Brahma, a Brazilian beer brand, had an idea.

In preparation for Carnival in Rio earlier this year, Brahma created a cell phone that partiers would be okay with breaking or losing. As the Carnival’s biggest sponsor, Brahma took on the challenge of preserving the carefree revelry inherent to the festival by devising a phone stripped down to just the essentials— the ability to call and SMS text, a GPS and transportation app, as well as an 8-megapixel camera. “This innovation lets party-seekers leave their high-tech worries behind, ensuring the celebratory spirit remains unbroken,” the brand shared in a statement.

Brahma leaned into the comedy of the Brahma Phone concept in their marketing campaign, playing up that the phone is bare bones and undesirable, and that’s the whole point. “Meet ‘Brahma Phone’: A phone created by a brand who understands everything about Carnival and nothing about cell phones,” they proclaim. “We thought of a phone that is so bad, with only the features that no one would want to steal,” said Nicholas Bergantin, co-CCO of the São Paulo-based creative agency Africa Creative, who worked with Brahma on the campaign.

“Brahma is more than a beer; it’s a brand that solves real problems for those eager to celebrate life fully,” elaborated Sergio Gordilho, Co-President and CCO of Africa Creative. “This project perfectly encapsulates our approach to meaningful engagement with our consumers.” And engaged they are! The Brahma Phone has proven to be a major success as the most viral Carnival brand action of the year and is becoming a festival must-have.

Bolstered by this initial success, the Brahma Phone initiative is poised to spread far beyond Brazil and Carnival. Brahma and Africa Creative are keen on sharing the Brahma Phone with attendees of other events similar to Carnival, where phone theft can kill the buzz. Brahma’s mission to problem-solve, exemplified by the Brahma Phone, is just revving up; they want to continue enhancing audiences’ experiences with innovations that prioritize letting go, simplicity, and the essence of celebration.

The rise of streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Apple TV has catalyzed a (New) Golden Age of TV: episodic shows have become more poignant, more engaging, slicker than ever, and more nuanced—honing in on pinpoint cultures and subcultures.

The best of these programs (think Succession, Severance, The White Lotus, Shōgun, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fleabag, The Bear, Beef, and on and on) take cues from the world of cinema and demonstrate a new approach to craft and detail. When we get an ad break, however, people are all too often served generic, cookie-cutter promos that viewers understandably look to mute or skip. Essentially, it is the worst of what we as an industry create.

Given the abundance of talent working in the industry, it’s surprising that the ads surrounding today’s culture-defining shows fall far short. Undoubtedly, those who direct and conceptualize these spots have the ability, talent, and storytelling skills. With streaming now representing over 38% of all TV usage—why the lackluster commercials on streaming platforms?

I’m not looking to start a debate (well, maybe I am!), but the best we collectively have to offer shouldn’t be celebrated by a select few only on the festival circuit. Our most stellar work should delight, entice, and educate in living rooms and bedrooms all year round.

Surely, this is also a debate for the media buyers amongst us, but essentially, audiences are smart, and the quality of what we consume has increased over the past decade (contrary to what David Chase, creator of the greatest show of all time, The Sopranos, has recently said about the decline of episodic content). So, let’s give them the best of what we as an industry have to offer.

Netflix’s optional ad-supported plan, launched in 2022, has amassed 15 million users. Prime Video launched ads this year, and we’ve all read the speculation that even Apple TV+ is now poised to do the same. Safe to say, streamers are increasingly moving towards ad-supported services.

We all know about the Super Bowl effect: the connection between ads and the game transcends inside-industry chat and gets everyone talking about mega-budgets and celebrity brand collabs. But let’s be honest: Are these ads even as great as they once were?

Having been at “industry” Super Bowl parties for the past decade or more, I can assure you it’s not my opinion alone that fewer creative risks have been taken in recent years relying on believed-to-be-proven formulas, often using the same voices who have been directing these spectacle spots for the past decade. Why? Because they seem like the “safe choice.” Many of these ads are good, don’t get me wrong, but are they great?

There’s something we all know: we should be making more great work.

These formulas have become tired and expected, and by using the same directors, the spots generated are frequently obvious and, even worse, predictable. Some get it right; the folks at Highdive come to mind, and my synapses also fire to CeraVe (from Ogilvy and Tim & Eric) and even Tubi out of Mischief.

To go way back, those wonderful Tide ads directed by Traktor and Saatchi & Saatchi are the best semi-recent examples where delight, surprise, craft, cleverness, and inventiveness ruled the day. But I digress. Super Bowl rant aside, we can’t overlook the 529 million viewing minutes achieved by Ted Lasso’s final episode alone. Essentially, the best of what we make should be seen and celebrated on the Super Bowl and streamers alike, but candidly, there’s something we all know: we should be making more great work.

It’s not just streaming viewing figures (quantity) that should be luring brands to strive for creative excellence; it’s also the distinct mindset (quality) of those tuning in. Take Euphoria, a show that’s authentic, raw, and emotive and delivers a viewing experience that resonates at the core. Audiences of shows this good are in a state of heightened emotion, receptive in a way they arguably never have been before.

Epic cinema ads like we used to see would feel very at home on streamers; here are a few other ways to kick-start progress:

Push for greater transparency from streamers: Nielsen has started reporting streaming figures much as it does for linear TV. Additionally, in December, Netflix released a report that shared global hours viewed for nearly its entire library over a six-month period, its most comprehensive breakdown of viewership yet. The writers’ strike has also helped to galvanize change and transparency. Let’s build on this momentum by continuing the push for greater clarity around reporting.

Create narratives: Let’s tap into episodic advertising’s storytelling potential. Consider sequential campaigns that take viewers on an emotional journey they’ll want to invest in.

Don’t go for the safe choice: Invest in pushing the boundaries of creative work; as a rule of thumb, don’t create anything for streamers (or anywhere else) that you wouldn’t be proud to air on linear TV or even during the Super Bowl. Push harder conceptually and take more risks.

Embrace thematic alignment: Some posit that if advertising is high enough quality, it risks disrupting the program itself. Advertisers should rise to this challenge, creating ads so well-made that they enhance the viewing experience. Matching ad themes to the content will tap audiences’ unique emotional state when watching beloved shows.

Brands and beyond: Considering public service announcement films (PSAs), let’s tie them into the content of shows to reach the audiences who need to see them with relevant, targeted, unskippable films. Fentanyl’s rise, for example, is a monstrous and disastrous issue in the US and abroad. A PSA-esque ad for Narcan during Euphoria would save lives.

If we align as an industry to address the mismatch in quality between the majority of ads on streaming platforms and the incredible shows they house, we’ll start a virtuous cycle of more channels, more opportunities, and, in turn, continuously better creative work. We’ll also push back the perceived threats of AI, for example.

In this golden age of TV, it’s time to take cues from the cream of episodic content and create adverts that get people talking, not muting.

Images created by Sibling Rivalry.

As part of one of their most recent studies, Tebra surveyed 1,005 adults about their ability to recall, identify, and draw healthcare brands. In doing so, they also asked a subgroup of 111 respondents to draw six healthcare logos from memory.

What did they find? For starters, Walgreens proved to be the number one most well-known healthcare brand, across genders and generations, with Advil and CVS following close behind. Tylenol was found to be the most identifiable pain reliever among Baby Boomers and Gen X, while Advil was most identifiable among Millennials and Gen Z. Unsurprisingly, women identified menstrual care brands 2x better than men, and skincare brands 2.3x better, with 62% of men surveyed able to identify the Tampax logo.

But what do the findings from Tebra’s study actually mean in the bigger picture? What can designers and brand builders in the healthcare space glean from this survey and put into practice? We asked a member of the Tebra creative team, Rachel Kirsch, a few questions to elaborate on their results.

What are the main takeaways from the results of this survey? What do the results tell us about successful (and unsuccessful) healthcare branding? 

The results of our survey illuminate a pivotal aspect of successful healthcare branding: the power of distinctiveness and familiarity. 

Brands like Walgreens, Advil, and CVS, with their easily identifiable logos, stand as testaments to the effectiveness of branding that cuts across various demographics, proving memorable across genders and generations. On the flip side, the struggle of brands like Bayer and Rite Aid to make their new logos resonate with consumers highlights a crucial pitfall in healthcare branding—changes in branding, especially those that significantly alter the logo’s appearance or color scheme, can dilute brand recognition. 

Successful branding, therefore, hinges not just on visibility, but on creating a durable and distinctive identity that resonates with and remains memorable to the public.

Based on your results, what should designers and brand-builders in the healthcare space try to emulate and inversely, what should they avoid?

Our study offers a clear directive for designers and brand-builders in the healthcare space: prioritize uniqueness and consistency. 

The memorability of Allegra’s purple logo in a sea of blue and green allergy medications, and Pepto Bismol’s standout pink, underscore the value of choosing distinctive colors and designs that set a brand apart from its competitors. Conversely, the survey results suggest a cautionary tale against frequent or radical rebranding efforts, as seen with Bayer and Rite Aid, where respondents clung to the legacy branding. 

This affinity for the familiar emphasizes the importance of consistency in logo design and the risk of alienating consumers through significant branding overhauls.

What’s the most surprising aspect of the survey results?

Perhaps the most surprising revelation from our survey was the broad recognizability of the Tampax logo among men, with 62% able to identify it correctly. This insight challenges conventional marketing wisdom about gender-specific product branding and suggests a wider cultural penetration of brands traditionally marketed towards women. 

Additionally, the significant generational divide in digital healthcare services recognition, with Gen Z far more likely to identify online mental health providers like Calm and BetterHelp, points to a rapidly shifting landscape in healthcare consumption and the increasing importance of digital platforms in providing health services to younger demographics.

In a bold move to capture the essence of the New York City home-buying experience, StreetEasy has partnered with Mother New York to decorate the city streets with Renaissance-style paintings. These visually striking artworks vividly portray the odyssey-like challenge of purchasing a home in the Big Apple.

These ads have become impossible to ignore, as seen on bustling subway cars, iconic yellow taxi toppers, and even a complete takeover of the Broadway-Lafayette station. The campaign has now reached new heights with two hand-painted murals by Colossal Media gracing Wythe & N. 14th St. in Williamsburg and Spring & Lafayette St. in Nolita.

Navigating the real estate market in New York City has always been an adventure, but today, it can feel as elusive as acquiring a masterpiece. Despite the city’s reputation as a haven for renters, StreetEasy’s data reveals a surprising statistic: 1 in 5 New Yorkers are actively browsing homes for sale alongside those searching for rental properties.

As the campaign coincides with the spring home shopping peak, the Renaissance-inspired art style perfectly captures the complex and often dramatic emotions accompanying the search for a place to call home in the city that never sleeps.

“Let The Journey Begin” dramatizes key milestones of the home buyer’s journey in the style of Renaissance art: from deciding whether to renew a lease, searching the five boroughs with an agent at the helm, right up to the moment of getting the keys and becoming your own landlord.

Advertising to New Yorkers is an interesting creative challenge. On one hand, you have a population capable of tuning out almost anything. On the other hand, you have a savvy audience who can appreciate a clever ad that speaks to their experiences, which StreetEasy certainly has a track record of doing. ‘Let The Journey Begin’ touches on a uniquely New York problem and does it in a style that will stand out in the city’s sea of distractions.”

Nedal Ahmed, Executive Creative Director at Mother New York

These murals serve as more than just a visual spectacle; they encapsulate the aspirations, struggles, and triumphs of individuals embarking on the quest for homeownership in one of the world’s most dynamic metropolises. Through their artistry, StreetEasy and Mother New York have not only adorned the streets but have also painted a poignant portrait of the enduring allure and challenges of New York City’s real estate landscape.

Images courtesy of Colossal Media, banner image courtesy of StreetEasy.

Today, the branding industry is in flux. On one hand, the digital era offers brands limitless opportunities to engage with their audiences through social media, content marketing, and personalized experiences. Conversely, a growing distrust of polished corporate messages and a saturated market have given rise to “anti-branding” and “post-branding” movements. These movements favor social good, authenticity, and a focus on product quality over brand image. Patagonia is perhaps the most visible example of this. Adding A.I. to the mix can diminish brand trust if used irresponsibly. For example, brands failing to declare the use of A.I.-generated content will cast doubt on the integrity of all their content, whether or not it is in fact A.I.-generated.

Amidst this backdrop of evolving branding ideologies, many creative professionals are gathering at OFFF Barcelona this week. The International Festival of Creativity, Art, and Digital Design fosters community around contemporary creativity, serving as a trendsetting global hub within design, art, and post-digital culture.

In the spirit of “What’s Next?” I asked five brand leaders whose agencies are represented at OFFF to share their perspective about the state of branding and what the future of the profession might look like. It was intriguing to see the array of viewpoints — the similarities and disparities — regarding the current branding landscape and what brands (and their creators) must consider moving forward. A common thread; true connections with consumers.

