EXCELLENCE >

An award for Excellence celebrates groups whose projects follow the spirit of humanity-centered design and provides evidence of great potential to make a substantial difference to the lives of the community for which it is intended. This recognition rewards the excellence of the project and its future potential for addressing one of the United Nations 17 major sustainable development goals.

PROMISING >

The award labeled Promising is a special acknowledgment for groups whose project demonstrates great potential, but that has not yet reached the level required for the award of Excellence. Groups that are promising are encouraged to continue their work with a high likelihood of achieving Excellence in coming years. This accolade recognizes the seeds of excellence and serves as positive encouragement for continued growth and development.

EDUCATION >

The Education awards are for any traditional or non-traditional programs that have demonstrated successful training in humanity-centered design. Recipients of this award are recognized for their pivotal role in cultivating a new generation of leaders poised to positively impact our global community. The Education award is of critical importance in encouraging a changeover from today’s design practices to that of humanity-centered design.

2024 DON NORMAN DESIGN AWARDS

CRITERIA

Projects must state which of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals they fit https://sdgs.un.org . These projects can take many forms, from physical devices to software to changes in organizational structures. The key is that they must significantly enhance people’s lives. We require that the project has been implemented and tested within a community to document its benefits. While we do not require a large-scale project, we do require a significant impact that can be measured through monitoring and surveys. To ensure success, we recommend setting clear goals beforehand and gathering baseline information before introducing the project.

Award Applications Guidelines

THE FIVE PRINCIPLES OF HUMANITY-CENTERED DESIGN

  1. Solve the core, root issues, not just the problem as presented (which is often the symptom, not the cause).
  2. Focus on the entire ecosystem of people, all living things, and the physical environment.
  3. Take a long-term, systems point of view, realizing that most complications result from the interdependencies of the multiple parts and that many of the most damaging implications upon society and the eco structure only reveal themselves years or even decades later.
  4. Continually test and refine the proposed designs to ensure they truly meet the concerns of the people for whom they are intended.
  5. Design with the community, and as much as possible support designs by the community. The professional designer community should serve as enablers, facilitators, and resources, aiding the community to meet their concerns.

This brief excerpt from Chapter 22 of Norman’s book, Design for a Better World: pp. 181-186 explains the difference between Human-Centered and Humanity-Centered Design:
https://jnd.org/humanity-centered-versus-human-centered-design/

Submission is now open

How to submit an application

  • Study the Guidlines.
  • Download the Application questions in PDF form for further reference and, to allow you to study and draft answers to the question.
  • Return to the Award page and select the application type in the blue region to the right.
  • Log in (or register) at the award website. This gives you access to the online forms. You may take multiple sessions to complete the form: the system saves the information.
  • PDF of the Qualifying Project Application
  • PDF of the Educational Program Application
QUALIFYING
APPLICATION
NOW CLOSED

Qualifying Project Deadline:
Now Closed

Thank you to all the early career practitioners who submitted their projects for the 2024 Don Norman Design Award. The Qualifying Project Application round is now closed, and we’ll contact the prospects who will proceed to the next round, which is the Full Project Application due May 31. Stay tuned for more updates!

Educational Program Deadline:
May 31, 2024

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR EDUCATION

Educational awards are for organizations that excel at providing students with the tools and techniques to perform effective humanity-centered projects of societal benefit. The award is given to the specific units of the organization that delivered the training for working on projects of societal needs. We will start by awarding a small number of education awards, but eventually, we hope to honor every organization that is doing this work. There are no geographical conditions for these awards.)