Royal Designers for Industry

British organisation

Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry". Those who are British citizens take the letters RDI after their names, while those who are not become Honorary RDIs (HonRDI). Everyone who holds the distinction is a Member of The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (founded in 1938).

Their work is diverse, ranging from fashion to engineering, theatre to product design, graphics to environmental design.

New RDIs are elected annually and the Faculty continues to support initiatives to further excellence in design, including an annual Summer School for innovative young designers.

Only 200 designers may hold the distinction RDI at any time and it is regarded as the highest honour to be obtained in the United Kingdom in a diverse range of design disciplines including the field of industrial design. In addition, the RSA may confer HonRDI titles up to a maximum of half the number of people who currently hold the distinction RDI.

New RDIs are awarded Diplomas each year at the annual RDI Dinner. Every two years a new Master of the Faculty is elected by the past Masters, who include Dinah Casson, Mike Dempsey, Sir Kenneth Grange, Geoffrey Harcourt, Martin Hunt, Timothy O’Brien, Chris Wise, Malcolm Garrett and Tristram Carfrae. The current Master is Mark Major.

Current members

The list identifies current RDIs, the date of their award, and the category of design for which they were honoured.

RDIs

Name[1] Category Year
Ron Arad Furniture design 2002
Dennis Bailey Illustration and design 1980
Edward Barber OBE Furniture design 2007
John Barnard Engineering design 1995
Patrick Bellew Environmental design 2010
Sir Tim Berners-Lee Interaction design 2009
Derek Birdsall Graphic design 1983
Peter Blake CBE Graphic design 1981
Sir Quentin Blake CBE Illustration 1987
Sue Blane MBE Costume and set design 2005
Neville Brody Graphic design 2011
Alison Brooks Architectural design 2017
Peter Brookes Graphic design 2002
Julian Brown Product design 1998
Paul Brown Set & costume design 2013
Margaret Calvert OBE Graphic design 2011
Nicholas Butler Product design 1981
Ian Callum Engineering design 2006
Donald Cameron Engineering design 2004
Tristram Carfrae Engineering design 2006
David Carter CBE Product design 1974
Matthew Carter Type design 1981
Ian Cartlidge Graphic design 2013
Ron Carter Furniture design 1971
Dinah Casson Interior design 2005
Hussein Chalayan Fashion Design 2013
Sir David Chipperfield CBE Interior design 2006
Alison Chitty Production design 2009
Jim Clay Production design 2009
Peter Clegg Architecture 2010
Kim Colin Product/Furniture Design 2018
Stuart Craig OBE Film production design 2004
Neisha Crosland Textile design 2006
Bob Crowley Theatre and film design 1997
Mike Dempsey Graphic design 1994
Marion Deuchars Illustration 2018
Es Devlin OBE Theatre design 2018
Eileen Diss TV and theatre design 1975
William Dudley Theatre design 1988
Sir James Dyson CBE Engineering design 2005
Eileen Ellis Textile design 1984
Brian Eno Designing with sound 2012
Simon Esterson Graphic design 2001
Mark Farrow Graphic design 2009
Colin Forbes Graphic design 1974
Michael Foreman Illustration 1985
Nick Foster Futures Design 2021
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank Interior design 1988
Jenny Frean Textile design 1998
John Galliano CBE Fashion design 2002
Malcolm Garrett MBE New media 2000
Nigel Gee Engineering design 2007
David Gentleman Stamps 1970
Sir Kenneth Grange CBE General design 1969