The following contributed their thoughts to this story: Veronica Fuerte, Founder & Creative Directress of Hey Studio; James Greenfield, CEO & Founder of Koto Studio; Radim Malinic, Founder & Creative Director at Brand Nu Studio; Max Ottignon, Co-Founder of Ragged Edge; and Surabhi Rathi, Strategy Director at BUCK.

How do you interpret the emergence of the “anti-branding” and “post-branding” trends within the current branding landscape? From your perspective, what specific insights or implications do you believe this trend holds for traditional branding strategies and practices?

Veronica Fuerte: The “anti-branding” and “post-branding” trends signal a move towards authenticity, transparency, and purpose in branding, challenging traditional tactics that focus on saturation and persuasion. Brands now need to deeply embed their values into their identity, engaging in meaningful storytelling and transparent dialogue with their audience. This requires a more nuanced approach, where genuine connections and value alignment become key to standing out.

“Anti branding can work for some, but the key thing for most is that finding the right level of originality is crucial. …Consumers are quick to see through inauthentic attempts to jump on these trends.”

—James Greenfield, CEO & Founder of Koto Studio

James Greenfield: I don’t think either anti or post branding really has much effect on the majority of the brands we see day-to-day. These trends often feel like a seismic shift when they are happening, but in reality, their impact is often overstated. Take the recent example from the start of the 2020s of leading fashion houses seemingly abandoning distinctive logos and embracing a more minimalist aesthetic. It was short lived and we’re already seeing this trend reverse, with Burberry’s recent rebranding demonstrating the continued value of a distinct brand identity. What they really wanted was the freedom to slap a hefty price tag on a T-shirt or a handbag in a flexible way so they could essentially be two brands at one time. 

Anti branding can work for some, but the key thing for most is that finding the right level of originality is crucial. While true originality might be elusive, the desire to push boundaries is essential for brand growth. It’s this very desire to stand out that fuels these “anti-branding” moments, rather than some underlying widespread political branding uprising. It’s also important to remember that anti-branding with a strong political message can only truly resonate with brands that already have a well-defined social or environmental stance.  Consumers are quick to see through inauthentic attempts to jump on these trends. The internet and our access to information means the internet is quick to punish brands it perceives to have wronged, just look at Budweiser sales in the US, so brands have to tread a little carefully and maybe know their customer more than ever? The driver for brands to change is about where and how their customer is more than what they look like when they turn up.

Radim Malinic: Have we reached the peak branding in the last few years? Having a big team to produce world-class work is no longer imperative. You need world-class ambition to produce work that can make international headlines. All you need is a small team and vision with results that align with many brand ‘deja-vu’ identity systems produced by brands much bigger with seemingly endless budgets. Producing shiny logos with animated assets, snazzy illustrations, and mood videos is no longer the stuff of dreams and hefty budgets. Take a team of five and watch the work fly. This makes our collective headway in visual excellence taste somewhat bittersweet. It also has made the branding landscape and its consumers jaded. We have been busy getting better without seeing our work’s side effects happening right before our eyes. Dog food packaging uses the same colour palette and font choices as the latest toothpaste company, bio-oil producing startup, and so on. Most of these brands rely on multi-channel broadcast instead of storytelling, which can result in greater trust and understanding. We’ve also started peeling layers of multinational brands and their campaigns only to realise things are not as we’ve been told all this time. It’s little surprise that we find ourselves in a situation where the old isn’t working anymore, and the new isn’t taking flight. 

Max Ottignon: Don’t sacrifice clarity or relevance for notoriety. Whether ‘anti-branding’ or ‘post-branding’, it’s still branding. A way of standing out and getting noticed in an ever-more competitive, noisy world. Showing up in a way that feels fresh and authentic can be incredibly powerful, particularly when pitched against an outdated, corporate approach. But lasting success still requires discipline and commitment to ensure that you’re building a brand, rather than simply making a statement. 

“Brand-building solely centered on commercial interests is outdated. Brands must reorient their “why” towards positive societal impact beyond just products.“

—Surabhi Rathi, Strategy Director at BUCK

Surabhi Rathi: At the heart of both these movements, lies a rejection of traditional branding as a manipulative tool for consumerism. It reflects deep skepticism towards branding’s roots in exploitative capitalist practices. But, they also serve as a reminder that brands hold immense cultural influence and power to shape societal values. 

And with that, we have a responsibility. 

Brand-building solely centered on commercial interests is outdated. Brands must reorient their “why” towards positive societal impact beyond just products. Clear ethical stances, environmental accountability, aligning with consumer values for the greater good – these are prerequisites, not options. Ultimately, branding should further human values, nurturing collective identities that joyfully unite us.

In essence, these movements advocate for an ethical redefining of branding’s very purpose. Brands must become purpose-driven catalysts for positive change, not vessels of exploitation. This shift is necessary in 2024.

During a time when consumer trust in institutions and corporations is declining, what do you think are necessary methods to adopt for branding agencies to stay relevant in an era where consumers increasingly value authenticity and reject traditional branding tactics?

Veronia Fuerte: To remain relevant as consumer trust wanes, branding agencies might emphasize transparency, authenticity, and direct engagement. This involves helping brands to align their actions with their messages, use user-generated content effectively, and engage in real conversations with their audience. It’s about empowering brands to embrace their uniqueness and connect on a human level.

“Storytelling with purpose is no longer just a nice thing to have. It’s the foundation of the branding landscape now.”

—Radim Malinic, Founder & Creative Director at Brand Nu Studio

Radim Malinic: I’m sure many agencies have been wrestling with ideas for how to help clients identify and communicate their genuine values, mission, and story. Storytelling with purpose is no longer just a nice thing to have. It’s the foundation of the branding landscape now. Move beyond traditional branding narratives and focus on storytelling with purpose. Help clients craft narratives that resonate with consumers on a deeper level by addressing social, environmental, or cultural issues that align with their values.

Max Ottignon: While the tactics may need to evolve, the basic foundations of brand strategy remain the same. At its simplest, our job is to frame products, services and organizations in ways that get them noticed, remembered and, eventually, chosen by a given audience. That means finding a place in the world, and in culture, that feels authentic to that brand and resonant to that audience. And showing up in a way that demonstrates a deep understanding of the community you’re aiming to connect with. Whereas yesterday that might have been a sports sponsorship, today it might be a Twitch activation or Roblox partnership. 

With the rise of social movements, such as conscious consumerism and sustainability advocacy, how do you envision the role of branding evolving to meet the changing expectations and values of consumers? What do you think will be essential for brands to effectively communicate to resonate with their target audience in this landscape?

Veronia Fuerte: As consumer values shift towards conscious consumerism and sustainability, branding must evolve to meet these expectations. This means going beyond selling products to embodying the values of societal change and sustainability. Effective communication and demonstrating a genuine commitment to these values will be crucial for resonating with today’s consumers.

“As consumer values shift towards conscious consumerism and sustainability, branding must evolve to meet these expectations.”

—Veronica Fuerte, Founder & Creative Directress of Hey Studio

James Greenfield: I’m not convinced consumers are giving traditional branding the cold shoulder. Look at the stats: Gen-Zers in the US are splashing their cash on fashion like it’s going out of style. Sure, there’s plenty of talk about sustainability and conscious consumerism, but take a stroll through any mall or supermarket and you’ll see a different story playing out.

Despite the rise of online shopping and influencer culture, the big players are still churning out the same old stuff they have been for decades. Sure, the marketing spiel might have changed, especially on social media, but the products themselves? Not so much. Ask any group of people about their favorite brands and I bet you won’t hear anything groundbreaking.

Now, don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of buzz around products that feel a bit more off the beaten track, but often, it’s just the packaging that’s different. Take Tesla, for example. They’re all about innovation, but when you strip away the hype and the power source, they’re still pretty conservative in their design and branding.

Then there’s Apple. Their marketing might pop up in unexpected places, but there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about an Apple Store. Yet the iPhone is what the younger generation is clamoring for.

With the internet ready to pounce on any brand that steps out of line, companies have to tread carefully and really get to know their customers. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about how a brand looks—it’s about meeting your customers where they are, whether that’s online or in person.

Radim Malinic: Brands must be transparent about their actions and be willing to be held accountable for their impact on people and the planet. Transparency will become a cornerstone of branding in this era. Consumers increasingly demand access to information about a brand’s practices, including its environmental impact, labour conditions, and social responsibility initiatives. New startups and brands often spring up to act as the antidote to the bad practices of the juggernauts of the past. Doing things right is much harder and more costly than old methods. To convince consumers who often feel a blind devotion to legacy brands is often a task of its own. We have our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.

“Don’t fake it. …We’ve probably seen the last of a mayonnaise claiming its purpose is to reduce food waste (Hellmann’s) or a co-working space purporting to ‘elevate the world’s consciousness’ (WeWork).”

—Max Ottignon, Co-Founder of Ragged Edge

Max Ottignon: Don’t fake it. 

After years of brands jumping on inauthentic purpose bandwagons, there’s been a shift towards a more straightforward approach. Perhaps in response to people having to be more careful in their spending, brands have re-focussed on what their customers really want. Not what they’d like them to want. For some, that’s making sustainability a priority. But that focus has to be backed up by action and commitment at a business level. 

I think we’ve probably seen the last of a mayonnaise claiming its purpose is to reduce food waste (Hellmann’s) or a co-working space purporting to ‘elevate the world’s consciousness’ (WeWork). The trick, as always, is in understanding what matters to your customers, and how you’re in a unique position to offer it. But if you’re tempted to fake it, don’t.

Established in 2000, OFFF has become the largest exhibition and meeting point for contemporary visual creativity, uniting the worldwide network of design and creative professionals to foster connections among innovative talents globally in an effort to share insights, collaborate, and unite.

This year, the festival emphasizes nurturing new talent through “The Next Us,” a platform enabling Barcelona’s design students to showcase their work to OFFF’s global audience.

Learn more information about OFFF Barcelona, happening now (April 4 – 6).

Holly Willis is at the helm, bringing her extensive experience that includes pivotal roles at The Escape Pod, FCB, 360i (now Dentsu Creative), and 21st Century Fox. With her deep understanding of the industry’s dynamics and challenges, Willis wants to empower marketers and organizations to craft impactful brands while fostering an inclusive and innovative work environment.

“Magic Camp exists for one group only – the modern marketer,” Willis asserts. The agency’s ethos revolves around prioritizing clients’ needs, offering transparent solutions, and redefining the traditional agency-client relationship model. “Our industry is at an inflection point,” Willis remarks, highlighting the need for a fresh perspective and a departure from outdated practices.

Mandi Bright joins Willis as Chief Creative Officer. Bright brings a wealth of creative insight to Magic Camp and agency chops, which include The Mars Agency, FCB, and Leo Burnett. “Creativity is not just about the work,” Bright emphasizes, “but our approach, processes, and team dynamics.” Magic Camp’s approach to creativity is rooted in strategic agility and a commitment to driving tangible business results for clients.

What sets Magic Camp apart is its dedication to nurturing its team members. Clear growth opportunities and a supportive work culture are integral to Magic Camp’s ethos, enabling its team to thrive and deliver exceptional results. I asked Holly and Mandi about their plans to shake up the advertising culture through Magic Camp.

(This interview has been condensed for length and clarity).

Your new agency name is particularly intriguing; what’s the story behind Magic Camp?

We set out to build a brand around an idea, not around specific people. We wanted the name to encapsulate the ideal, aspirational environment we’re trying to cultivate. Each member of our team and every partner should be able to consistently contribute to defining this environment. Our vision, mission, and values revolve around continual positive improvement and evolution of our work, team members, and operational systems.

Magic Camp embodies this ethos.

“Camp” holds a special place in many people’s hearts – it’s often where children first experience the freedom to explore their imaginations without constraints. At camp, you’re encouraged to learn, embrace bravery, embark on adventures, and have fun. By the end of camp, you’ve made friends, built new skills, and found confidence that positively impacts the rest of your life.

But crucially, at camp, you always do this as a community. We aspire to foster this sense of community, where each member, including our clients, contributes to creating moments of magic. However, you can only experience magic if you believe it exists and you know to look for it.

Given Magic Camp’s emphasis on creativity as a growth accelerator, how do you ensure that your agency’s processes and approaches foster diversity and inclusion within the broader advertising ecosystem?

Fostering inclusion is a critical component of why we started the agency in the first place—we built it into our vision and mission statement. We don’t want diversity and inclusion to be performative, which, unfortunately, has become so pervasive in our industry, particularly in the last few years. Our environment and our operations must be inclusive by design.

To do that, we spent a lot of time researching the systemic issues that make inclusion challenging, nearly impossible, in the traditional agency model. Building our model, we started our operations from scratch and looked at nearly every process with fresh eyes and thinking. Then, we met with inclusion experts throughout our development process to hold us accountable.

