaboration with the renowned firm 2x4--a 2006 National Design Award winner--the exhibition design uses a prefabricated shelving system that provides a unique modular platform for the drawings, products, fashion design and audiovisual work on view. They (2x4) also designed a digital component and guide to the exhibition, featuring supplemental works, videos and interviews with the honorees, which will be available to all museum visitors through the free rental of an iPod Touch at the admissions desk, courtesy of Apple.

"Design USA: Contemporary Innovation" is made possible in part by Target.

Interactive technology is made possible by generous support from Apple Inc.