The Aurora Awards

The Aurora Awards, showcase a 12-state southeastern region plus the Caribbean who have demonstrated building and design excellence.

Last year’s winners were selected from among 80 categories by a panel of industry experts and were honored at the 29th Annual AURORA Awards Gala/Spectacular on Saturday evening, August 2, 2008, at the Southeast Building Conference in Orlando, Florida. View the winners of the 2008 Aurora Award. (2009 Aurora Award will be announced on August 1st)

Now in its 30th year, the AURORA Awards program is affiliated with the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) and the Southeast Building Conference (SEBC), one of two regional trade shows recognized by and affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

MIAD - Alumni Success Stories on www.miad.edu

MIAD - Alumni Success Stories on www.miad.edu

The MIAD web site now features alumni "Success Stories" in each major. To find them, click Programs / Majors on the Main Menu, and peruse the descriptions of "The Results." Or you can go to each "Success Story" directly...

MIAD - Alumnus wins international design awards

MIAD - Alumnus wins international design awards

Daniel J. LipscombFor Daniel J. Lipscomb '98, Senior Designer at Fiskars Garden and Tool in Salk City, WI, inspiration has come full circle. He and Fiskars recently received four GOOD DESIGN Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum for Architecture and Design, the oldest and most prestigious worldwide awards program recognizing innovation and superior design embodiment.

Daniel credits MIAD faculty for continuing to drive and inspire the quality of his Industrial Design work, especially the late Stephen F. Lacey, to whom he dedicates the awards.

Fiskars Garden Multi-Snip, one of four award-winning designs by Daniel J. Lipscomb '98


But Daniel is also inspiring current MIAD students through collaborative Industrial Design projects with Fiskars. The relationship, he says, helps "students solve for real-world solutions with practicing product development teams, and delivers fresh new ideas to Fiskars that tap into the innovative young mindset of our future customers."

Provost David Martin remembers Daniel as a student who "was interested in addressing the contradiction between his interest in nature and natural, organic form, and the lack of integrity in so much contemporary product design."

Fiskars Rear Pivot Bypass Pruner (Small), designed by Daniel J. Lipscomb '98


Daniel agrees that his long-time love of gardening makes it "a pleasure to solve garden product issues. A good tool is designed by the use and handling of objects, not by idle thought or the use of a computer mouse. One of the GOOD DESIGN Award winning tools started as a thought I had while harvesting vegetables in our home garden."