We’re small and just getting started, and we recognize that it gives us the benefit of starting over instead of fixing a decades-old issue and navigating a complicated infrastructure. We truly believe that diverse perspectives and experiences lead to better outcomes. So, we must prioritize those perspectives by recruiting differently, elevating diverse employees and partners, and continuing to work with inclusion experts.

With your extensive experience in the industry, how do you actively address and combat entrenched gender biases and stereotypes within Magic Camp and in your interactions with clients?

Inclusion is one of the most important components of our business. It impacts every part of our operational model, which looks radically different from the typical agency. Also, we’re two women who have seen first-hand how the current system puts incredible pressure on marginalized groups to fit into a system that wasn’t designed for them. Many talented people have to leave the system when they go through a significant life change. And this disproportionately impacts minorities and women. Unfortunately, this industry is no longer a business that is known for being able to build a lifelong career AND a rich personal life.

It took a lot of homework and creative problem-solving to create a different model that gives folks the ability to lean in when they’re in career-growth mode but doesn’t penalize you when you want and need more balance. We staff our teams entirely differently and encourage individual-contributor roles instead of forcing management to be the only way you can “move up.” We offer a four-day work week, remote work, sabbaticals for all employees, two weeks of paid vacation before you start, and fully covered insurance. We’re also looking into how we can pay for access to financial experts to help our team members build personal wealth. If we ask our team members to show up consistently at an elite level, we also need to give them the ability to properly rest and recover without sacrificing why they’re working hard in the first place. We recognize that we’ve hired people for a job; it’s not our business to dictate how they live the rest of their lives.

As we build more resources, we plan to invest them back into the growth and success of our whole team instead of only building wealth for the founders or leadership.

If a prospective client, partner, or team member doesn’t believe in these values and how they can successfully impact their own businesses and lives, we’re not a good fit for them. Our model isn’t for everyone, and we’re okay with that.

Given Magic Camp’s focus on redefining the traditional agency-client relationship, how do you believe your approach differs from the conventional agency model?

We started by acknowledging how hard the role of the modern marketer is. A good portion of the advertising industry doesn’t do that, and most relationships begin with unspoken and unacknowledged tension. Instead, we take the same approach as we do to differentiate our clients’ businesses: know why you exist, embrace what makes you different, and take a consumer-first approach. We exist for our clients, the modern marketer, whose role is arguably the most complex within organizations. They want to make a big impact but work in a challenging, ever-changing environment. They must consistently deliver top-line growth to keep their job, let alone “succeed.” We looked at every component of our business through the lens of this client, giving us a lot of clarity. On the surface, the client may be buying the same deliverable, but the process will be vastly different for everyone involved. The ultimate goal is eliminating friction and consistently using creativity as a business multiplier. With that approach, we realized that common internal agency issues and client-agency problems would no longer be significant pain points.

Their success is the reason we exist. So, we designed our processes, deliverables, and communication systems with that in mind. We invite collaboration and share responsibility for decision-making (both good and bad). We sell deliverables, not FTEs and hours. We welcome feedback and have formalized it in our operations so that we can invest and innovate from those data points. Creating connections and building trust is at the forefront of everything we do.

Why did you decide to build Magic Camp from scratch despite your successful careers in established agencies?

Holly Willis: I’m a disruptor at heart, which has made me both an incredible and terrible account person. I’ve always valued creativity – my mom is an artist, my dad is an engineer, and I trained to be an opera singer. But I also love business and am good at math, so I understood that to “move up” in account management, you must be efficient and deliver profit. I was always working to find that balance while still getting great results for our clients. I struggled to find that consistent opportunity in advertising without burning out. But I’ve also continued to love so much of what this industry promises – the ability to positively impact culture and be a part of something that has a lasting impact. And I love so many of the people in this industry.

Then, I had a unique opportunity to rethink the model and design an agency that prioritized people and positive impact. I also had to reevaluate myself and the legacy I wanted to leave behind. Through personal growth and honest reflection, I realized how I benefited from and contributed to perpetuating that model.

Finding someone who shared those same values and passion for the industry was critical when looking for a founding partner. Someone who cares about the group’s success and that people love to work for and with. Someone who builds trust but isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo and me so that we hold each other accountable to the bigger vision and not our egos. And that’s Mandi.

As Magic Camp unfurls its banner, it signals a bright step towards redefining the landscape of advertising agencies.

Portrait photography by Steven Piper. Logo design by Enlisted Design.

I’ve profiled a handful of agencies here at PRINT that are actively combating this agency stereotype, including Six Cinquième in Montreal and Rev Pop in Milwaukee. Another refreshing take came to my attention: an agency in Austin, Texas, that wears the additional mantel of creative community facilitator—introducing Preacher.

Founded by partners Rob Baird (Chief Creative Officer), Seth Gaffney (Chief Strategy Officer), and Krystle Loyland (Chief Executive Officer) in 2014, Preacher emerged around the pillar of “soul”—making more soulful decisions, finding more soul in their work. AdAge named Preacher the Small Agency of the Year in 2019, 2020, and 2022, and maintaining this boutique agency’s size and energy is central to the partners’ mission. 

At the end of last year, I had the opportunity to chat with Preacher CCO Rob Baird. We had a lively conversation about Austin’s creative exuberance, hybrid office spaces, and what growth looks like for a small agency.

(Interview edited for clarity and length.)

How has being based in Austin affected Preacher’s ethos and work?

There are three founding partners of Preacher, and we always say that Austin’s the fourth partner— it was somewhat intentional. Two of us are from Texas, me being one of them.

We all met working at Mother in New York. I think people often start agencies because they’re frustrated or there’s some sort of gap they see, but honestly, we were really happy. We were working on global brands and loved our life in New York, but the idea came through some projects happening in Austin. We kept watching the change and the growth, and we started to feel like, Man, if we were to do anything different, it would just be having our own place to get to make all the calls and decisions. Even if we made the wrong decisions, at least they would be our decisions. 

So we dreamed and schemed for a year and a half. The more we thought about it, the more we felt like Austin was the move. It’s always been kind of mine and Krystle’s spiritual home, and now Seth also loves it as well. We started Preacher in 2014 when life in New York began to feel like we were in a little bit of a bubble; it’s kind of its own thing in New York. And the more we spent time coming to Austin, we were like, Wow, there’s a genuine, generous kind of creator-maker-DIY culture here. It’s still going on despite all the changes in the tech industry; Austin still has this vibe of generosity and camaraderie, like, Let’s make amazing shit together. 

It turned out to be the best decision because it shaped the work and the agency’s makeup. Also, the location influenced how we operate with our clients; this is a big-time hospitality town with food and drink, and we’ve adopted that. The entire downstairs of our office is more like a cafe-store-art-gallery-hotel than an office. Being in Austin has changed our approach to everything.

What is it like operating as a “small” agency? There are a lot of connotations around big agency culture and the grind that comes with it. How is Preacher doing things differently? 

We’re a good size; we can work on global clients, big projects, or smaller brands within huge corporations. But I think we’re also pretty nimble, and our size lets us still design album covers, make music videos, and do stuff that is harder to do if you’re a giant. It’s a nice sweet spot. We never had a number dream, but I think the team has been around 65 or 70 for a few years now, and it feels good.

I’ve always been interested in what “growth” means for an agency like yours. Because in agency land, bigger is by no means better, and getting larger shouldn’t necessarily be the goal. Preacher has found other and more interesting ways to keep growing outside of size. 

That’s how we’ve been thinking about growth, actually. We started doing this free art and literary zine called “The Good Word,” we built a recording studio in our new office just because we were working on so much music packaging. You don’t make much money doing it, but it’s a lot of soul and pride for the designers and the crew that works on them. 

In the same way, our art gallery gives 70% to the artists very intentionally. The gallery doesn’t make much money; its purpose is to let the artists make more and, hopefully, give back to the community. The recording studio has the same model. In Austin, musicians struggle for the money and the space to get their music going, so we built one as part of our new office. Hopefully, in 2024, we’ll have our first artist record their album there. In the short term, it’s enabled us to do more projects with a music angle, which has been cool. 

So for us, that’s the more exciting growth. We make a lot of merch for the Preacher brand, just for ourselves, but now, fashion companies are approaching us for collaborations. So, that’s the growth: intentionally pushing into things and seeing if some of it sticks. 

Because there’s such a massive creative community here, it’s been cool to play a little bit of a connector role for ourselves and others.

How does it feel to be the epicenter and facilitator of all of this creative energy?

We used to laugh at the fact that, for a while, people in Austin just thought we were an art gallery; they didn’t realize what we do. 

Because there’s such a massive creative community here, it’s been cool to play a little bit of a connector role for ourselves and others. We showcase illustrators, designers, and artists in “The Good Word.” Then, when we have our huge South By [SXSW] blowout party, people from Portland, London, San Francisco, and wherever are here take a copy, and suddenly, those creatives are getting hired to work on Nike jobs. Or a photographer friend who showed in the gallery gets an A-list photo rep. Or a few people come together in the space, and the opportunity presents for an amazing local photographer to do a photoshoot. It’s been really fun to see that kind of energy. We’re not doing it with any hope that it comes back to us, other than it feels fun to be in the middle of all that. We thrive off of it. 

We’re trying to encourage people not to feel like they have to make such a hard line between their work stuff and their side hustle…. Don’t be afraid to cross-pollinate a little bit.

By definition, agencies inherently bring together a wealth of creative people, so it’s great to see you all leaning into that with these offerings. How does that mentality extend to your employees?

We’re trying to encourage people not to feel like they have to make such a hard line between their work stuff and their side hustle— This is my work, and this is my creative passion. Bring your creative passion into your work! If you’re a fantastic photographer but your role is strategist, bring photography into your strategy work to tell the stories. Or, if, in addition to being a killer copywriter, you’re really into short-form fiction, let’s create a literary festival or a writing symposium, or let’s put together a compendium like McSweeney’s. 

There’s a lot you can do if you can get people excited. Don’t be afraid to cross-pollinate a little bit. We’ve tried to set the space up where people can use it to make the most of their talent and time as long as they’re here.

Having a physical office space is central to Preacher, not only for how you tackle your client work but also for hosting events and being this creative hub. How have you gone about preserving that in the context of the work-from-home culture boom we’ve seen develop in the COVID era? 

We like the flexibility of the combo. So we’re back in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and then on Monday and Friday, we all work from home. The three partners believe that, overall, we work better together in person. There’s a more creative, collaborative thing happening.

Of course, we all proved how much we could get done during COVID, but if I’m being honest, I don’t enjoy the work-from-home days better. I like having that flexibility, and it’s great for our staff, but some of those work-from-home days end up being the ones where I’m just grinding from meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting for 10 hours straight.

In the office, it feels alive! It’s outside, it’s inside, it’s in groups. Sometimes, things that take a half hour on Zoom can be done in nine minutes if you drop by somebody’s desk. You get back to printing things out and marking them up or watching a cut together— it’s so much more of a tactile, alive, creative experience.

Images courtesy of Preacher.

Well, they are.

Liquid Death is a beverage company with a brand built around playing with levels of parody and satire. Hyper-self-aware, Liquid Death takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to all aspects of their branding, thumbing their nose at typical marketing strategies, campaigns, brand systems, and packaging. From the tone of their copywriting (see the “MURDER YOUR THIRST” tagline), to their provocative social media posts, Liquid Death continues to put on a masterclass in creating an authentically compelling brand consumers can’t look away from.

I put myself in that category of captivated consumer, and reached out to the wild minds over at Liquid Death to learn a bit more about what in God’s name they’re up to over there. Their VP of Creative, Andy Pearson, was gracious enough to answer a few of my questions below.

Where does your brand voice come from? How did you go about developing this cheeky, nose-thumbing POV?

Liquid Death is really the product of everything that we’ve ingested over the years, thrown in a paper bag, mixed up, and then shaken out— skate videos, metal shows, Mad Magazine, George Carlin standup, shitty TV ads, Jackass, design annuals, SNL, Adult Swim. If you look at the kind of stuff we make, it’s always a satirical take on the world around us, particularly the world of marketing. And we’re trying to mix high-brow, thought-provoking ideas with low-brow humor. It appeals to all parts of your brain, which is what the best humor and entertainment in the world does.

How did the concept for Liquid Death originate?

Our co-founder and CEO [Mike Cessario] was an advertising creative himself, so he saw how everything was marketed from the inside. He had a realization that all the brands that were good for you had boring, stale marketing that only talked to the same group of people. But brands that were bad for you— like beer, soda, candy— were insanely fun and sucked people in. So the idea became, What if we could take something good for you but act like it wasn’t? Then we could make it so fun and compelling, it might actually outdo all the bad-for-you brands. No one had ever thought about it that way. 

Why do you think the masses have responded so favorably to this brand voice/Liquid Death?

Because there’s never quite been a brand like Liquid Death before. 