Andrew Grant Landscape design 2012
Fernando Gutiérrez Graphic Design 2014
Margaret Hall OBE Exhibitions 1974
Geoffrey Harcourt Furniture design 1978
George Hardie Graphic design 2005
Tim Harvey TV Production design 1990
Patrick Head Engineering design 1993
Thomas Heatherwick General design 2004
Sam Hecht Production design 2008
Peter Higgins Interior design 2009
David Hillman Graphic design 1997
Matthew Hilton Furniture design 2004
Richard Hollis Graphic design 2005
Margaret Howell Fashion design 2007
Richard Hudson Theatre design 1999
Barbara Hulanicki Fashion design 2009
Martin Hunt Ceramics and glass 1981
Nigel Irens Engineering design 2005
Alan Irvine Exhibitions & museum design 1964
Sir Jonathan Ive KBE Product design 2003
Betty Jackson Fashion design 1988
Eva Jiřičná Interior design 1991
William Neill Johnstone Textile design 1989
Stephen Jones OBE Millinery 2009
Ben Kelly Interior design 2007
Perry King Product design 1990
Sarah King Textile design 2008
Rodney Kinsman Furniture design 1990
Geoffrey Kirk Engineering design 2001
Alan Kitching Graphic design/typography 1994
Martin Lambie-Nairn TV graphics 1987
Roger Law Graphic design and caricature 1999
Stefanos Lazaridis Theatre design 2003
Sonny Levi Boat design 1987
Robin Levien Ceramics & glass 1995
David Lewis Product design 1995
Tom Lloyd Production design 2008
Bernard Lodge Film and TV graphics 1982
Ross Lovegrove Product design 2003
George Mackie Book design 1973
Tim Macfarlane Structural engineering design 2004
Mark Major Designing with light 2012
Roger Mann Interior design 2005
Pearce Marchbank Graphic design 2004
John McConnell Graphic design 1987
Antony McDonald Theatre design 2004
Alex McDowell Production design 2006
Sir David McMurtry CBE Engineering design 1989
Marshall Meek Naval architecture 1986
Tony Meeuwissen Illustration 2013
Jasper Morrison CBE Furniture design 2001
Colin Mudie Small craft naval 1995
Morag Myerscough Communication design 2017
John Napier Theatre & film design 1996
Marc Newson CBE General design 2006
Timothy O'Brien Theatre design 1991
Jay Osgerby OBE Furniture design 2007
Nick Park CBE Animation 2006
Charlie Paton Engineering design 2012
John Pawson Interior design 2005
Stephen Payne OBE Engineering design 2006
Dan Pearson Landscape design 2012
Luke Pearson Product design 2008
Anthony Powell Costume design 1999
Sandy Powell Costume design 2013
Mary Quant OBE Dress design 1969
Wendy Ramshaw CBE Jewellery design 1999
James Randle Engineering design 1994
Mary Restieaux Textile design 2011
Mike Rawlinson Information design 2017
Dame Zandra Rhodes DBE Fashion and textiles 1976
Philip Ruffles Engineering design 1997
Patrick Rylands Product design 1999
Ron Sandford Illustration 1989
Peter Saville CBE Graphic design 2011
Gerald Scarfe CBE Illustration 1989
Arnold Schwartzman OBE Graphic design 2006
Sir Paul Smith CBE Fashion design 1978
Alan Stanton Interior design 2005
Ben Terrett Service design 2018
Alan Tye RIBA Product design 1986
Georgina von Etzdorf Textile design 1995
Stuart Walker Film and TV design 1998
Simon Waterfall Interaction design 2007
David Watkins Jewellery design 2010
Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE Fashion design 2001
Raymond Wheeler Engineering design 1995
Sarah Wigglesworth Architecture 2012
Kim Wilkie Landscape design 2009
Paul Williams Interior design 2009
Chris Wise Structural engineering 1998
Michael Wolff Graphic design 2011
Terence Woodgate Furniture design 2003
Patrick Woodroffe Designing with light 2013
Saeed Zahedi OBE Engineering design 2013

