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Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards
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For Immediate Release Office of the First Lady July 14, 2008

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards East Room



10:39 A.M. EDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. Good morning and
welcome to the White House. Congratulations to the finalists and the
recipients of the 2008 National Design Awards. This has always been a
really fun event for me. I'm very interested in all the things you all do
-- in architecture, in landscape architecture, in fashion, in product
design, and all of the ways that you all make American life easier and more
interesting.

So I look forward to this event every year to get to meet people whose
works I've admired for a long time, and this is certainly no exception.
This is the last one, so I hope whoever comes after me will invite you all
next year to this event. (Laughter.)

American design has helped tell our nation's story and shape our common
identity. William Lamb's Empire State Building, Raymond Loewy's Coldspot
refrigerator, Bill Blass's casually chic attire -- these creations form the
American backdrop and also many of our most cherished memories.

Some of our first -- some of our country's first designers were actually
our Founding Fathers. In July 1776, the Continental Congress asked Ben
Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to create a new national seal.
These revered leaders went right to work and they submitted their design
the very next month. It was rejected outright. (Laughter.) It took two more
committees and the combined efforts of 14 people before the Great Seal of
the United States was adopted nearly six years later.

Fortunately for President Bush, American statesmen are no longer expected
to be great designers. (Laughter.) When he was asked about his rug in the
Oval Office, the President likes to say that he did the smart thing for any
leader to do -- he delegated the design to me. (Laughter.) And then I did
the smart thing and delegated the task to a professional designer.

Walter Dorwin Teague observed in 1940 that designers "are not building big
or little gadgets," they're "building an environment." Advances in
technology and communication have made his statement truer today than ever
before. Our offices are decorated by interior designers. Our clothes
reflect the latest colors and fashions. Even the colors of our books
attract us with bold graphic art.

At this event, we recognize men and women whose innovation has inspired us
with new possibilities. You've built houses from shipping containers.
You've lit Bloomingdale's with spouting neon flowers. You've turned
everyday tasks like potato peeling or commuting into distinctive
experiences.

Your work affects thousands who drive through New York City's Columbus
Circle or honor our heroes at Arlington's National Cemetery. And for those
working at computers or folding laundry at home, you've given us the
classic View-Master so that a vacation is never farther than a click away.

At the nearby Smithsonian American Art Museum, the work of Landscape Design
finalist Gustafson Guthrie Nichol is now on display for visitors to enjoy
year-round.

The trees, shrubs, and water features they created for the new Kogod
Courtyard make a seamless transition between the museum's Greek Revival
architecture and the courtyard's modern Norman Foster glass canopy.

And in workplaces across America, including the White House, productivity
often depends on the design of this year's Corporate Achievement Award
winner: Google.

From Internet search engines to the world of high fashion, each of you is
here because you represent the very best of your discipline in the field of
design. Your creativity and vision has revolutionized the way Americans
live. And it's improving the lives of men, women and children worldwide.
Thank you all very much for your great work. (Applause.)

Now, to say more about each of our National Design Award winners and
finalists, the director of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum: Paul
Warwick Thompson. (Applause.)
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