We’re willing to put ideas and content out into the world that no brand would dream of. I sometimes like to think of it as one of those crazy SNL commercials… but it actually came to life and you can really buy it. It seems almost too insane to be real, but it is. Obviously we sell amazing water, iced tea, and merch, but at the end of the day, we’re really selling entertainment. 

The world is so serious. It’s nice to bring people from somewhere they least expected it: a random beverage company. And on top of that, we’re using that entertainment to help people feel better about making healthier and more sustainable choices for themselves, their families, and the planet. No matter who you are, that’s something we all want.

What is your biggest pet peeve or hang up when it comes to typical marketing strategies?  

Marketers and advertisers think the world needs more marketing and advertising. I spent 13 years working at ad agencies. I had a great time, but everyone is a) in their own bubble and b) does everything the same way it’s always been done. Very few people stop to question if there’s a better way to do things. That’s the whole idea behind Liquid Death: There’s a better way to do everything if you just stop for a minute and think about it. Water in plastic bottles? That’s all from the marketing strategy to sell bottled water based on purity. No one stopped to question it for decades, and think about the countless billions of tons of plastic waste that has been created as a result. Too many smart, funny people are using their skills on things that aren’t helping the world get better.

How do you keep pushing the envelope of absurdity as a brand? 

Just like any entertainer, the more stuff we put out in the world, the more we understand what works. A standup comedian tests material on stage. TV shows generally find their footing in subsequent seasons. For us, we just keep trying to put more genuinely hilarious stuff out in the world, and it gives us more ideas about what we want to do next. We have a queue of so many things we want to make. We just wish we had more time to make them all.

Mark this down on your calendars: The Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) has a post-Valentine’s Day gift for all of us who love Italian art and design: From Depero to Rotella: Italian Commercial Posters Between Advertising and Art (Feb. 16–June 10). What made Italian design so compelling during the interwar years is the cross-pollination between avant-garde and commercial art, the period during the country’s economic boom.  

Spanning 1926 (when Fortunato Depero exhibited the Venice Biennale a “quadro pubblicitario,” Squisito al selz) and 1957 (the year in which the television advertising show Carosello aired on Italy’s national TV network RAI), the exhibition illustrates how the design of Italian commercial artists was linked to the artistic currents of the times.

Italian graphic design developed in a progressive direction, influenced in part by painters/designers aligned with Futurism and pushing the boundaries of lithographic techniques, photomontage and typography.

Among the rarities are 30 posters from major Italian institutions and corporate collections, as well as a few select private collections in the United States. Designers exhibited include Erberto Carboni, Depero, Nikolai Diulgheroff, Lucio Fontana, Max Huber, Bruno Munari, Marcello Nizzoli, Bob Noorda, Giovanni Pintori, Xanti Schawinsky, Mario Sironi and Albe Steiner, promoting design-centric companies that were important to the industrial boom, including Barilla, Campari, Olivetti, Fiat and Pirelli. The exhibition also includes art by Mimmo Rotella, whose collages and retro d’affiches employ fragments of the commercial. 

Thompson started his creative career at Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago, in 1968, as an art director trainee, a few months after Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered in Memphis. He spent the next 50+ years creating advertising, art, books and more.

Channels Changers is almost finished, but needs GoFundMe support to complete post-production. Here, Thompson tells us more about the project.

Is Channels Changers the first film to cover this subject matter?
I think so. I actually planned it as a book, but then I met Cotton Stevenson on Facebook. He’s a “white” retired adman who worked in some of the same agencies I did in Chicago about 10 years after I’d been there, so we’d never met. He retired, moved to San Jose, went back to school and earned a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking. He’d been watching my … er … exploits on Facebook, and when I put up some things about my memoirs, Mad Invisible Man, he called and suggested we make it a film.

Why has this been such a well-kept secret?
Vance Packard called ad folks “the hidden persuaders.” AfAm ad folks are the most hidden hidden persuaders. We’re even hidden from other hidden persuaders … unless they happened to bump into us in one of the few agencies that hired us. But to actually answer your question, I think although ads and commercials are rampant, the ad industry as a subject is inherently secret. It’s kinda like what they say about making sausage. People just want to eat the sausage, not watch it being made. Ads are even worse. People don’t go out of their way to “eat” ads. They only like some of them, at best. They don’t want to think about them, period!

About 10 years ago, Art & Copy, a documentary about some of the top ad creative people, came out. I think it was very good, but I don’t think many people saw it. The only movie I know of that was ever made about this subject was Putney Swope. It was a feature film satire directed by Robert Downey Sr. [about a white-run ad agency that by mistake elects a Black president]. I suspect part of the reasons no one has done what we’re doing is that in New York, African Americans in advertising were even more invisible than Ellison’s Invisible Man. Although AfAm Chicagoans have historically been lesser in numbers than in New York, we have almost always been a bigger portion of the whole population. That fact gave us more political, economic and cultural clout in our city.

I want to make sure we make this point in Channels Changers. The Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s was made famous because it happened in the city where American media was based. But the real renaissance had already been happening in music since Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver and then Louis Armstrong came up from New Orleans and made the roaring ’20s roar in Al Capone’s Jazz joints on the South Side of Chicago.

The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters? Born on Chicago’s South Side in the mid-’20s. Abe Saperstein dubbed what was then the Savoy Big Five (Wendell Phillips High School students who played out of the Savoy Ballroom), “The Harlem Globetrotters.” Why? Because New York white elites and media people were going up to Harlem to slum and had made Harlem synonymous with “Black America.”

What is it about Chicago that provided opportunities that did not seem available on Madison Avenue?
Even though the Black population has dropped precipitously in Chicago (it was about 40% when Harold Washington was elected mayor in 1983) in the last decade, we still make up a little under 30%. New York’s Black population gradually moved up to 25%. I think Black Chicago also had a more cohesive culture because they came overwhelmingly from Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama. Many more in New York weren’t even born in the USA, being from the Caribbean, Haiti, Cuba, South America and many countries in Africa. That’s why the most powerful Black media names came out of Chicago: Ida B. Wells, The Chicago Defender, Johnson Publishing (which published Ebony and Jet). We’ll show how that media savvy and success led to the first successful Black-owned ad agencies.

Was there a ghettoization of Black creative directors in the industry? Did your colleagues mostly work on products aimed at Black people?
Oh, that’s an easy one. No. I didn’t work at a Black-owned agency or on a “Blacks-only” account until my last days working full time. I ended my full-time career at Burrell, as VP, associate creative director. Tom Burrell was the only person in the creative department above me. Before that I’d worked at Foote, Cone & Belding, McCAnn-Erickson, Young & Rubicam, Needham, Harper & Steers, J. Walter Thompson and Leo Burnett, never on Black accounts.

Your film also brings to light talented Black women.
Yes. I started in the business about the same time as Carol Williams, who now owns what she says is the largest independent-owned Black ad agency in the world. But there was also Barbara Proctor, who started her own agency in the early ’70s. And there were a good number of AfAm writers and some art directors like Alma Hopkins, Emma Young and others I worked with. But in New York there was Caroline Jones, who started as a secretary at a big white agency and went on to found more than one agency. The reason is the same as AfAm men.

Where did the creative workforce come from? Did it have anything to do with Chicago’s music heritage?
In my case it just came in off the street. The music heritage had more influence as suppliers, not workers in the agencies, although Barbara Proctor did work in the music business as a promoter and PR person before she got into advertising. She is said to have helped bring the Beatles to the U.S. when she worked at an AfAm-owned record company, VeeJay.

Did you learn to be an ad man in school or by working?
I tell folks I went to kindergarten at FCB and got my Ph.D. from JWT. I didn’t have a clue about advertising until I was smack-dab in the middle of it. That’s why I attribute my career to Dr. M.L. King and the Civl Rights Movement. But I would guess that most creative people of any color in the business in my day never planned to create ads and commercials for a living. They seemed to be would-be journalists, novelists, artists, actors, etc.

There are some iconic ads that sprang from Chicago. Was there much cross-pollination between there and New York?
Man, am I glad you asked that question. One of the people I’ve been trying to catch up with to interview for Channels Changers is Joey Randall. He’s a native New Yorker who came to Chi-Town in the mid ’70s, I think. He told me he actually came to Chicago because he had an idea for a Coke commercial that featured a bunch of guys doo-wopping. It became the iconic “StreetSong” spot for Coke the put Burrell on the TV advertising map. James Glover had worked at Y&R New York before he came to Needham, Harper & Steers and did the “Morning Glory” spot for McDonald’s breakfast. Harry “the legend” Webber came to Chicago for a few minutes. I ended up taking his office at Leo Burnett. Shirley Riley, who did a series of Clio award-winning spots for AT&T, came to Chicago but did not have a good time.

How far along are you with the film? Are they other “heroes” of the industry yet to be documented?
We actually have almost all of the interviews done. Cotton is about to get on a plane to Florida this weekend to go to interview Tom Burrell and Ray Lyle (who was an art director/producer on the Uncola campaign). We’re planning to start editing next month. There are plenty of heroes and sheroes, and not just in Chicago. Byron Lewis, who started UniWorld, is still kickin’. There are some folks on the West Coast who have done some great stuff.

Graphic design was long a second cousin to advertising. Was it that way in Chicago?
Yes, as far as I know, graphic designers lived on a whole other planet. It takes a strange mentality to be an ad person, and graphic designers generally don’t make great ad folks. Neither do novelists or journalists.

What do you want the audience to take away from this film that has been lost and now found? Ha! That the whole multicolored mix of media, advertising and entertainment we live with today started—more than any other place on the planet—in Chicago.

In the spirit of the season, we invite you to give yourself over to these feelings of sentimentality, and unwrap our roundup of the best holiday commercials ever—even if they all come from the grubby hands of giant corporations. Despite being advertisements for products like André Champagne and Yellow Pages, these commercials still have the power to elicit senses of warmth and joy that are central to holiday cheer, transporting us back to our younger selves gathered around a television set with our families, as snow floats down outside our living room windows.

“We Wish You A Merry Christmas” Hershey Kiss Commercial – 1989

The simplicity of this Hershey’s commercial is what makes it an all-time great that still runs to this day, three decades after it first aired. The beloved “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” song choice coupled with the humanity expressed by the relieved Kiss after nailing its final note, propels this holiday commercial into timeless classic territory.

Heineken Holiday Five-Pack Commercial – 2003

Here’s another that leans into simplicity, using a common holiday scenario of wrapping an oddly-shaped gift. Once again, a classic Christmas song, “Jingle Bells,” is relied upon to set the tone as the soundtrack, while a generic-looking man who could be almost anyone’s deadbeat uncle fumbles around with tape and wrapping paper to wrap a five-pack of Heineken. There’s no need for dialogue or storytelling gimmicks here to get the point across, as the man is so overcome by his need for a Heineken after wrapping the gift, that he removes one from the package and then proudly covers the hole left behind with a dinky bow. It’s funny, charming, and concise.

M&M’s “They Do Exist!” Commercial – 1996

M&Ms brilliantly positions their anthropomorphized M&M mascots alongside one of the most famous imaginary figures of all time in this holiday favorite. It’s short, sweet, and establishes the red and yellow M&M as critical characters in our cultural lexicon. This commercial was such a hit, that M&Ms followed up with a sequel over 20 years later in 2017, that reveals the aftermath of Santa fainting in the original.

Norelco “Noëlco” Razors Commercial – 1976

The image of an animated Santa Clause sledding through snowy hills on a Norelco razor is indelibly imprinted in the minds of anyone who watched TV in the ’70s. The punny holiday rebrand from Norelco to “Noëlco” in the final title card of the ad is the whipped cream on the cup of hot chocolate.

Corona “Oh, Christmas Tree” Commercial – 1990

Did we mention that simplicity resonates with audiences? Corona has long presented tropical locales in their marketing, but that can be at odds with typical wintery images of the holidays. Corona played up that dichotomy in this iconic ’90s commercial, portraying an idyllic Caribbean night-time scene accompanied by the disembodied whistling of “Oh, Christmas Tree” that foretells Christmas lights illuminating on one of the silhouetted palm trees. It’s tender, it’s mild, and it’s a damn fine commercial.

“Take André Home for the Holidays” Commercial – 1973

André is objectively one of the ickiest champagnes on the market, but this ad from 1973 did its best to prove otherwise. Sure, it’s pretty goofy when viewed with our 2022 goggles on, but the chimes of cheers-ing champagne glasses clinking in time with “Carol of the Bells” in the background is seared into our cultural holiday soundtrack indefinitely.

Campbell’s Soup Snow Man Commercial – 1993 

While a simple scenario is all a brand needs for an effective holiday commercial, many opt instead for high-concept stories that almost feel like short films instead of ads. This Campbell’s soup commercial is squarely in that camp, depicting a snow man at a dining room table eating a bowl of Campbell’s, and then melting down to reveal a human child. It’s as silly as it is bizarre, but it’s certainly unforgettable, which is the mark of any successful ad.