HonRDIs

Name[2] Category Year
Junichi Arai Textile design 1987
Fabien Baron Graphic design 2000
Mario Bellini General design 1991
Manolo Blahnik Shoe design 2001
Andrea Branzi General design 2008
James Carpenter Glass design 2008
Ivan Chermayeff Graphic design 1991
Seymour Chwast Graphic design 2005
Antonio Citterio General design 2007
Kyle Cooper Film and TV graphics 2001
Wim Crouwel Graphic design 1998
Lidewij Edelkoort Design forecasting 2013
Hartmut Esslinger Product design 2013
Niels Diffrient Furniture design 1987
Sara Fanelli Illustration 2006
Dionysis Fotopoulos Theatre and film design 1992
Naoto Fukasawa Product design 2007
Karl Gerstner Graphic design 2006
Konstantin Grcic Furniture design 2009
Bob Greenberg Interaction design 2012
Kathryn Gustafson Landscape and gardens 2001
Armin Hofmann Illustration 1968
Knud Holscher Product design 2004
Toshio Iwai Interaction design 2012
Hella Jongerius Product design 2023
Rei Kawakubo Fashion design 2001
Friso Kramer Furniture 1979
Yrjö Kukkapuro Furniture design 2002
Jack Lenor Larsen Textile design 1983
Italo Lupi Graphic design 2002
Erik Magnussen Furniture & product 2001
Enzo Mari Product design 2000
Javier Mariscal General design 2006
Bruce Mau Graphic design 2011
Ingo Maurer Lighting design 2005
Alberto Meda Product design 2005
Ottavio Missoni Textile design 1997
Rosita Missoni Textile design 1997
Issey Miyake Fashion design 1988
Bruno Monguzzi Graphic design 2003
Marcello Morandini Ceramic design 2004
Ulf Moritz Textile design 2004
Christoph Niemann Illustration 2023
Vuokko Nurmesniemi Fashion and textiles 1988
Kate Orff Landscape design 2023
Piet Oudolf Landscape design 2021
Neri Oxman Bio design 2021
Sergio Pininfarina Automotive design 1983
Mark Pollack Textile design 2007
Dieter Rams Electrical appliances and furniture 1968
Tomas Roope Interaction design 2012
Paula Scher Graphic design 2021
Martha Schwartz Landscape design 2009
Jean-Jacques Sempé Illustration 1989
Maurice Sendak Illustration 1986
Erik Spiekermann Type design 2007
Marina Tabassum Architecture 2021
Roger Tallon General design 1973
Piero Tosi Costume design 2007
Dries van Noten Fashion design 2008
Massimo Vignelli General design 1996
Michel Virlogeux Engineering design 2006
Yohji Yamamoto Fashion design 2006
Sori Yanagi General design 2008
Peter Zumthor Architecture 2012

Former members

Past RDIs

Past Royal Designers for Industry[3]

