Sir Misha Black was a product designer. He was appointed the 1st Professor of Industrial Design at the RCA and was the most influential design teacher of his time, involved in international design affairs as well as being a gifted speaker and writer on design matters. The Misha Black Award is in honour of him.
Along with Milner Gray, he founded Design Research Unit (DRU) in the late 1940’s. It became one of the first international, interdisciplinary design practices with major clients in industrial design, architecture and graphic design.
The Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education was instituted in 1978 as a memorial to Sir Misha Black, designer and teacher, following his death in 1977. The first Medal was presented to Sir William Coldsteam in Buckingham Palace by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
The Royal College of Art, the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry of the RSA, The Design and Industries Association and The Chartered Society of Designers founded the Misha Black Award. In 1996 The Royal Academy of Engineering joined, in recognition of the growth of design studies in engineering universities.
The 2009 winner of the Misha Black Award was Judy Frater.
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