RitaSue Siegel Resources

2011 Special Award Winner

Statement from the Awards Committee

How many of us here tonight owe a professional debt to RitaSue Siegel Resources?

You don’t have to raise your hands. You all know who you are and, truth be told, all of us probably could raise our hands.

It would have been difficult to predict the impact of RitaSue Siegel Resources when RitaSue first hung out her shingle 40 years ago. At that time, there were few women in design and none in positions of power and responsibility. Since then, RitaSue and her firm have given all of us a legacy that is unrivaled in the history of design.

RitaSue has touched virtually every American industrial designer through her speeches, workshops and placements. Her writings, like the essential “How to Get a Job in Industrial Design,” have provided countless young designers with an outstanding guide for advancing their careers. Her work with the Rowena Reed Kostellow Fund and her collaborations with design educators around the world have created a sturdy bridge to help design students cross over into professional practice. 
 
RitaSue’s firm has carried the banner for industrial design for more than four decades working to help business leaders understand and embrace design as a tool for gaining a competitive advantage.

It’s easy to paint RitaSue’s contributions to the design community in broad strokes. What probably matters most to those of us who would have raised our hands earlier is that she has served as a mentor and teacher as we’ve grown both within the profession and our respective business organizations.

For every act that is known and every bit of guidance that was never reported, IDSA is very pleased to present a special award tonight to RitaSue Siegel and RitaSue Siegel Resources.