  • Tony Abbott, Television & theatre design, 1972
  • Ken Adam, Film production design, 2009
  • Edward Ardizzone, Illustration, 1974
  • Hardy Amies, Dress design, 1964
  • Edward Abbott, Illustration, 1974
  • Jon Bannenberg, Motor yachts, 1978
  • Christian Barnard, Transport equipment, 1948
  • Edward Bawden, Graphics, 1949
  • Gerald Benney, Silversmithing, 1971
  • Misha Black, Exhibitions & interiors, 1957
  • John Box, Film production design, 1992
  • Bill Brandt, Photography, 1978
  • William Brown, Bridge design, 1977
  • Stefan Buzas, Exhibitions & interiors, 1961
  • Reco Capey, General design, 1937
  • Andy Cameron, Interactive design, 2011
  • Hugh Casson, Exhibitions, 1961
  • Achille Castiglioni, General design, 1986
  • Hulme Chadwick, Product design, 1974
  • Colin Chapman, Automotive design, 1979
  • Wells Coates, General design, 1944
  • Christopher Cockerell, Engineering design, 1987
  • Douglas Cockerell, Bookbinding, 1936
  • Susie Cooper, Pottery, 1940
  • Kay Cosserat, Textile design, 1986
  • Edward Gordon Craig, Stage design, 1937
  • Gordon Cullen, Illustration & townscape design, 1975
  • Robin Day, Furniture & exhibitions, 1959
  • Lucienne Day, Textiles, 1962
  • Richard Eckersley, Book design, 1999
  • Tom Eckersley, Posters, 1963
  • Alan Fletcher, Graphics & publicity design, 1972
  • Uffa Fox, Small boats, 1955
  • Barnett Freedman, Graphics, 1949
  • Roger Furse, Stage & film design, 1949
  • Abram Games, Posters, 1959
  • James Gardner, Exhibitions, 1947
  • J Laurent Giles, Yachts, 1951
  • Eric Gill, Typography & wood engraving, 1936
  • Robert Goodden, General design, 1947
  • Duncan Grant, Printed textiles, 1941
  • Eileen Gray, Furniture & interiors, 1972
  • Milner Gray, Packaging, 1937
  • E W Grieve, Shop window display, 1940
  • Jacqueline Groag, Textile design, 1964
  • Edmund Happold, Engineering design, 1983
  • Geoffrey de Havilland, Aircraft, 1944
  • Ashley Havinden, Graphics, 1947
  • Lionel Haworth, Engineering design, 1976
  • Ambrose Heal, Furniture, 1939
  • F H K Henrion, Packaging & graphics, 1959
  • Jocelyn Herbert, Theatre & cinema design, 1971
  • Robert Heritage, Furniture, 1963
  • George Him, Graphic design, 1977
  • James Hogan, Glass & stained glass, 1936
  • Paul Hogarth, Illustration, 1979
  • Charles Holden, Transport equipment, 1943
  • Jack Howe, Products and industrial equipment, 1961
  • Allen Hutt, Typographic & Newspaper design, 1970
  • James Irvine, Product design, 2004
  • Laurence Irving, date tbc
  • Alec Issigonis, Motor cars, 1964
  • Ralph Koltai, Theatre design, 1984
  • Natasha Kroll, Shop display and television design, 1966
  • Lynton Lamb, Book design & illustration, 1974
  • Osbert Lancaster, Illustration, 1979
  • Margaret Leischner, Textiles, 1969
  • Richard Levin, Television design, 1971
  • Noel London, Engineering product design, 1973
  • William Lyons, Motor cars, 1964
  • Ethel Mairet, Woven textiles, 1937 (first woman)[4]
  • Eric de Maré, Photography, 1997
  • Enid Marx, Pattern design, 1944
  • J H Mason, 1936
  • James McNeill, Ships, 1950
  • David Mellor, Silver, cutlery & lighting, 1962
  • Percy Metcalfe, Medals & coinage, 1937
  • Francis Meynell, Typography, 1940
  • Bill Moggridge, Product design, 1988
  • Edward Molyneux, Dress, 1950
  • Stanley Morison, Type design & typography, 1960
  • Alastair Morton, textiles, 1960
  • Alex Moulton, Engineering Products, 1968
  • Jean Muir, Dress design, 1972
  • H G Murphy, Goldsmithing, 1936
  • Keith Murray, Glass, pottery & silver, 1936
  • Charles Nicholson, Yachts, 1944
  • Julia Trevelyan Oman, Theatre & film design, 1977
  • Brian O'Rorke, Interiors, 1939
  • Eric Carlton Ottaway, Road passenger vehicles, 1949
  • Derek Prime, Engineering design, 1982
  • Ian Proctor, Boats & small craft, 1969
  • Tom Purvis, Commercial art, 1936
  • Ernest Race, Furniture, 1953
  • A B Read, Light fittings, 1940
  • A A Rubbra, Engineering design, 1977
  • Gordon Russell, Furniture, 1940
  • R D Russell, Furniture, 1944
  • Hans Schleger, Exhibition display & packaging, 1959
  • Hans Schmoller, Typography, 1976
  • Douglas Scott, Industrial designer, 1974
  • Ronald Searle, Illustration, 1991
  • George Sheringham, Interior decoration & textiles, 1936
  • Peter Simpson, Woven Textile design, 1974
  • Percy Delf Smith, Lettering, 1940
  • Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, Photography, 1986
  • Basil Spence, Exhibitions & interiors, 1960
  • Herbert Spencer, Typography, 1965
  • Harold Stabler, Pottery, Enamelling & silversmithing, 1936
  • Richard Stevens, Product design, 1973
  • Reynolds Stone, Lettering, 1956
  • Marianne Straub, Woven textiles, 1972
  • Derek Sugden, Engineering design, 2009
  • Fred Taylor, Graphics, 1936
  • Philip Thompson, Graphics & illustration, 1997
  • Walter Tracy, Type design, 1973
  • Howard Upjohn, Engineering product design, 1973
  • C F A Voysey, Interior decoration, furniture & fabrics, 1936
  • Barnes Wallis, Aircraft, 1943
  • Allan Walton, Printed textiles, 1940
  • Neville Ward, Interior design & ship interiors, 1971
  • John Waterer, Leather Goods, 1953
  • Hans Wegner, Furniture, 1969
  • Robert Welch, Product design & silversmithing, 1965
  • Frank Whittle, Engineering design, 1985
  • Berthold Wolpe, Typefaces & lettering, 1959
  • Anna Zinkeisen, Graphics & mural painting, 1940

Past Honorary RDIs

Past Honorary Royal Designers for Industry[3]

References

  1. ^ "Current Royal designers". RSA. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Current Honorary Royal Designers". RSA. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Past Royal Designers for Industry". RSA. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  4. ^ Margot Coatts, ‘Mairet , Ethel Mary (1872–1952)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 accessed 19 Oct 2015

External links

  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
  • University of Brighton Design Archives