In its half-century, the Prince Philip Designers Prize has rewarded the best in design from products and graphics to buildings and feats of engineering, and put the spotlight on designers for influencing and shaping daily life.
The Prince Philip Designers Prize started out as the Duke of Edinburgh's Prize for Elegant Design and recognised products that stood out from the largely functional designs of the late 1950s. The aim was both to stimulate more stylish design from an economy still emerging from post-war austerity and reward elegant solutions to design problems.
The first winner was Charles Longman, for the ingeniously minimalist Prestcold Packaway refrigerator, designed to fit into cramped kitchens. Other early winners included Neal French and David White (1960) for the graceful Spode Apollo tableware and Kenneth Grange (1963) for the sleek Milward Courier cordless shaver. Later winners ranged from Raymond Bates, Mark Snowdon and David Bache (1981) for the Austin Metro to Patricia Roberts for the ‘85-86’ Patchwork Sampler Collection (1986).
1959-2009 — 50 years of innovation in design
Watch an animated timeline of Prince Philip Designers Prize winners from 1959-2009.
A changing prize
These days, now that design has been driving corporate success for several decades, the emphasis of the prize is on the enduring contributions of designers themselves to the profile of design among businesses and the public. Since 1990 the prize in its current form has honoured some of the grandees of British design including James Dyson (1997), Terence Conran (2003), Norman Foster (2004) and, in 2001, Kenneth Grange, the prize’s only double winner.
In 2009, the prize celebrated its 50th anniversary at Buckingham Palace, where Andrew Ritchie, designer of the Brompton folding bicycle, was named the winner.
How it works
The prize goes to an individual designer or a leader of a design team, selected from nominations by these professional bodies and educational institutions:
Arts Council England, Chartered Society of Designers (CSD), D&AD, British Fashion Council, Design Museum, the Design Business Association, Institution of Engineering Designers, Engineering Council, Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Society of Arts and the Royal College of Art.
The judging panel is chaired by Prince Philip himself. They choose a winner based on the quality, originality and commercial success of their work, and the designer’s overall contribution to the standing of design, and to design education. The judges serve a maximum of five years and are nominated by the Design Council, RSA, CSD, Confederation of British Industry and the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The winner receives a certificate signed by Prince Philip, and the judges may also award Special Commendations.