Metaproject15 team members with the show-winning project.
Standing, left to right: Metaproject Instructor Josh Owen, Jack Robert Nalitt, Graduate Assistant Neeraj Sugumaran Menon, Bridget Sheehan of Icon Design, Lucy Nguyen, Kimberly DeSantis, and Industrial Design Program Chair Melissa Dawson. Seated, Jenna Schwartzberg and Chris Baron
Not Pictured: Oluwatobi Ashiru, Isabella Blanco, Alex Hafen, EJ Han, Jasmine Khamphanthirath, Parker Kinsman, Eli Rosen, Valentina Scottini, Sidharth Shukla

We’re thrilled to share that this year’s Metaproject, presented at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, was awarded the 2025 Best of Schools and Students Prize.

Selected from a field of outstanding schools and design programs from around the world, including—

California College of the Arts
Centro de Estudios Superiores de Diseno de Monterrey/CEDIM
IED Istituto Europeo di Design S.B.p.A.
Istituto Marangoni
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Parsons School of Design
Pratt Institute
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Rochester Institute of Technology
Savannah School of Art and Design (SCAD)
School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
School of Visual Arts (SVA)
Tec de Monterrey
Universidad Anáhuac Puebla School of Architecture and Design
University of Arkansas
Universidad Iberoamericana A.C.
University of Iowa 3D Design Program
University of Oregon

—this award is a true testament to the quality of work coming out of RIT. 

The award also highlights the ongoing impact of the Vignelli archives on our students’ work. The legacy of the Vignellis continues to shape and inspire how we think, teach, and practice design — proving its relevance across generations. Having such a vital resource right here on campus keeps RIT at the forefront of global design dialogue.

 

Metaproject15 was just one highlight of many throughout NYCxDESIGN, with more than one person telling us it felt like “the Vignelli Center was everywhere” this year — and we couldn’t agree more.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this such a memorable week. We’re already looking forward to next year!

 

'Exploring the Timeless Vignelli Designed Silver' at St. Peter's Church, NYCxDESIGN 2025

Clockwise from upper left: Visitors look over Julia Abbonizio's photographs of the Lella Vignelli silver jewelry, Leadership of the Vignelli Student Club with RIT Provost Prabu David, Giovanna Cacchione and Matilde Melidonis of San Lorenzo look at the jewelry with St. Peter's Fr. Jared Stahler, panelists Josh Owen of the Vignelli Center for Design Studies, photographer Julia Abbonizio, Master Silversmith Ubaldo Vitali, scholar Matilde Melidonis, and Sarah Barack of Cooper Hewitt discuss the work and its impact, Julia Abbonizio poses with her exhibited work.

 

The Vignelli Token is Now Available

The editioned NYCxDESIGN25 Souvenir Vignelli 'Token of Inspiration,' designed by Center Director Josh Owen, engraved in brass and each individually, sequentially numbered, is now available for sale at RIT's Shop One.

 

Our infrastructure improvement project continues, and the Vignelli Center for Design Studies remains closed to in-person visitors. We anticipate completion later this summer, and look forward to returning to our regular campus home.

The Vignelli’s Design is One philosophy leaves us with a universal message that design is a lens through which we can envision a more inclusive tomorrow.

- Josh Owen

Copyright (C) 2022 Vignelli Center For Design Studies. All rights reserved.