Cranbrook 3D Design Named "Best Design School" at ICFF

Last week, Cranbrook Academy of Art was named the “Best Design School” on the opening day of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City.

The category was announced as part of onsite judging by a jury that included Angie Lee, head of interiors and design at FXCollaborative; Greg Guerra, design director at IA Interior Architects; and Brooks Atwood, design director at R&A Architecture + Design.

This is the fifth year that the Academy’s 3D Design Department has been invited by the organizers of ICFF to participate in an exhibition featuring the world’s leading design schools. The Cranbrook entry — “Design Mutations,” is focused on the work of a new generation of designers.

“This was definitely our most ambitious entry into ICFF,” said Scott Klinker, Designer-in-Residence and Head of 3D Design. “We presented the best work of all 14 students in the program. We had a large footprint which allowed as to bring more work and create a unique spatial design for the exhibition. The response was incredible, with thousands of people taking an interest, engaging our students, and praising the quality of the work. Especially with the award, this event was both educational and unforgettable for all of us. It was an intense team effort that was worth all the planning and hard work.”

According to the exhibition statement, “Today, young designers find their own way to remix language and materials, like a creative science, speaking to a conceptual landscape that accepts complexity. By studying the influence of art and craft on design, the potentials of design begin to mutate and stretch into new directions that question our assumptions about use, form, materials, typology, sensory qualities, and the poetic role of objects.”

The exhibition includes designs by Cranbrook Academy of Art 3D Design students Simon Anton, Joong Han Bae, Peng-Chih Chu, Dee Clements, Kyle Joseph, Karen Lee, Erik Magnuson, Cody Norman, Sunny Kim, Phoebe Kuo, Joe Parr, Joseph Shedd, Jaixiang Shen, and Yi Zhang.

Images of the work included in the exhibition can be found on the website, cranbrook3dprojects.com.

Header image of work (clockwise from left): Joe Parr, Simon Anton, Karen Lee, Sunny Kim, the group receiving their award, Kyle Joseph, Phoebe Kuo.