Vignelli Center Awards

The four Vignelli Center Awards in red resin: the Stewardship Plaque, the Ethos Trophy, the Achievement Award with a pencil, and the Discovery Clip.

The Vignelli Center Awards are a system of objects designed to recognize, celebrate, and communicate alignment between the values and design excellence practiced by Lella and Massimo Vignelli and the work of those who they have impacted. Designed by Agneya Kulkarni ('26) and Bennett Hu ('26) in collaboration with Josh Owen (Vignelli Distinguished Professor at RIT's Vignelli Center for Design Studies), the Vignelli Center Awards are inspired by the design legacy of Lella and Massimo Vignelli. Manufactured at RIT's on-campus model fabrication center (the College of Art and Design's Fab Lab), the awards are designed to be produced easily using high resolution resin 3D printing technology. The Vignelli Center Awards represent a scale of values from discovery and achievement to stewardship and ethos and are presented through the Vignelli Center for Design Studies to honored recipients.

The Awards

The Vignelli Discovery Clip is a small symbol identifying those who have engaged and explored the Vignellis' legacy through programming, research, or scholarship. Designed to be attached to clothing, the clip communicates connection to curiosity, exploration, and dialogue with the Vignelli Center.

The Vignelli Achievement Award celebrates those who have demonstrated exceptional work or contribution as a part of Vignelli Center programming. Designed to support education as a small desk object, the award celebrates thoughtfulness, appropriateness, and discipline.

The Vignelli Stewardship Plaque recognizes those who have contributed their talents to inspire the next generation and engage with the Vignelli Center to further its mission of design for good. Designed to be displayed on a bookshelf, the plaque is a symbol of the awardee's contributions to communication, education, and inspiration.

The Vignelli Ethos Trophy honors those whose contributions to design align with the essence of the Vignellis, and have used design for good to make a lasting impact on the world. Designed to be a monument of this essence, the trophy is a mark of the recipient's embodiment of design for good, dedication to design elegance, and continuing aspirations.

The Vignelli Stewardship Plaque and the Vignelli Ethos Trophy, printed in red resin.
Concept sketches showing early ideas for a clip, desk object, plaque and trophy.
Diagram of the award system, showing the four awards in a line from smallest to tallest.
Renders of the Discovery Clip, Achievement Award, Stewardship Plaque and Ethos Trophy on a red background.
Wood prototypes of the awards on a table, with a hand holding one of the pieces.
Process images: concept layout, form studies, an early wood prototype holding a pencil, and the award guide.
The Vignelli Achievement Award, a red cube marked Design is One, holding a pencil.
The Vignelli Discovery Clip, a small red clip marked Design is One.

Photos by
Elizabeth Lamark

Sketches, CAD and renders by
Agneya Kulkarni and Bennett Hu