About

Entry requires a single original design sketch — hand-drawn or digital — responding to the year's prompt, alongside written responses describing the design's intent and impact. No prototypes or prior design experience are required. The competition welcomes all design disciplines: product, architecture, fashion, textiles, systems, digital experience, and more. Entries are reviewed anonymously by Cooper Hewitt staff. In 2026, 155 exemplary entries were selected from 24 states; five regional winners — one per US region — were announced in April and invited to a Virtual Regional Winners Day with guest designers and museum staff. There are no cash prizes.

What the competition offers instead is something harder to find: a nationally recognized Smithsonian credential evaluated by design professionals, not teachers or algorithms. For a student targeting design, architecture, or applied arts programs at selective universities, being featured or recognized by the country's leading design institution is a meaningful distinction — and the thematic, open-ended prompt structure means the credential reflects genuine creative thinking rather than technical skill alone.

The Cooper Hewitt Design Competition is the right competition for a student with a real design idea and the ability to communicate it clearly — especially one applying to design-focused college programs who wants their creative thinking validated on a national stage.