RSA announced the new Royal Designers for Industry

Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved 'sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for industry'. Those who are British citizens take the letters RDI after their names, while those who are not become Honorary RDIs (HonRDI). Everyone who holds the distinction is a Member of The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry (founded in 1938).

Last night (November 27th 2014) four of the UK's best designers were recognised for their outstanding contribution to design and society by becoming Royal Designers for Industry (RDI) at an award ceremony held at the RSA, including:

• Fernando Gutiérrez RDI for raising awareness of challenging social and political issues through design, and for promoting the visual arts in the international cultural sector.
  

• Richard Rogers RDI for his pioneering and influential approach to urban design and improving the quality of public spaces to create thriving and resilient cities.
  

• Helen Storey RDI for pushing the boundaries of fashion and design and making challenging scientific concepts accessible to the public.
  

• Neil Thomas RDI for excellence and innovation in structural design and for sustained ingenuity as a structural engineer in collaborations to create ground-breaking public art.
  

Regarded as the highest honour a designer can receive in the UK, an Honorary RDI award were also given to a non-UK designer:

• Gilles Clément Honorary RDI for his creative and progressive application of ecology and science to sustainable landscape design.
  

Commenting on the RDIs RSA Chief Executive Matthew Taylor said: 'The world's greatest designers consistently challenge convention, discover new insights, and improve people's lives. These five outstanding practitioners from different disciplines all share an inventive and unshakable commitment to educate, inform and enrich the public realm through design'.

There are now 146 RDIs and 56 Honorary RDIs. Members include Terence Conran, Jonathan Ive, James Dyson, Vivienne Westwood, and Thomas Heatherwick.

* Stay with us for more details about the achievement of Helen Storey, Professor of Fashion and Science at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion
at London College of Fashion