Recognizing design as a team sport, the trophy was designed by the New York studio Rich Brilliant Willing. Their approach was to design an artifact that could be employed in the creation of multiples, honoring the kind of group effort that designers and their clients engage in every day.

"We were inspired by a "mold" as an image and symbol of manufacturing and design. In our discussions with Core77, we came to realize that an inherent pitfall of the iconic trophy is that it is shared by a group, yet not literally divisible among that group. We wondered if an award could, in some way, recognize the various contributors, beyond symbolic meaning alone. Our solution for the Core77 Design Awards Trophy has a functional value: winning teams can create ingots from the trophy, and provide these cast facsimiles to their collaborators, clients and staff."

Special thanks to our manufacturing partner at Rapid Direct for making our trophies a reality.