DNDA26 Award Guidelines
About
Behind DNDA
PIONEERING HUMANITY-CENTERED DESIGN
The essence of the Don Norman Design Award (DNDA) lies in the principles outlined in Don Norman’s book, “Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered,” published by MIT Press in 2023. This publication serves as the foundation for our organization’s philosophy.DNDA envisions a world where design embraces the well-being of humanity, encompassing diverse cultures, the environment, and all living beings. Through our awards and global summit, we strive to inspire a new generation of designers and educators, catalyzing positive change. At DNDA, we firmly believe that true innovation necessitates a comprehensive understanding of and response to the needs of the entire ecosystem.
We call the principles to be applied, Humanity-Centered Design, or HCD+. Why HCD+? Because the more standard approach to design is Human-Centered Design, or HCD, and its principles are taught in numerous publications, courses in universities across the world, and in Don Norman’s earlier book, Design of Everyday Things.
Humanity-Centered Design expands upon HCD, by adding the need to consider the impact upon the environment, whether in mining, manufacturing, and disposal of physical products, or the destruction of cultures through digital products, to say nothing of the waste produced by generating the electrical power required for digital services. When working with communities, HCD+ emphasizes the need for collaborative design (co-design) so that the design is done by and with the communities themselves. Humanity-Centered Design is HCD plus more: HCD+.
Mission
EMPOWERING CHANGE THROUGH DESIGN
The Don Norman Design Award and Summit program has four components:
The Don Norman Design Award and Summit program has four components:
- A contest for groups of early-career individuals that, using HCD+ principles and addressing one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), are developing projects that make a measurable, effective difference in the lives of people.
- Recognition for educational groups that teach Humanity-Centered Design for societal benefit and whose graduates are active in doing societal work using HCD+ principles.
- Recognition for organizations that either themselves, their employees, or groups that they sponsor are working on HCD+ societal projects, showing genuine support for projects that advance societal well-being.
- An annual Summit that is a convergence of purposeful dialogue, creative exploration, and meaningful community building – where designers, societal impact leaders, educators, companies, policy makers and DNDA Laureates come together to shape a more humanity-centered, sustainable future. The Summit is held in a different country every year: 2024-United States, 2025-Singapore, 2026-India.
This is a call to action to embrace a humanity-centered approach, ensuring that the future of design is inclusive, responsible, and deeply connected to the well-being of all life on our planet.
Board of Directors
STEERING INNOVATION AND IMPACT
At the helm of the Don Norman Design Award is our Board of Directors, who bring a wealth of experience, insight, and passion to our mission. Each member is a champion of humanity-centered design, committed to guiding the DNDA towards achieving its ambitious goals. Their strategic oversight ensures that our initiatives not only celebrate creativity and innovation but also drive tangible, positive change in the world.
