Winning Designs at the Inaugural Kohler Design Center Design Challenge

On March 25, Agata Augustine, Dawn Gomilla, and Dana Morales announced the 2026 winning designs for the 2026 inaugural Kohler Design Center Design Competition, created to inspire and celebrate future designers. The award ceremony took place at The Collective at Shops of Woodlake.

For the inaugural competition, 40 students from three high schools—Elkhart Lake High School, Sheboygan North High School, and Sheboygan South High School participated. Every entry brought excitement, creativity, and inspiration into the Kohler Design Center.

The students’ projects demonstrated that creativity could come from anywhere: vacation memories, nature, personal passions, history, and even unexpected ideas. Some students drew inspiration from Kohler products and design vignettes, while others impressed us with their thoughtful and intentional choices of finishes and materials.

Many projects explored architecture through the lens of history, accessibility and inclusivity, environmental responsibility, and Kohler’s commitment to clean water around the world. Students also shared their artistic processes and sources of inspiration—and the jurors appreciated every word.

No two designs were alike. That uniqueness is what made this competition so special—and what made selecting winners incredibly difficult. Every submission was creative, meaningful, and thoughtfully executed.

A special personal recognition to Chloe Rohde from Sheboygan North High School. While her project did not receive an award, it powerfully reminded us that disabilities do not always appear as we expect. Some disabilities, such as light sensitivity, are not visible, yet they are very real. As designers—and as people—it is essential that we notice, respect, and design with this understanding in mind. Thank you, Chloe, for sharing this important perspective.

Winning Student Designs

Grace Allen, 1st Place, Interior Design (Sheboygan North High School)
Nicole Bartoszek, Denis Mairena, and Elliot Halvorsen, 1st Place (Sheboygan North High School)
TJ Bates, Merit Award, Interior Design (Sheboygan North High School)
Madelyn Steinbecker, 1st Place, Product Design (Sheboygan South High School)
Asher Lee and Christian Mazaba, Honorable Mention, Product Design (Sheboygan North High School)
Evan DeWitt, Honorable Mention, Product Design (Sheboygan South High School)
Ailyn Valdez and Mireya Castro-Lopez, Honorable Mention, Interior Design (Sheboygan North High School)
James Schmidt, Honorable Mention, Interior Design (Elkhart Lake High School)
Mikayla Edwards, Honorable Mention, Art & Design (Sheboygan North High School)
Marina Hubble, 1st Place, Art & Design (Elkhart Lake High School)

Jurors were:

• Agata Augustine, Interior Designer, Kohler Design Center
• Shari McWilliams, Program Manager – Arts Industry, Kohler
• Dana Morales, Manager – Industrial Design, Kohler
• Megan Sprenger, Engineering Analyst II, Kohler

All winning artworks will be on display at the Kohler Design Center throughout the month of April. Students are encouraged to invite family and friends to visit and celebrate their incredible work. Kohler Design Center is located at 101 Upper Rd, Kohler, WI 53044.