Collab

Collab, our modern and contemporary design group for members, offers exhibition previews, day trips, talks, special access to our design collection, and opportunities to mingle with design curators and visionaries.

Connect with influential designers, hear about the newest trends first, and learn about the latest products and processes in the modern and contemporary design space when you join Collab.

Since 1970, Collab has contributed outstanding examples of unique and mass-produced design objects to our collection; hosted design luminaries from five continents; and provided tours, lectures, and publications that make design accessible to the public.

Collab members engage with the world of design together through exclusive programming, both virtually and in person. This includes entry to the Collab Design Excellence Award and Collab Student Design Competition.

Tiffany Lambert, The Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer Curator of Modern and Contemporary Design, provides curatorial oversight.

DesignPhiladelphia
The oldest festival of its kind in the United States, DesignPhiladelphia highlights the work of local designers, architects, and creative professionals. Collab members are invited to a special DesignPhiladlephia program hosted in collaboration with the museum.

Student Design Competition
What does the next generation imagine for the future of design? Every year, college-level industrial design students respond to a unique challenge that affects daily life. The best designs are showcased virtually or at the museum.

Design Excellence Award Party
Collab’s annual Design Excellence Award honors a designer of international renown with a celebration and exhibition at the museum. This signature event has brought design icons to Philadelphia since 1986.

Behind-the-Scenes Tours
Enjoy guided tours and demonstrations from the museum experts who care for objects in the design collection.

Studio and Makerspace Visits
Get an insider glimpse into the rise of Philadelphia’s growing maker community with studio visits to the places where great design is happening today.

View Collab events

Become a Collab member at the $125 level and support acquisitions, exhibitions, publications, and programs. Collab membership is available exclusively to museum members.

Collab’s annual Design Excellence Award honors a designer of international renown with a celebration and exhibition at the museum. This signature event has brought design icons to Philadelphia since 1986.

Full list of Design Excellence Award recipients:

2025 - Sebastian Errazuriz
2024 - Naoto Fukasawa
2023 - Stephen Burks
2022 – Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta
2021 – Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec
2020 – Canceled due to COVID-19
2019 – Collab: 50 Years of Great Design Anniversary Gala
2018 – Dieter Rams
2017 – Patricia Urquiola
2016 – Design Excellence: New Generation Oki Sato, Faye Toogood, & Zanini de Zanine
2015 – Bruce Mau
2014 – Rolf Fehlbaum of Vitra
2013 – Marc Newson
2012 – Paula Scher and Seymour Chwast
2011 – Zaha Hadid
2010 – Alberto Alessi
2009 – Marcel Wanders
2008 – Frank O. Gehry
2006 – Georg Jensen
2005 – Gaetano Pesce
2004 – Florence Knoll Bassett
2003 – Richard Gluckman
2002 – Ingo Maurer
2001 – No award given
2000 – Milton Glaser
1999 – Jonathan Ive, Maya Lin, and Karim Rashid
1998 – Sir Terence Conran
1997 – Philippe Starck and Ian Schrager
1996 – Richard Meier
1995 – Michael Graves
1994 – Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown
1993 – Swid Powell
1991 – Jack Lenor Larsen
1989 – Niels Diffrient
1988 – Vignelli Associates
1986 – George Nakashima

What does the next generation imagine for the future of design? Every year, university-level design students respond to a unique challenge that affects daily life. The best designs are showcased by the museum.

2025 Collab Student Design Competition

The 2025 Collab Design Excellence Award honoree and the inspiration for this year’s Collab Student Design Competition is Sebastian Errazuriz, a Chilean industrial designer and artist known for his thought-provoking, functional, and often surreal furniture, sculptures, and installations. His work blends art, design, and technology, challenging conventional aesthetics and exploring themes like life, death, and consumer culture.

Design Brief

Create a sideboard, console, or cabinet that embodies the spirit and discipline in the work of Sebastian Errazuriz.

Characteristics and inspiration must consider:

• Quality of design and materials
• User experience - must be functional
• Provokes thought
• Elements of humor

Submissions: Graphic Presentation / Design Statement

• *All work to be uploaded to CaFÉ system, Student work due –Friday, November 7, 2025
• 11" x 17" full color high resolution graphic presentation. ( image # 1-with title of piece only, no further verbiage)
• 3-D image of design in context and scale (3 image max)
• 3-5 High Resolution images (300dpi) uploaded, (including title of entry with no indication of name or school of student).
• 300-word Word Document – max

Judging Criteria

1. Evidence of applied research and process
2. Originality and creativity of the concept
3. Ability to be manufactured.

Announcement of Winners and Feedback session with judges on
Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 3:30 – 4:30pm (EST); Zoom invite to precede.

Prizes

First Prize: $800 | Second Prize: $500 | Third Prize: $300 | Two Honorable Mentions: $200

All winners receive a one-year museum membership.

Judges

• Ashley Harrison-Gallerist
• Barry Richards- Rockwell Group
• Tiffany Lambert- Curator of Modern and Contemporary/PMA
• Christian Larsen- Art/Design Historian, Professor, curator, consultant
• Lewis Wexler, Wexler Gallery

Eligibility

Students submitting projects to the Collab Student Design Competition must be currently enrolled in a college or university.

Agreement

By submitting an entry to this competition, the undersigned acknowledges that the work submitted is original and the intellectual property of the applicant. Collab and The Philadelphia Museum of Art claim no responsibility or accountability in any form whatsoever for any misrepresentations or other legally infringing matters of authorship.
Collab and The Philadelphia Museum of Art reserve the right to publish and/or reproduce images of all contest submissions, as well as event photographs or video footage in which the undersigned appears, in any publications or other media produced by or for the Museum for the purposes of advertising, promoting, illustration, or information. The undersigned also waives any right to approve any use of these photographs or video footage and releases the Museum and the photographer/videographer from any claims arising in connection with their use.