“Season’s Greetings from Budweiser” Clydesdale Commercial – 1987

Budweiser has done a superlative job in brand recognition by establishing Clydesdales as a key signifier of their product. This holiday commercial from the late ’80s played no small role in this achievement, presenting a romantic compilation of Clydesdales tromping through the snow— headed to Grandma’s house, no doubt!

Yellow Pages Mistletoe Commercial – 1992

This old school Yellow Pages ad spot feels like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. Much like the Heineken Holiday Five-Pack commercial, this commercial concept doesn’t require any dialogue, with the actions of the little boy and girl speaking for themselves. The cheeky narrator piping in at the end is all it takes to put a bow on the ad, with a winking, “Good old Yellow Pages.”

Coca Cola Polar Bears Christmas Party Commercial – 2005

We would be remiss to not include a single Coca Cola polar bear commercial on this list, considering their legacy and stature within holiday advertisement lore. While Coke had used polar bears in their print marketing since 1922, they aired their first polar bear TV commercial in 1993. Titled “Northern Lights,” it featured what was state-of-the-art animation at the time, with computer renderings of polar bears watching the aurora borealis as they guzzle bottles of Coke.

Since this first polar bear ad, Coke has gone all in on making these animated animals the core of their holiday campaigns. This “Christmas Party” polar bear commercial from 2005 is a particularly successful segment in the series, featuring the Beach Boys’ poppy “Little Saint Nick,” and the heartwarming interaction of a baby polar bear and baby penguin sharing a festive coke with one another.

In 1930 advertisements were ubiquitous in Europe to help regenerate economies that were hit hard by the Great Depression. Pécsi bucked European tastes and resistance to his manner of design. In the United States, however, “uncolored photographs” were favored and developed into a movement—a school of advertisements and posters that spread throughout the industry. Pécsi was among a tenacious and growing breed of modern designers.

In Europe, photo ads eventually caught on. In 1989, an exhibition of “Photographische Reklame” featuring Pécsi’s prototypes was mounted sequentially in Basel, Suttgaart, Paris and Vienna. The featured images from the show and catalog are reproduced below.

Pécsi, who died on Oct. 9, 1956, in Budapest, while living under autocratic puppet Soviet rule, was highly regarded but little-known even in Europe until a decade after his passing, when his work was displayed at the exhibition “125 Years of Hungarian Photography.” The show relaunched his legacy. Still, he continues to be lesser-known than many of the “New Typography” or “TypoPhoto” exemplars of his day (including the Berlin women-owned advertising practice of Ringl+Pit).

A rare reprint of an original 1930 monograph, J.Pécsi: Photo und Publizität, provides welcome documentation of Pécsi’s contribution to modern graphic and photographic design.

More on Pécsi’s life can be found here and here; for his poster work, click here.

Raising awareness and changing perceptions

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is well-known as one of the staples of Italian cuisine. What most Americans don’t realize is that this cheese has been proudly made in the same region of Italy for almost 1,000 years using virtually the same processes and ingredients that were used centuries ago, when it was first made. “According to our research, a vast number of American consumers confuse Parmigiano Reggiano with parmesan cheeses not made in Italy,” said Alfredo Muccino of Solid Branding, the agency tasked with expanding awareness of Parmigiano Reggiano in the US. “This is a major challenge for the brand. We started this competition to educate consumers about how and why Parmigiano Reggiano is different and unique.”

Why a Design Competition?

According to Muccino, “A cheese that sponsors a design competition may seem strange, but that is precisely the point we’re trying to make. Parmigiano Reggiano is not just any cheese— it is a true masterpiece of Italian culture.” Of course, Italy is known for many things: the natural beauty of its landscapes, amazing food, sexy cars, fashion, and much more. Design is definitely part of that equation.

This year, the competition brief invited designers to submit products that took into account three of Parmigiano Reggiano’s important differentiators:

• Commitment to biodiversity
• Strict aging requirements
• Zero waste principles

The themes for the competition were inspired by the guidelines that contribute to the cheese’s distinctive flavor and texture (besides the fact that it must be made in Italy, according to very strict rules). The submissions included products used to cook and enrich a meal, and the entries ranged from graters and cutting boards to tables, chairs, and lamps.

The Best of Show Winner celebrates the idea of Zero Waste

The competition yielded a total of 12 Winners, including Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards. The Best of Show award went to John “Jack” Elliott, the Director of Graduate Studies and Associate Professor of Human Centered Design at the College of Human Ecology, Cornell University in New York. He won for his Matassa lamp, which was inspired by the long, thin, tangled look of a ball of tagliolini pasta. Elliott describes Matassa as “a sculptural light fixture that offers a softly diffused lighting source by which to enjoy a perfectly cooked pasta, made more savory with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.”

Beyond the nice aesthetic quality of the lamp, its sustainability is what makes it truly unique— Elliott used the fabrication waste from one part of the product as a component in the same product. More specifically, he repurposed the scraps from machining the aluminum ceiling holder as the lamp diffuser, resulting in zero waste. The aluminum stock also comes from 100% post-consumer content, and the bulb is a full spectrum LED, in keeping with the focus on environmental responsibility. As an added bonus, the product components that cannot be reused can be recycled at its end-of-life.

The idea of biodiversity was expanded into diversity and inclusivity

In addition to examining the idea of zero waste, submission accounted for the notion of diversity in a variety of ways. A couple of awards went to entries that make it easier for those with visual impairments to participate in the joys of cooking and sharing meals with family and friends. Chinese-Dutch designer Boey Wang created one such example called “Haptics of Cooking,” a set of products that include a cutting board, a touch-safe lid, a short knife, and a tactile measuring cup. Haptics, of course, is the science and technology of transmitting and understanding information through touch, and Wang designed his tools to guide visually impaired people through the cooking process by leveraging response mechanisms triggered by tactile cues. This solution offers an inventive approach to enhance the independence of people in the visually impaired community.

One entry used ease of repair to leverage the concept of aging

Designer and University of Chicago professor Rotimi Solola won an award for HUB, a modular, multi-purpose appliance with an elegantly integrated design. “I wanted to create a solution that would reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing appliances that serve only one purpose,” Solola said. “Additionally, HUB is designed to be extremly easy to diagnose and service which empowers consumers to fix the product if something goes wrong as opposed to throwing it away, therefore extending the longevity of the product and reducing waste.

COVID-19 hit the creative community particularly hard, and it remains one of the sectors most at risk from the crisis. A year into the pandemic, a report from Otis College of Art and Design reported a loss of 175,000 jobs in California alone while in New York employment in the creative fields fell by 66%.

On the surface, such bleak prospects do not bode well for students and emerging creatives, who have also experienced unparalleled upheaval in their schooling. But on a more positive note, these circumstances have provided new opportunities to nurture emerging design talent, which may well reap positive, long-term changes.

I’ve been seeing this firsthand in my role as a Dean at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and as President of D&AD, a non-profit education organization and awards program for advertising and design that bridges the gap between education and industry.

For example, last year D&AD partnered with Google to expand D&AD Shift, a free industry-led night school for new creatives facing barriers to accessing higher education and employment. Originally founded in London, D&AD Shift with Google moved onto New York and is now expanding to three additional cities, including Sydney. More than 67% of graduates have gone on to work for leading creative companies such as Droga5, The Mill, McCann, and Design Bridge. These promising results made it possible to establish a digital campus and enhance the reach and accessibility of the program.

While the accessibility and quality of online education has been one of the pandemic’s biggest challenges, it has the potential to be one of its most positive legacies. Through their remarkable adaptation to online learning, students at Central Saint Martins have developed a unique set of transferable skills that we believe will have real value in commercial settings. In digital spaces, they are learning new ways to connect, elevate, and amplify their ideas.

The wider creative community is also seeing opportunities to do things differently in the wake of the pandemic. This includes leading agencies and brands, who are adapting their approaches to support and nurture young design talent.

Alasdair Lennox is Group Executive Creative Director of Experience, Americas, at Landor and Fitch, one of the agencies that leads workshops at D&AD Shift. For him, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of supporting creatives without formal design education.

“Greater diversity equals more creativity, but we need to actually create those opportunities for people,” said Lennox. He also acknowledged that the pandemic has provided an unexpected benefit in the form of more diverse design talent.

“San Francisco, where I am based, is an amazing creative hub, but it is too expensive for many people to live in,” he continued. “Three years ago, we would have hired people in a commutable distance. But now we can hire talented people from much further away. It has become a real leveler.”

Remote working has also encouraged creative agencies to enhance their support systems for interns, as well as graduates and dropouts transitioning into real jobs.

“The experience of work for interns can feel very transactional at the moment,” said Jess Marie, Creative Director at Design Bridge, New York. “They’re briefed, sent away, and then have to present that work back on digital platforms like Teams, which can feel very formal. We are making much more of an effort to teach them step-by-step processes, and have introduced an internal mentoring program, which we will keep in place for in-person settings as well.”

D&AD Shift recognizes the importance of Marie’s point, and we recognize that not all opportunities will arise immediately following the 4-month night school. To address this, we have recently created Shift Select, an additional month of on-the-job learning. In this program, Shifters can specialize in a pathway of advertising, design, or production and learn with our agency partners. We’ve also introduced Shift Studio, an industry-led learning experience that will enable the Shift alumni to continue to develop their portfolio. This program will include guided brief responses, tackling business, and societal challenges, working directly with in-house teams at brands including Google, Disney, giffgaff, and Here Design.

It is crucial for brands to support emerging creatives, especially when it comes to improving access and diversity. Ratna Desai, Director of Product Design at Netflix for Personalization Experience believes that technology companies can play a big role in preparing the next generation of designers. She believes “the people designing our service need to be reflective of our global members. It’s essential to building inclusive products.”

To this end, Netflix has launched its own program called the Netflix Pathways Bootcamp, which develops students’ technology skills by applying them to real-world business problems. They aim to increase representation in the tech industry, particularly among Black and Latinx communities.

As a result of initiatives like D&AD Shift, both Marie and Desai have observed more individuals offering their time and resources to support junior talent. 

“There are individual driving programs set up to help creatives who want a career in the industry, but haven’t had the opportunity to come through college,” Marie noted. “John Glasgow, the Co-founder of creative agency Vault 49, spearheads an initiative giving students from low-income backgrounds the opportunity to work on projects and broaden their networks, for example.”

Desai has also noticed a rise in exciting, hands-on opportunities. “I recently attended a fantastic event called Made in the Future, founded and led by Kristy Tillman, Director of Product Design at Netflix for Creative Production & Promotion,” she said. “The program provides the opportunity for design leaders and senior practitioners to come together and share ideas, find camaraderie, and to support the professional development of Fellows (emerging underrepresented design talent) through a series of immersive events.”

There’s no denying that the pandemic hit the creative community hard, but it has also provided a wide range of benefits. It accelerated the acquisition of new skills, encouraged us to consider new approaches to design education, and reiterated the importance of collaborating as a community to ensure new creatives can fulfill their potential. It’s also proof that, even as established creatives, we never stop learning or evolving. I’m proud of D&AD for its support of emerging talent, and I encourage creatives far and wide to get involved however they can.

The 2022 Awards deadline has now passed, but if you would still like to enter, get in touch with the Awards Team at awards@dandad.org.

As businesses vie for attention in an oversaturated market, a strong brand identity can make all the difference. That means spot-on color is a must for print campaigns.

Brands are looking for differentiation

According to Shopify’s Future of Commerce 2022 report, an astounding 10 years’ worth of e-commerce growth occurred in the first quarter of 2020. Following this pandemic-induced boom, companies are now tasked with investing in their brands to stand out from the competition, gain new customers, and keep them coming back for more.

The other major trend the report highlights is that “digital advertising is more costly and less lucrative than ever before.” The declining returns of digital make print a cost-effective way for brands to get in front of customers.

Using color to stand out

What hasn’t changed is that color continues to be a crucial aspect of a brand’s visual identity. Chris Javate, a Creative Design Director in New York City, says that color is “a detail that makes a world of difference when it comes to branding.”

Today, as design trends reflect a highly competitive arena, marketers are using brighter colors or, alternatively, unique and subtle shades to leave a lasting impression. Looka, a logo-design and brand identity platform, reports a trend toward “bolder, neon colors,” citing the 2021 update of Baskin Robbins’ logo. Its analysis states, “Small brands are also opting for bigger colors as the online marketplace becomes increasingly saturated with competition (thanks COVID-19).”

While bright colors are all over packaging, magazines, and catalogs, some understated hues are trending too. Designers are turning to earthy tones, pastels, and slightly faded colors to give images a retro appeal. Delicate gradients are making a big comeback as well.   

Consistency is key

Whatever palette a design team chooses to convey a brand personality, the way it renders across various mediums matters a great deal.

