RDI awards ceremony tonight

The Royal Designers for Industry, established by the Royal Society of Arts, is to tonight inaugurate structural engineer Chris Wise as Master of the Faculty of Royal Designers.

At the same event, six designers will receive the award of Royal Designer for Industry, while a further six will be presented with Honorary Royal Designer for Industry.

For 2007, the RDI goes to furniture designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, engineering designer Nigel Gee, fashion designer Margaret Howell, interior designer Ben Kelly and D&AD president Simon Waterfall from Poke.

Honorary RDIs include designer Antonio Citterio, product designer Naoto Fukasawa, modern animation pioneer John Lasseter, textile designer Mark Pollack, graphic designer Erik Spiekermann and costume designer Piero Tosi.

The awards ceremony takes place tonight at the RSA, John Adam Street, London WC2.