Cameron wins royal design prize

Don Cameron has been awarded the Prince Philip Designers Prize 2000 for his outstanding contribution, over 35 years, to the design and manufacture of hot air balloons.

In addition, special commendations have been made to Jonathan Ive for the Apple i-Mac, and architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, for the design of the British Airways London Eye.

Christopher Frayling, chairman of the Design Council and vice-chairman of the judging panel, spoke at the awards ceremony at the Design Council in London on Tuesday night.

He pointed to Cameron’s achievements in capturing the public imagination with his series of accomplishments in hot air ballooning: “Over 35 years, Don has almost single-handedly generated awareness of design’s potential to break down barriers in this field,” he says.

There were seven entries for the prize, which is given annually and reflects developments in British design and technology. Other nominations were Ian Liddell, Phillipe Handford, John Barnard and Alan Zoeftig. Previous winners of the prize include Martin Lambie-Nairn in 1998.