Blu Dot Wins 2018 National Design Award

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum has awarded Blu Dot with their 2018 National Design Award for Product Design. The winning submission featured several pieces of furniture, selected to win by an interdisciplinary jury. Each winner is chosen because they “celebrate design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world, and seeks to increase national awareness of the impact of design through education initiatives.” Past winners of the Product Design category include Herman Miller, Eva Zeisel, Diller Scofidio + Renfro Architects and Jonathan Ive.

Blu Dot is a design studio based in Minneapolis, created by three friends – two architects and a sculptor. The founders, Maurice Blanks and John Christakos, wanted to create furniture pieces that would stand the test of time, as well as be stylish and affordable.

Here’s a look at some of the pieces that Blu Dot submitted to Cooper Hewitt:

Toro Chair and Ottoman

“The Toro Lounge Chair ended up in a very different place than initial sketches because of our collaborative process. It started with a metal tube frame with an upholstered, bucket-y seat with suggested arms. As a team, we decided to change the material to wood to give it more dimension and warmth.” – Blu Dot Designer, Warren Young, on the evolution of the Toro. Read more over at @surfacemag

A post shared by Blu Dot (@bludot) on May 11, 2018 at 2:52pm PDT

Modu-Licious Collection

Modular and delicious since 1999. Modu-licious Collection.

A post shared by Blu Dot (@bludot) on Jan 30, 2018 at 2:25pm PST

Hot Mesh Collection

Put a bird on it. #HotMeshCollection

A post shared by Blu Dot (@bludot) on Mar 7, 2018 at 3:07pm PST

Real Good Chair

Shipping chairs all over the world costs money and wastes resources. With the Real Good Chair, we figured out a way to make a great chair that ships in an oversized pizza box. Real Good is made to allow the user to take a flat piece of metal and fold on the “dotted line.” Metal origami. The natural flex in the steel gives the chair surprising comfort. And the faceted look of the chair – derived entirely from solving an economic problem – makes its own statement. #bludotdesignprocess #bludot

A post shared by Blu Dot (@bludot) on Feb 11, 2018 at 11:48am PST

Field Lounge Chair

“The Toro Lounge Chair ended up in a very different place than initial sketches because of our collaborative process. It started with a metal tube frame with an upholstered, bucket-y seat with suggested arms. As a team, we decided to change the material to wood to give it more dimension and warmth.” – Blu Dot Designer, Warren Young, on the evolution of the Toro. Read more over at @surfacemag

A post shared by Blu Dot (@bludot) on May 11, 2018 at 2:52pm PDT

Blu Dot has been reviewed by several renowned design critics, including Marissa Bartolucci, who characterized the company’s work this way: “With the inventive, can-do spirit that characterized the work of the Eameses, Blu Dot has resurrected the values of the Good Design movement and its popular potential. In the quiet void of the Great In-Between, these three designers, modest, thoughtful and wonderfully daring, have made design history.”