The Vilcek Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Design. Totaling $250,000 in awards, the prizes celebrate immigrant professionals in graphic design, industrial design and product design whose work has had a profound impact on their field in the United States. These honors—a part of the Vilcek Foundation prizes program—honor the foundation’s mission to build awareness of the vital role immigration plays in enriching intellectual and cultural life in the United States. 

The 2024 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Design are awarded to:

• Ramon Tejada (b. Dominican Republic)
• Wael Morcos (b. Lebanon)
• Juan Carlos Noguera (b. Guatemala)
• Maryam Turkey (b. Iraq)

The Vilcek Prize in Design

The Vilcek Prize in Design is awarded to a designer whose career and work has had a profound impact in their field—not only to their clients and constituents, but to the students and mentees they inspire through their design leadership and pedagogy. The recipient of the Vilcek Prize in Design receives a cash award of $100,000 and a commemorative trophy. The Vilcek Foundation is delighted to award the 2024 Vilcek Prize in Design to Ramon Tejada.

Ramon Tejada 

Born in the Dominican Republic, Tejada is an associate professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. He receives the Vilcek Prize in Design for his leadership and commitment to accessibility and decolonization in design practices, and for his pedagogical approach that centers collaboration, inclusion and radical innovation. He has taught at Pratt Institute, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Parsons/The New School and CUNY–Queens College.

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Design

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Design recognize early- and mid-career immigrant designers whose work represents an important contribution to their field, and exemplifies the potential for design to change the way people interact with the world—through innovative tools and products, and through powerful graphic design, typography and visual storytelling. Creative Promise Prizewinners each receive an unrestricted cash award of $50,000, and a commemorative certificate. The 2024 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Design are awarded to Juan Carlos Noguera, Wael Morcos and Maryam Turkey.

Wael Morcos 

Wael Morcos receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Design for his approach to typographic and graphic design that incorporates complex cultural and political histories to create socially relevant visual identities and campaigns. Born in Lebanon, Morcos is a founder and partner of Morcos Key; he is an alumnus of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Juan Carlos Noguera

Juan Carlos Noguera receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Design for his equitable approach to product design, especially for his work to develop accessible wheelchairs and educational tools that democratize society by promoting social and scientific engagement. Born in Guatemala, Noguera is a professor of industrial design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He earned his Master’s in Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Maryam Turkey

Maryam Turkey receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Design for her practice that seeks to bridge cultural and societal divides while simultaneously challenging the status quo. Through organic sculptural forms and surfaces she deconstructs gender norms, revealing a powerful humanity. Born in Iraq, she is an alumna of the Pratt Institute, and she was a MAD Museum Artist in Residence in 2019. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and at prominent art fairs throughout the United States.