IBM Named 2025 Outstanding Corporate Leader by AIGA

Company honored for its historic and ongoing commitment to design, 45 years after receiving AIGA’s inaugural Corporate Leadership Award

NEW YORK—AIGA, the professional association for design, is pleased to recognize IBM as the recipient of the 2025 AIGA Corporate Leadership Award. AIGA has recognized IBM for its decades-long commitment to design as a strategic force in business and for its continued leadership in advancing human-centered, ethically grounded, and technologically forward design practices.

Over the last decade, IBM has renewed and revitalized its design program. Guided by a belief in progress – that applying intelligence, reason, and science can improve business, society, and the human condition – IBM views design as both a responsibility and a craft. Rooted in modernist attitudes that value clarity, systems thinking, and human-centered approaches, IBM design blends technology with empathy to pave a path toward progress. Through Enterprise Design Thinking, the Carbon Design System, and IBMs Design Language, design at IBM shapes how it builds products and delivers client success while defining its brand identity and systems of expression – ensuring every experience reflects understanding, purpose, and craft, and moves people and businesses forward with confidence and care.

“IBM has continually demonstrated that design is more than aesthetics; it’s a driver of transformation. Their open-source innovation, commitment to design thinking, and focus on social impact exemplify how design can shape culture, business, and the world for the better.” said Sheharazad Fleming, chair of this year’s Awards Nomination Committee, and President, Corita Art Center | The Great Discontent | WE MUST BE BOLD

In 1956, Thomas Watson Jr. hired architect and designer Eliot Noyes to establish the first corporate design program, shaping every visual and experiential expression of the company. What IBM carries forward from that era is not-mid-century aesthetic, but the modernist attitudes and approach used at the time. That legacy was reignited under Phil Gilbert, evolving into a modern design practice that connects creativity, technology, and business impact on a global scale.

That pioneering vision was recognized in 1980 when IBM became the first-ever recipient of the AIGA Corporate Leadership Award. Forty-five years later, AIGA again honors IBM for its enduring investment in design. This investment has guided the company from the rise of the personal computer, to cloud computing, AI, and quantum computing. Today, IBM’s design practice continues to evolve, expanding its influence across business, technology, and society.

“Design at IBM has always been about more than aesthetics. It’s a strategic force that shapes culture, drives innovation, and delivers real outcomes. Receiving the AIGA Corporate Leadership Award is a powerful affirmation of our commitment to human-centered design and the impact our global design community continues to make every day,” said Terry Yoo, IBM’s Vice President, Brand and Content Strategy. “IBM designers are focused on measurable impact: advancing growth, productivity, and human-centered AI experiences. It’s a proud moment for every designer, team, and leader who’s helped shape this journey.”

In its 111-year history, AIGA has recognized 36 forward-thinking organizations with the Corporate Leadership Award. These honorees span industries but are united by a shared commitment to design excellence, responsible innovation, and meaningful impact. IBM now becomes the only organization to receive this distinction twice, once as the award’s inaugural recipient in 1980, and again in 2025 for its continued leadership in defining what design can make possible.

Learn more about IBM's contributions to design.

###