Javate says, “With branding, consistency is key. You want to make sure your brand is represented the way you want, at all times. It comes down to the simplest elements like placement, sizing, and color. If you get a communication from a brand, and the color is a bit off, it’s in danger of losing equity.”

In-house proofs save time for creativity

Printed proofs are a key tool in ensuring that a particular palette keeps its integrity.

Javate says, “If you have a red design and send it off for printing without a proof, everything could turn out looking orange. We send direct mailers, catalogs, and print ads to various printers, and they all have different settings. The color proof from your side says, ‘this is what you have to match,’ so everyone has the same point of reference.”

Designers often send their work to a print provider, wait for the proofs to come back, and check that they look as intended before sending them off for production, whether that be to a publication or a packaging manufacturer. Sometimes this can take several rounds, which is a time-consuming process.

Having a right-sized production-level printer in the office, such as the RICOH Pro C5300s, gives time back to designers, allowing them more freedom to explore their options. Javate explains, “Being able to print proofs in-house means you don’t have to wait for someone else to print it before checking it.”

At home with color

Any interior designer will tell you that they found themselves booked up for the last two years. As we’ve had to spend more time at home, the domestic arts underwent a revival, and segments such as home retail became big business. 

In this catalog for a home goods store, the colors suggest a sense of comfort and calm. By creating proofs on the RICOH Pro C5300s before production, the designer was able to make sure that the aesthetic subtleties came across accurately. 

Lights, color, action

While live entertainment hasn’t fared so well recently, the industry is expected to make a strong rebound.

Lou Capone, who leads color management projects for Ricoh, emphasizes the importance of accurate hues for his entertainment clients: “It’s all about getting the right reaction from the end-consumer. When they see a poster of an entertainer or athlete, they should have a real, visceral reaction. That’s how you create the connection with them. That’s why it’s so important to get things like skin tones, eye color, and halftones to look realistic.”

With fast, in-office proofs, creatives can make sure that photography strikes just the right tone.

RICOH Graphic Communications is committed to supporting the vitality of the graphic arts community. Your brilliance continues to drive us and the products we create. This series explores the role, resurgence, and retro appeal of paper for creatives in today’s digital age.

Experience the power of proofs. Request samples here.

Better late than never, Adidas has just announced a new capsule collection of inclusive sports bras composed of 43 distinct styles available in 72 sizes across 18 product franchises engineered for the very many breast types in the world and the various physical activities those with breasts perform. Let the “support” double entendres commence! 

The brand announced what is their most extensive and size-inclusive sports bra collection to date in head-turning fashion by posting a photo collage of 25 different pairs of uncensored bare breasts with imprints in the skin left behind by sports bras on their Twitter.

Unsurprisingly, this ad has been met with just as many hot takes on social media as there are breast types—which is to say, the limit does not exist! We’re really not in the business of giving just anyone with internet access airtime on our site, so we’ll leave that portion of this story at that.

The collection itself caters to active bra-wearers of all shapes and sizes so that more people have the tools they need to be active and comfortable. Adidas says that 90% of women aren’t wearing the right sports bra size, and roughly 23.5 million women have opted out of a workout because their sports bra didn’t provide the support they needed. That’s why they assembled a female-led design team who worked with specialists at a leading breast biomechanics research institute, the University of Portsmouth, to design this range of sports bras.

These experts developed a product line that gets broken up into four distinct categories suited for different kinds of physical activities: “Train” (Adiflex), “Studio” (Adisoft), “Everyday” (Adibare), and “Run” (Adiform).

Along with the bras themselves, Adidas has developed an online bra-fitting service to help customers decipher which of the 42 styles is right for them. The service includes a self-measurement tutorial and customized recommendations. 

The collection will be available worldwide on adidas.com, the Adidas app, and in stores starting on February 14.

The Michelin Tire Company introduced their mascot, named Bibendum initially, in 1894. It eventually became known as simply the Michelin Man and is still in use today. I grew up with black & white TV, sponsored by  Speedy Alka-Selzer, the frosty Kool-Aid pitcher, the “G-R-R-EAT” Tony the Tiger. That might be why I’m from the “beware of the mascot” school of design and have rarely employed this device in my career. I’ve created plenty of symbols and logos but distinguish these simple marks from cartoon characters. As a consumer, I will buy Burt’s Bees, Mrs. Meyers, and Ben & Jerry’s, but after I know what’s in the product. Too often, I see the mascot as an attempt to soften the edge of an overt sales pitch, commercial ambitions, legal protections, disclaimers, questionable services, and harmful ingredients.

As a “boomer,” my perception of brand mascots will differ from other generations, so I invited a few brand-conscious consumers to offer their perspectives on the topic.

For Jonah, the forty-ish, Co-founder of Aether Apparel, his feelings are less critical. “I don’t have any positive or negative feelings about brand mascots if they are done well and are entertaining.” However, he does draw the line with luxury products. “For the most part, I feel mascots cheapen premium brands and are more suited for mass-market companies, i.e., the Geico Gecko is a perfect example. Who really remembers or cares about the insurance pitch, but this little lizard makes it a fun conversation”. 

In her mid-twenties, Savannah, an interior designer, sees Ronald McDonald, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and the Morton salt girl as memorable mascots from her younger years, but contemporary brands that command the same resonance escape her. “Brand mascots were perfect for the days before streaming, back when everyone watched live TV with commercials,” she states.

“If every McDonald’s ad was just a picture of a hamburger, what would distinguish it from Burger King or Wendy’s? Not much,” she adds. That suggests that brand mascots help in distinction among commodity products. However, Savannah also recognizes competitors in the internet age who have found other ways to market themselves without using a brand mascot. “Take Shake Shack, for example, also a burger and fries chain, with no brand mascot in sight,” she says. 

Nick, 26, a computer engineer for a leading tech giant, is not swayed by a friendly mascot. “I don’t think that a brand mascot adds too much to contemporary brands; it could help deliver a targeted narrative, but it may not necessarily add to consumer trust. Tony the Tiger may bring me to the cereal aisle, but I will buy the organic frosted flakes sweetened with cane sugar in the end.”

And what happens when an actual person stands in for an animated one? 

Nina, a theater artist in their early 20s, and Sean, a painter ten years older, share a similar point of view. “When a funny mascot promotes a product, I’m more aware of being sold something. When it’s an actor or celebrity that I like, it feels more like a conversation”, says Nina. 

“When a known influencer is promoting a product, they are also tying their reputation to it, which elevates the expectation of quality,” adds Sean. 

However, the risk is that both “brands” can get tarnished based on consumer response. For example, Nina cites the promotion of Lady Gaga’s last album, Chromatica. “Gaga partnered with Nabisco to make custom Oreo cookies. They weren’t very good, but I gave them a try because I love and admire Gaga.” 

When I asked if this experience in any way diminished their feelings about the superstar, Nina replied, “Not at all; it’s a win for both brands.” Lucky that, in this case, a fan’s devotion buffers any risk in the co-branding. 

However, when a celebrity gets accused of criminal behavior, it creates a public relations crisis for a brand— think Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, or Maria Sharapova. That is one reason an adorable mascot may prove a safer strategy for specific brands. It’s unlikely we’ll see Geico’s Gecko or Mail Chimp in court anytime soon. 

Using brand mascots is undoubtedly not just an American phenomenon. It’s a widespread practice in every country on every continent. Yes, including Antarctica. For the bloated industry of agencies and freelancers who specialize in mascot design, this is good news. It’s also creative commoditization on steroids with highly discounted services, DIY bundled packages, and sponsored competitions ready to help any startup get started. Just add a nice dollop of cuteness wrapped in an anthropomorphized critter, and you’re good to go.

Is the brand mascot a tried-and-true strategy or one that is truly tired? 

Hyperconnectivity is shrinking the world daily. Now each consumer’s “brandscape” is atomized into tiny impressions and a vast array of offerings in every imaginable category. Marketers need every possible tool to meet this demand and or risk marginalization. Is a mascot central to this mission? Some studies show that a brand mascot can increase sales. But in the US, only 4% of ads use this device. I contend that this model is additive but not central and will continue to lose relevance with the further splintering of media channels. Consumers yearn for information-rich and purpose-driven brand messages without the sugar coating.

Based on my limited survey, it appears there is an ambivalence toward mascot marketing. I got a sense from Jonah, Savannah, Nick, Nina, and Sean that they were not just speaking for themselves but were reflecting a broader generational sentiment. They are a fun-loving, intelligent, ambitious, and media-savvy group. They also represent a growing community of young consumers who won’t just drink the brand marketing Kool-Aid.

Ken Carbone is an artist, designer, and Co-Founder of the Carbone Smolan Agency, a design company he built with Leslie Smolan over 40 years ago. He is the author of Dialog: What Makes a Great Design Partnership, a visiting lecturer at numerous design schools, and TED X speaker. A recipient of the 2012 AIGA medal, he is currently a Senior Advisor to the Chicago-based strategic branding firm 50,000feet.

The whole grain and Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon recently announced the brand’s extension into the wine industry. 

Although the brand created the wine as a PR stunt, the full-bodied wine is apparently getting solid reviews. The wine itself is infused with mustard seeds and incorporates Viognier grapes from the south of France. Furthermore, the brand added that there are hints of spice and citrus as well as floral characteristics. And because Grey Poupon’s packaging is so iconic, it only makes sense that the wine bottle follows suit. In fact, when the packaging is compared side by side, the design elements match perfectly with each other. From the brand’s classic typeface to the blue and red stripes to the illustrations, the wine bottle and the mustard bottle are strikingly similar. 

Albeit a limited-edition product, the wine was released to make your lunch feel more like a feast and less like a chore. The wine retails at $30 for a bottle and comes with a jar of the brand’s iconic mustard, which sounds like a pretty swell 2-for-1 deal. 

And while creative, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a non-wine brand extend themselves into the wine world for a PR stunt. Remember Cheez-It’s House Wine duo box stunt? Or what about Taco Bell Canada’s limited-edition Jalepeño Noir? 

But now you can sit back, relax, and eat your ham and cheese baguette (with mustard) paired with the beautiful full-body wine instead of nibbling away at your sad desk salad while simultaneously working, all thanks to Grey Poupon’s La Moutarde Vin. 

‘The Source’ campaign uses quotation marks to represent the familiar reporting symbol that means that it’s directly from the source. This clever and visual campaign does an excellent job of storytelling and proving that Reuters takes no sides while telling all sides.  

Reuters, the world’s leading provider of trusted news, insight and analysis, debuted today its first major global brand campaign, ‘The Source’. The campaign reinforces Reuters unique and vital role as the leading source for truths about our world.

Created in partnership with brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R, ‘The Source’ campaign builds on Reuters 170-year heritage to emphasize its reputation as one of the world’s most trusted news outlets. Reuters is where the news gets the news, with a unique model that serves the world’s media organizations, financial professionals via its Refinitiv relationship, and professional consumers through Reuters.com, Reuters Events and Reuters Plus, and is the definitive destination for unbiased and reliable news and information.

Now more than ever, the world is seeking independent, objective and unbiased reporting. ‘The Source’ campaign brings Reuters into the spotlight to demonstrate what has long been its defining philosophy: to tell all sides of a story but take none. Reuters delivers fast and reliable information with no bias or agenda, so readers can make smart decisions and take their next steps with confidence.

“Reuters has delivered trusted and unbiased news since 1851, providing billions of people around the world each day with factual reporting about the most important global stories. ‘The Source’ campaign speaks to this pedigree as well as the evolution of Reuters and our continuous innovation in how we report and deliver the news,” said Josh London, Reuters CMO and Head of Reuters Professional. “With the intense speed at which information travels and the proliferation of misinformation, people and organizations need a source they can rely on for the unfiltered truth. ‘The Source’ squarely tells them that place is Reuters.”

“With 2500 journalists in 200 locations around the world, our strength spans markets and geographies, delivering the deep global and local expertise that is uniquely Reuters,” said Alessandra Galloni, Reuters Editor-in-Chief.  “’The Source’ campaign puts that unique value front and center, showcasing what Reuters has been for nearly two centuries: the place for trusted, unbiased news.”

‘The Source’ campaign, which launches in the UK and U.S., utilizes quotation marks in its creative as the universal symbol of reporting directly from the source. The quotation marks are employeed to frame the truth at the heart of Reuters reporting, letting the story speak for itself.

“With journalists in every corner of the world, Reuters truly is the source for unbiased news and information. We are proud to have worked with some of the best journalists in the world to bring authenticity and journalistic authority to the campaign,” added Tamryn Kerr, Creative Director, VMLY&R London.

Project Credits

VMLY&R

The Coca-Cola brand recently announced a new global platform for the Coke Trademark titled “Real Magic.” This new platform includes a new design identity across Coke Trademarks, including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coke, and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. Additionally, the new “hug” logo, conceptualized by Wieden+Kennedy London, adds a bit of charm to the branding system.

