RSA honours five designers with RDI titles

New Master of the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry Nick Butler this week honoured five new designers with the RDI title.

The new RDIs include product designers Robin Levien, of Queensberry Hunt Levien, and David Lewis, who has designed TV and audio equipment, notably for Bang & Olufsen.

Ferrari technical director John Barnard, yacht designer Colin Mudie and Westland aeronautical engineer Raymond Wheeler complete the new intake.

Also honoured at Tuesday’s ceremony at the Royal Society for the Arts was BAA chief executive Sir John Egan. He is this year’s recipient of the RSA’s Bicentenary Medal for his “total commitment to design” within the airports group.

Butler, who succeeded the late Jean Muir as master, made his first RDI annual address this week.

He called on his fellow RDIs to “raise our heads above the parapet, take the flak, engage in dialogue and help set the agenda,” and return to creating lasting designs rather than contributing to the “throwaway society”.