IDSA is pleased to announce that Jonah Becker, IDSA will serve as the 2020 IDEA Jury Chair.
Jonah is an accomplished industrial designer and leader who has a tremendous track record of launching successful products to market. As SVP of Design at Fitbit, he leads the ID, UX, UX Research and Design Operations teams to deliver on the vision of making everyone in the world healthier.
Before joining Fitbit, Jonah was VP of Industrial Design at HTC, where he was responsible for roadmap, future vision and branding programs across smartphones, VR, imaging and wearables. He was also President and Partner at One & Co, a San Francisco design agency acquired by HTC in 2008. At One & Co, Jonah created successful, award-winning products for clients like Nike, Microsoft, Sony, Dell and Burton Snowboards.
“I fell in love with building things when I was a kid, and it’s still what I love to do today. I build great teams, great design cultures, great products, great experiences, and great brands.”
Jonah has a B.A. in Philosophy from U.C. Berkeley and a B.F.A. in Industrial Design from California College of the Arts, where he has been a senior lecturer in the design program. When Jonah isn’t thinking about design you’ll likely find him cycling, running, playing guitar or watching his daughters’ soccer games.
Serving as IDEA jury chair is indeed a great honor and represents a great professional achievement for those who have held this distinct position. During the course of a one-year term, the Jury Chair participates in proctoring and leading the IDEA judging cycle and promotion of the program as a whole. In many ways, the Jury Chair is ‘the face’ of the program, and they epitomize the very best of what IDEA stands for.
About the IDEA Jury
Each year, a collection of 40 designers, thought leaders and visionaries compose our IDEA Jury. Representing industry, consultancy, academia and private practice, they are experts within their field. Many of them are past IDEA award winners who deeply understand the significance of the position. The IDEA jury is charged with the tremendous task of carefully reviewing over 1,500 entries across 19 categories. Additionally, they are responsible for maintaining the high level of quality and rigor that has become a hallmark of the IDEA program.
About IDEA
The International Design Excellence Awards, produced by the Industrial Designers Society of America, is one of the longest running and most prestigious design awards programs in existence. Originally founded to recognize exceptional achievement in industrial design, the program has since grown to highlight design in many forms including design strategy, branding, digital interaction and so much more. IDEA set the benchmark for what a design award represents and has endured to become a career-defining catalyst for those talented enough to win.
IDEA’s unique jurying process maintains anonymity for all entries to ensure all decisions are solely based on excellence of design innovation, user experience, benefit to the client, benefit to society and appropriate aesthetics.