And while “Real Magic” might first appear simply as a tagline, the brand ensures that it’s a philosophy for the brand moving forward. Because the brand has always been about sharing, it’s fitting that they share the magic, and the hug logo is visual proof of this magical experience.

Coca-Cola is inviting the world to celebrate the real magic of humanity in its first new global brand platform for the Coke Trademark in five years.

The “Real Magic” brand philosophy is rooted in the insight that magic lives in unexpected moments of connection that elevate the everyday into the extraordinary—a timeless learning that feels more relevant than ever in today’s hyperconnected yet divided world. Real magic happens when people get together and when what we share in common is greater than what sets us apart.

The “Real Magic” platform includes a new design identity for the Coke Trademark—which includes Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar—anchored by a fresh expression of the Coca-Cola logo. The “Hug” logo, inspired by iconic Coca-Cola packages wrapped with our signature trademark, was conceptualized by Wieden+Kennedy London. Coca-Cola engaged KnownUnknown, a global network of independent talent, to craft the visual identity, including all photography, animations and illustrations.

In addition, a group of photographers, artists and illustrators will bring the “Real Magic” concept to life. Their different styles will provide a variety of campaign imagery, with some artists creating more realistic depictions and others offering more abstract variations. 

The goal of “Real Magic”, Arroyo said, is to significantly increase the Coca-Cola consumer base through an ecosystem of experiences anchored in consumption occasions, such as meals and breaks, and merged with consumer passion points like music and gaming.

“‘Real Magic’ is not just a tagline. We see it as a philosophy that transcends advertising and embodies all that is special about the brand,” Arroyo said, noting that it supports The Coca-Cola Company’s purpose to refresh the world and make a difference. “It will serve as our North Star by shaping all expressions of the Coca-Cola trademark in its next chapter.”

The “One Coke Away From Each Other” campaign represents the first creative experience under the “Real Magic” platform. Blending real and virtual worlds, “One Coke Away From Each Other” is a metaphor that celebrates our common humanity. The film, which launched digitally on Sept. 27, asks what if Coca-Cola, as a symbol of togetherness, could bridge universes meant to be apart to create “Real Magic.” The film features three well-known gamers: DJ Alan Walker, Team Liquid’s Aerial Powers and Average Jonas.

Coca-Cola partnered with advertising agency BETC London to create the “One Coke Away From Each Other” campaign, as well as leading film director Daniel Wolfe and gaming and CGI specialist production partner Mathematic.  

The campaign also features social, digital and out-of-home executions. In select markets, Coca-Cola is running a code hunt beginning Oct. 11 where fans can win prizes, including gameplay sessions with celebrity gamers. There are 25 codes hidden within the film. Through collaboration with the Brand Partnership Studio at Twitch, the interactive livestreaming service, gaming creators on Twitch will unlock another 10 codes with viewers during livestreams on their Twitch channels. 

As a part of the campaign, Coca-Cola will award prizes to consumers who find and enter the hidden codes on a Coca-Cola micro site, in participating countries. Winners can receive their share of one of the largest-ever prize pools of Bits, a virtual good used to show support for Twitch streamers, as a part of the sweepstakes administered by Coca-Cola. 

Project Credits

Wieden+Kennedy London

BETC London

While the class had a good chuckle about it, it turns out funeral homes can actually get pretty creative with their advertisements. If you live in Charlotte, North Carolina, you might have seen a big truck traversing the streets that states “Don’t get vaccinated” in big letters and underneath “Wilmore Funeral Home.” 

As it turns out, however, “Wilmore Funeral Home” isn’t real, and BooneOakley, an advertising agency in Charlotte, hired the truck to spread the clever yet melancholic message. 

In an interview with CNN, David Oakley, the agency’s director, stated, “I just feel like conventional advertising is not working. Like, just regular messages that say ‘Get the Shot’ or ‘Go Get Vaccinated,’…they just kind of blend in with everything else. We wanted to do something that saw it from a different perspective and kind of shocks people into thinking, ‘Holy moly, man.'” 

Well, holy moly, man. 

While the truck itself states, “Don’t get vaccinated,” when you visit the website, you’ll find a simple black page that states, “Get vaccinated now. If not, see you soon.” 

It’s the ingenuity of the ad and the stark difference from the rest of the messages about the vaccine that are spreading. And while politics might have polarized the language and the ideologies about the vaccine, the absolutism of death can’t be argued, and BooneOakley is hopefully scaring folks right into it.

In the world of advertising, the acronym OOH stands for “Out Of Home.” It’s what it sounds like, exactly, i.e., advertisements that are outside of your home. Think billboards, public transit, kiosks, etc. These ads are everywhere, and you probably see so many in one day that you often don’t even realize when an ad is an ad. 

However, what we’ve never heard of in the advertising world is something by the acronym “IHA,” which stands for “In-Home Advertising,” according to Pabst Blue Ribbon, that is. And, interestingly, our homes were truly the only place we could avoid ads (once we’re logged off the internet or entertaining ourselves to death via the television). 

Until now, that is. The distinguished yet understated lager has just released a campaign that will pay you to put an advertisement in your home. All you have to do is pick an ad—think shower curtain, toilet paper, banana sticker, cutting board, sleep mask, etc.—and complete the form to enter. Put the ad in your home, post proof of its existence, and boom, you’ll get paid. 

Callen, an Austin, Texas-based agency, created the ads which evoke the same sense of nostalgic merriment that cracking open a cold PBR effuses. Of course, there’s nothing extraordinary about the ads themselves, but that’s precisely the point; what makes these advertisements unique is the distinctness of them being inside your space, whether it be your home, dorm room, or your parent’s basement. 

So, while we love this idea for a brand like PBR because it works so seamlessly with their demographic, we’re not quite sure other brands could pull this stunt off so flawlessly. But, I guess that’s why we have KFC.

With vaccine rollout now widespread throughout the US and life tip-toeing back to a semblance of normalcy, dating apps like OkCupid are seizing the opportunity to appeal to pent-up singles desperate to shirk quarantine-induced dry spells.

Keen on standing out from a crowded field of dating platforms licking their chops this post-lockdown hot girl summer, OKCupid has rolled out a cheeky, out-of-home global ad campaign that’s bold in more ways than one.

From the naughty minds of advertising agency Mekanism (Peloton, Alaska Airlines, MedMen), and brought to life by artist and provocateur Maurizio Cattelan (remember the duct tape banana?) with photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, this lewd series doesn’t shy away from pushing some buttons in the name of unbuttoning others.

The posters contain brightly saturated visuals depicting a quirky sample of “every single person” OkCupid is aiming to coax into their database of daters. Aside from its obvious appeals to shock consumers with its offbeat, provocative imagery, the campaign also aspires to convey the inclusivity OKCupid has always championed.

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To its credit, the site has previously sought guidance from the Human Rights Campaign for generating a comprehensive list of o
ver 60 gender identities and orientations for its users. These ads continue this celebration of diversity, from the sentiment behind the double entendre of the “every single person” tagline to the variety of subjects in each photo.

But not everyone is swiping right. Some cosmopolitan heavy hitters like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have banned particular images from the campaign due to their crude subject matter. OkCupid is unfazed, with Katrina Mustakas of Mekanism offering to The Drum that “When you’re truly inclusive, you’re bound to offend someone.”

Plus, just as in dating, you just can’t please everyone.

TOYS: 100 Years of All-American Toy Ads (Taschen) edited by Jim Heimann and featuring essays by me and a timeline by Ryan Mungia, starts with the scene described above, more or less from the turn of the century, and showcases the growth of want and desire instilled in children throughout successive decades, ending before the online revolution. The book is a revealing illustrated history of the rise of the American white middle class and the evolution of Western (and especially American) consumerism.

During this 20th-century span, ads show how toys went from being precious treats for young folk to major fantastical recreations of lifestyle for a captured consumer class. Although I had previewed many of the advertisements that are featured in the book from a nostalgic perspective, it was not until the design and layout lock-up that I realized how rife this genre of commercialism is with seeds, indeed spores, of the “I want” mentality that exploded in the Baby Boom Postwar era, and continues seamlessly into contemporary material culture.

For all kids (and some adults, too) toys trigger an irrepressible urge to have, hold and thus consume. Not just simple diversions devised to bestow small pleasures, toys are motivators; toys are rewards; toys are big business.

In the economically booming 1950s, there aired an afternoon TV game show where kid contestants were allotted five minutes to grab as many toys as their small arms and hands could carry off (whatever they could not was left behind). When the punishing sound of the buzzer wailed to signal the time limit had expired, the lucky prize winners proudly displayed their booty for the audience to admire (and trigger their own desire to purchase the items). Decades later, Nickelodon’s “Super Toy Run” applied the same psychology to a more rapturous extreme, with the chosen ones filling entire carts with the latest kid-sumables.

Although toys fulfill many a child’s usually harmless desires to play, make and putter, there is nothing innocent about toy advertisements. They are gateways to a life of consumption, in this case of products designed to profit their maker even when camouflaged as educational. During those thrilling days of yesteryear, a rash of toys were promoted as positive developmental tools. Take this story in The Ladies’ Home Journal from July 1916, titled “Teaching a Child Resourcefulness”: “Every normal child is most happy when he is ‘making’ something or ‘pretending’ some situation even though there may be no visible result that harmonizes with the thought in the little mind,” wrote Mildred Austin Shinn.

In the 1960s—coinciding with advertising’s “Creative Revolution”—toy ads became more sophisticated in design and content. A 1962 ad for Mattel showed children of color with dolls of the same skin. Another Mattel advancement was the “Cheerful Tearful” doll, resembling any adult ad. A 1967 ad for LEGO, with the headline “LEGO, the toy they won’t be tired of by Dec 26th” not only looked adult, but was as smart as any “Big Idea,” too (the tagline lived up to the promise: “LEGO … The thoughtful Toy”). As the years rolled on, advertisements for life-lesson products like “Barbie,” “Midget Mustang,” “Julia” (the first TV series with an African American star) and the Signature Junior electric portable sewing machine, among others, were popular because they mimicked the adult world. Fisher-Price Sesame Street products and others were aimed at adults who were familiar with the advertising industry’s creative visual language.

Parents were the quartermasters in charge of toy allotment, and they were easily convinced by advertisements that echoed their own consumption habits. During the late 1970s and well into the '90s, computer games were also advertised for both adults and children, especially around Christmastime.

Children may continue to tear advertisements out of magazines and newspapers, which are strategically placed around the house to signal their preferences before birthdays and holidays. But in the digital age, toy propaganda is more likely to come via email, based on data collected by sites like Amazon, from algorithms that can predict the personal toy needs of each and every individual. Toy store windows are not the same as once upon a time; kids today are more likely to surf the windows on their computers and screens than stand spellbound before those vintage places of retail wonder and delight.

I’m always amazed at what innocuous things get a full-on national holiday.

OK, so holiday is likely the wrong word here—it’s not like we get the day off to watch The Price is Right reruns with the Barker, but it seems curious and a touch opportunistic to see National Whiskey Day or its sweet counterpart Ice Cream Day. Really, these are just events for editors of publications so they can create content, right?

Well, no disrespect to grilled cheese or pickles or any of these other wonderful things that didn't-need-a-whole-ass-day, but masturbating gets a whole damn month to itself. That’s right. If you weren't in the know, May is National Masturbation Month, and K-Y wants you to celebrate with a little “me” time.

To mark the occasion, the brand created a sex-positive campaign aimed at women alongside the design agency Elephant, where they handpainted signs reading “Hand up if you masturbate.” Other signs read, “let’s give ourselves a hand,” or simply contained a veritable listicle full of winks and knowing nods to viewers with euphemisms like “polishing the pearl,” “buttering their own muffin,” and “slapping the oyster.”

“It’s 2021, and society is done with the male gaze,” Elephant said about their work on the advertisements. “It’s high-time we do more to champion the female one, especially when it comes to sexual wellness. While stigma keeps the topic taboo in the mainstream, the only visibility masturbation gets in pop culture is through “bro” comedy. Until now.”

The brightly painted signs heavily feature pink and blue and boldly stand out, encouraging folks to dispel shame around masturbating and celebrate sexual health and wellness and, yes, buying a little K-Y for the uber-special month.

While the billboards went up in swinging and sex-positive New York City locales like Bushwick and Williamsburg, I’d wager that the campaign would be far more relevant in, say, Branson, Missouri, or perhaps next to a mega-church?

Anywho, call me, K-Y. I'm available.

One of the unfortunate but very essential side effects of the pandemic is having to mask up when you’re out in public. No more smiling at the occasional passerby or quietly smirking at the person next to you when you hear someone unleash a long-winded order at Starbucks. Now, our eyes are overcompensating for the rest of our usual facial features and tics.

