“The Urban Forum at the National Building Museum is a new series of symposiums, discussions, and lectures about issues affecting the design, growth, and governance of cities and their expanded boundaries.”

“The Urban Forum at the National Building Museum is a new series of symposiums, discussions, and lectures about issues affecting the design, growth, and governance of cities and their expanded boundaries.”

This report explores industrial design, both as an occupation and as an industry tied to U.S. manufacturing and other sectors. Drawing on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau, the report highlights the number of working industrial designers and their earnings, the industries employing the greatest numbers of designers, and their geographic concentration in western and mid-western states. The report also uses data published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to show the wide variety of products incorporating industrial design, as well as the leading companies awarded design patents. Notably, the report presents an analysis of patent data that reveals industrial designers as prolific inventors.  August 2013

Report of the design workshop team, July 24-25, 1995. “This report was prepared by the Design Program of the National Endowment for the Arts … [and it] was produced under a cooperative agreement between the National Building Museum, Washington D.C., and the Design Program of the National Endowment for the Arts”–Colophon.

In addition to the Mayors’ Institute, the NEA is the principle funder of Your Town: The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design. This popular program has convened four workshops annually since 1991 to help smaller communities preserve their character in the face of economic and social change. One such workshop took place in November, 2000 in Cleveland, Mississippi, and focused on the traditionally African-American communities of Mound Bayou, Jonestown, and Clarksdale. This booklet contains an overview of the event, relevant essays, and design case studies from two of the communities visited.