Cooper-Hewitt Honors Nike For Just Doing It Right

The Nike Air Zoom Moire and the Nike+iPod kit. Below, from left, architect Thom Mayne's design for the Caltrans headquarters in Los Angeles; the catalogue for Museum of Modern Art curator Paola Antonelli's exhibition "Design Takes on Risk"; and Paolo Soleri's Arcosanti. (By Mary Altaffer -- Associated Press)

For more than 30 years, Nike has used the power of design to turn couch potatoes into weekend champions and athletes into icons. Now it's the company's turn to step into the winner's circle.

In an announcement scheduled for Monday, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum will honor the sports-gear giant with a National Design Award for corporate achievement.

The award says as much about how Nike has redesigned its image as it does about the colorful, high-tech product line, which will include a talking iPod-linked shoe come July 13.

Jury spokesman Roger Mandle, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, says the panel was impressed with how Nike has moved beyond the taint of overseas sweatshop scandals.

"Corporate philosophy was a major issue for us," Mandle said by phone this week. "Beyond the extraordinary design quality and thinking on product development, it was their responsibility in manufacturing and attention to human resource issues."

Nike's selection calls attention to a new rule in this era of humanitarian design: The new economy put the focus on cute techie toys; now, conscience trumps flash. Irresponsible icons are unwelcome visitors in the hall of fame.

"Manufacturing responsibly matters," Cooper-Hewitt Director Paul Warwick Thompson said. "A good corporate citizen is not just using design at the cynical marketing level."

The Beaverton, Ore., company started in 1971 with "a handshake between two running geeks," Philip H. Knight and University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman. In March, executives behind the swoosh logo posted third-quarter revenues of $3.6 billion, one-third from the sale of sports shoes to U.S. consumers.

The company's army of 450 designers worldwide has led the elevation of sweaty sneakers to a collectible art form while keeping up the technical specs. Innovation has been a given, from Air Jordans to the new Nike+iPod, which includes a sensor embedded in a shoe to measure workout progress and deliver audible updates via the iPod Nano (as in, "Two miles to go").

In the early 1990s, Nike found itself, along with Wal-Mart and Gap, caught in a public-relations maelstrom over factory conditions abroad. Athletes such as Lance Armstrong have done fine in Nike's high-performance togs, but corporate acquiescence to production-as-usual abroad -- including child labor and unsafe working conditions -- was threatening the brand's persona. As the company Web site acknowledges, "A lot has happened at Nike in the 33 years since we entered the industry, most of it good, some of it downright embarrassing."

The award calls attention to a turnaround. Among other measures, Nike redesigned its procedures, and changes in manufacturing processes eliminated toxic chemicals. In 2004, company chairman Knight announced that Nike would voluntarily disclose where its factories were, so independent observers could find and visit them.

Nike also adopted a "green" philosophy for its headquarters. The company's Web site details a multitude of non-polluting practices and recycling efforts. The main campus includes a "smart" irrigation system, "bioswales" to filter rainwater runoff, integrated pest management practices, native plant landscaping and compost filters, which have reduced water use dramatically. A five-lane, 400-meter running track is constructed from more than 50,000 pairs of recycled shoes. A soccer field made from 100,000 pairs of used shoes requires no watering or mowing.

In a letter to shareholders last year, Mark Parker, then co-president and now CEO, was still complaining of a "frustrating and uncomfortable adventure . . . made painful when efforts are taken out of context and turned into news headlines." But last August, the social investment community gave Nike a vote of confidence. Companies including Calvert Group of Bethesda took note of an improved, if imperfect, corporate culture. Now, the Cooper-Hewitt jury has given the Smithsonian's seal of appropriate conduct.

"The jury is reflecting the state of design concerns today," Mandle said. "They are looking at the broader perspective. It's not just about cool design -- it's the overall responsibility of the designer or company."

Nike, of course, is still hard at work on cool design. This week, John R. Hoke III, its 41-year-old vice president and global creative director for footwear design, was strategizing with 75 colleagues.

"We're trying to be a partner around issues of social consciousness," he said of the sweatshop fallout. But he really wanted to talk about the foamless midsoles in the Air Max 360s, and the refined lines of a soccer shoe intended to give the Brazilian team an edge in the World Cup. In his view, design is a tool to "amplify human potential."