The Prince Philip Designers Prize was created in 1959 by The Duke of Edinburgh as a response to post-war austerity.

Initially known as The Duke of Edinburgh's Prize for Elegant Design, the award recognised products that stood out from the largely functional designs of the late 1950s. Its aim was to stimulate and reward elegant solutions to design problems.

Since then, the Prince Philip Designers Prize has rewarded the best in design from products and graphics to buildings and feats of engineering, and put the spotlight on designers for influencing and shaping daily life.

The first winner was Charles Longman, for the ingeniously minimalist Prestcold Packaway refrigerator, designed to fit into cramped kitchens.

Today, the emphasis of the prize is on the enduring contributions of designers themselves to the profile of design among businesses and the public. Since 1990 the prize in its current form has honoured some of the grandees of British design including James Dyson (1997), Terence Conran (2003), Norman Foster (2004) and, in 2001, Kenneth Grange, the prize’s only double winner.

The prize goes to an individual designer or a leader of a design team, selected from nominations by these professional bodies and educational institutions:

The judging panel is chaired by The Duke of Edinburgh himself. A winner is chosen based on the quality, originality and commercial success of their work, and the designer’s overall contribution to the standing of design, and to design education.

The winner receives a certificate signed by Prince Philip, and the judges may also award Special Commendations.

You can find out more about the Prince Philip Designers Prize, including information about winners and nominees on the Design Council website.