But our eyes can also say quite a lot. Think back to any generalized misbehavior from your childhood and the icy laserbeam-like stare of disapproval from your mother. Or what about a crush catching your eyes as you quickly look away? Those moments can speak volumes, and that premise guides much of Design Army’s Best of Show Winner for Georgetown Opticians, “Eyes Say More Than Words” campaign.

The short film for the optometrist's practice centers around the quietest library on Earth (which is actually the architectural marvel that is the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore), where a “Quiet Guard” sits high above the patrons trying their darndest to read in silence. Inevitably, the hush falls to pieces—clicking pens, turning pages, sneezing, heels clomping, pencils drumming—and turns into a cacophonous symphony of near-rhythmic noise shouted down by the guard’s shushing.

The library guests start to talk amongst their eyes and quietly attempt to kick-off the “Silent Revolution." Not only is one dictatorial quiet guard driven insane, but you'll find Georgetown's beautiful spectacles, gorgeous clothes, big hair, and, yes, a gigantic eyeball in a clock tower because, of course.

“You can’t unsee a ginormous eyeball,” jokes Pum Lefebure, co-founder and chief creative officer at Design Army. “You will always remember that film.”

All told, it’s a breezy bit of fun with a few laughs, crack sound design, and some Hitchcockian flourishes that manage to make an optician and luxury eyewear provider look pretty sexy. And that's not an easy task for any design agency because some of us are pushing our glasses up our nose as you read this, and there's nothing inherently sexy about that.

Design Army had already worked with Georgetown before, but the previous focus of the advertisements centered more on family, as the practice consists of three generations of opticians. But when they started planning their next campaign back in 2019, the ideas of protest and revolution were very much on their mind, with all of the noise happening in the world (though that feels like a Homer-iffic doom scroll and eons ago in the very young year of 2021).

But the promotion also sprang from one of Pum's many work trips. She would frequently travel to New York via Amtrak and always made a point of sitting on the quiet train. “Most people think it’s strange,” says Pum. “I love it because when you're in the quiet car, you're not allowed to do anything, meaning no noise. I can't pick up the phone. The phone can’t ring. I can't hear music. I can't talk to my husband sitting next to me. It's like a library.” On one of these trips, a fellow passenger in the quiet car took a phone call and started loudly gabbing, much to the chagrin of everyone around them. All at once, the commuters collectively turned their attention to the loud talker and shushed her.

Still, even with that relatable piece of inspiration for the shoot, a great deal of the campaign's strength also lies in its timeless quality. While high school yearbooks were a touchstone for the agency, it wasn’t carbon-dated nostalgia they fancied. Folks of all ages star in the campaign—everyone wears glasses, after all—and while you’ll find those 70s Farah Fawcett hairstyles, it also takes place in a library completed at the end of the 19th century. The agency was pulling influence from many decades and visual aesthetics, and they didn’t want to take things too literal in any one concrete direction. What they needed to do was build their own distinct world in the library.

“I always want people to be able to recall the period, but not really do a period piece,” Pum says. “If you think the 70s, I think that's boring. We want to create something original, that when you look at the film, it feels like something you know, but you can't really pin down what era you are in. The goal here is, five years from now, you look at this as a timeless piece.”

In launching their silent revolution (along with director Dean Alexander and sound designers Squeak E. Clean) amidst a chaotic world overwhelmed with noise, Design Army creates a bonkers realm that immediately consumes you. And, yeah, it will likely inspire you to do a handstand in the middle of a library while digging into a pulpy mystery novel.

***

For Pum and Design Army, 2020 almost felt like a lost year. Before the pandemic hit, they were about to jump into three massive projects overseas in Asia, and they were all canceled. That means all of the planning, all those meetings, and pre-production was wiped out completely. The agency had to pivot right away, and the first question they asked themselves was the most obvious one— what can we do with computers and software?

“It’s a new world now, and you’ve got to act like it’s one,” Pum says. “What we did was really get back again to graphic design. That's what we know. We know damn well about prin
t, and we know graphic design, and that was our route.”

In a way, Design Army got back to basics. They worked on branding and packaging projects for several high-profile clients, doubling down on what made them successful in the first place. Because if you can’t do films for the Georgetown's and Hong Kong Ballet’s of the world, you have to find a path forward.

That’s precisely why being a co-winner for PRINT’s Studio of the Year is an honor for the agency. Sure, they’ve won awards before, but for something that focuses on graphic design and what they really had to go back to doing, it’s all the more meaningful. They also took home a second-place award for Hand Lettering & Type Design for PRINT’s 2019 awards certificates. And, yes, admittedly, we’re biased, but it’s work they completed amid the pandemic, and it represents how they managed to thrive and rely upon one another in what could have been a disastrous year.

Graphic and print design is central to the agency’s core. You can easily see it in all of their winning campaigns from this past year but go back to the Georgetown film. Every frame gets obsessively poured over, every detail is under a microscope, and art-directed to death. Nothing is out of place. Everything fits and celebrates this world that they created from scratch.

“That’s why we’re different from most ad agencies,” Pum says. “We’re designers at heart.”

Conti's film is the first to capture the ambiance of the early 20th century during the machine age when intrepid advertising artists were pushing boundaries of style and content. The film focuses on three masters: Lucian Bernhard (Berlin), Ludwig Hohlwein (Munich) and Julius Klinger (Vienna). Combining interviews with experts, original work and materials from the era, the film evokes a sense of being in the hotbed of design between the World Wars, when graphic artists were the celebrities of this introduction to the modern (and moderne) world.

The futuristic theme is elevated by the use of mirrors, making each product appear twice, an infinity loop of striking product photography.

Photography

Client: Crash Baggage

2020, Milan

Photographic campaign for Crash Baggage

Credits: Designed by Mathery

We also took stock of our signature annual competition—the Regional Design Awards—and decided it was time to bring it into the present like never before.

When it launched in 1980, the competition had a singular goal: to show that great design was being created in cities all across the United States, and not just in the usual hubs like New York City. The democratization of the internet has only further brought that concept to powerful life, and so it was time to formally embrace the fact that no matter where a designer lives or works, the best design rises to the top.

Moreover, we were missing out on a lot of brilliant design by restricting the competition to the United States—so we did what often needs to be done in design. We completely overhauled the system, and created something new. Something modern, inclusive, and reflective of a scene that is truly global.

Meet the 2020 PRINT Awards, presented by Adobe—a collection of the world’s best design, broken down across 20 categories, and featuring not just six regional judges, but a broad international jury of 21 luminaries of contemporary design, all with deep subject matter expertise in their categories. Their criteria? Originality, Innovation, Permanence, and Execution.

We of course have a show-stopping Best of Show winner, but we also created four all-new designations: Agency of the Year (the highest-rated agency, studio or in-house brand in the entire competition, determined by the largest amount of total wins across various categories), Editor’s Choice (a piece selected by the internal PRINT team), the Citizen Design Award (a free-to-enter category focused on outstanding original design for a social cause) and the Adobe Dimension Design Award (a free-to-enter category from our presenting sponsor, celebrating work created using Creative Cloud software, and highlighting the use of Adobe Dimension and 3D).

All told, we received more than 1,300 entries from 57 countries—and the awesomeness of our judges’ selections have left us floored, and fully inspired as we roll into 2021.

As PRINT editorial director Debbie Millman said, “This year’s entries surprised us with their depth, breadth and overall excellent quality. It was a thrill to see the work.”

Here, we share the winners of the 2020 PRINT Awards—and hope you find that same thrill and inspiration.

Eyes Say More Than Words

By: Design Army

USA

Our world is louder than ever before, so we imagined a place where eyes say more than words. Set in the “Quietest Library on Earth” (a temple of hush), the film focuses on a tyrannical “Quiet Guard” who punishes patrons for the slightest sound, sneeze or gesture. But a plot to overthrow—hatched only through conversing eyes (and super stylish frames)—sparks The Silent Revolution against the overly sound-sensitive tyrant. We took visual cues from eccentric 1970s style, specifically high school yearbooks: employing quirky prints, big hair, bigger glasses. Speak Less. Say More.

Editor’s Note: We developed our Agency of the Year award to recognize the highest-rated agency, studio or in-house brand with the most wins across all categories in the entire competition. In the regular categories of the inaugural PRINT Awards, we had a tie: Design Army, with wins in the Brochures/Catalogs, Editorial, Handlettering & Type Design and Photography categories, and One Design Company with two wins in the Logos category and two wins in the Handlettering & Type Design category. We offer them both our congratulations!

Design Army

USA

One Design Company

USA

Louisville Magazine—No Justice, No Peace

By: Sarah Flood-Baumann Design

USA

In the throws of the Breonna Taylor protests, Louisville Magazine published an editorial package that highlighted a conversation with the city's Black leaders and also featured two protest-centric photo essays. My job as a designer was to bring the image words to the page with reverence and seriousness. Using Martin typeface from Vocal Type Co., and photographs from Andrew Censi and Mickie Winters, my work was thoughtful in its loudness, boldness and it was unapologetic in its frustration with the systemic racism of our world.

Hairy Situation

By: Anu Manohar

Our presenting sponsor Adobe invited designers to unleash their creativity and make a 3D impact by designing a unique piece of content using Adobe Dimension, and answering a crucial question: What does design mean to you? Winner Anu Manohar was inspired by the year of the pandemic.

“Design is a world of endless possibilities—it’s an emotion, it’s an experience and it’s a lot of great things,” she details. “But design also has its ups and downs. The COVID situation made me experience design in a different way. From being a freelance designer to a full-time employee in the past few months, I realized that design can be a hairy situation. Dealing with creativity, projects, clients, deadlines, payments, etc., during the COVID period was a whole other ball game. It brought a ton of exciting, risky and unpredictable experiences. As a reflection of my experience during this period of time, I decided to make a poster with the phrase ‘it's a hairy situation.’ I wanted to bring a hint of humor to my message rather than a serious tone. So I used expressive typography and a colorful palette to make the message light yet meaningful.”

Editor’s Note: Throughout the course of 2020, we’ve seen so much powerful work dedicated to so many vital causes—so we created this free-to-enter category to honor such design from individuals, studios and companies. We received hundreds of outstanding entries, and had trouble selecting just one to feature—so here we present a top winner, and two honorable mentions.

First Place: Creatives for Kitchens

By: Christine Clayton Design

USA

Creatives for Kitchens is a charitable initiative that has worked to assemble teams of volunteer creative professionals and match them with restaurants affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. The focus and result of our efforts have been pro-bono support for light touch updates to items such as menus, copy, signage and websites. For example, many of our tea
ms (typically a copywriter, designer, social strategist/content marketer and photographer) have collaborated to create powerful and essential social media updates to communicate the changes in service, menu and operations that restaurant patrons need to know. This is an ongoing project with no immediate plans to sunset. Direct relief for restaurants was slated on the newest stimulus bill, and with that on ice for the foreseeable future, restaurants need us more than ever.

Honorable Mention: Guide to Parking (for Those Living in Vehicles)

By: Various (see below)

USAMore than 2,700 people in Seattle/King County live in their cars due to homelessness. This brochure provides critical information on parking regulations and support services for car dwellers. In Seattle, as in many cities, a vehicle can be ticketed for being parked in the same spot for more than 72 hours. Vehicles can also be towed and impounded for having expired registration or multiple unpaid tickets. Fines and towing fees can be crippling costs that lead to seizure and loss of the car (by auction from the towing company). Besides explaining specific parking regulations, the guide explains how car dwellers can receive help from the court system and from the Seattle Scofflaw Mitigation Team, a group of volunteers who work with vehicle residents. Scofflaw Team members can accompany car dwellers to court and help them develop a plan to legally address their unpaid tickets. This brochure was designed by a group of students and faculty at the University of Washington in Seattle for ITFH, the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness. The printing of the brochure was funded by the Sappi Paper Company through their “Ideas That Matter” program.

Honorable Mention: Amidad

By: Esther Velasco

USA

In the current social and political climate, it is crucial to create a space for undocumented immigrants to feel safe, and like they are a part of something. The word Amidad is the combination of the word "Amity" with the Spanish suffix "dad," which means "characteristic of." As such, the term Amidad encourages a sense of community. The app gives immigrants tools and resources at their fingertips. The core of Amidad is our small device that can be hooked to your keychain. The device can alert family, friends and lawyers in case of an emergency involving law enforcement, as well as begin recording an interaction on your phone. Amidad is made up of two components: a resource app with easy access to immigrant-related tools and information, and an alert device to be used in emergencies. The critical app features that tie into the alert device have steps to handle cases involving ICE, such as raids or warrantless violations at a person's home. Once activated, the alert device sends a text message to designated lawyers, family, friends and local volunteers to come to observe and record the interaction. This was created using Adobe InDesign, Adobe Dimension, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.

First Place: Hot Hounds

By: Rethink

Canada

Every year hundreds of dogs die in hot vehicles. To help bring awareness to this issue, we teamed up with Earth Paws and created Hot Hounds—the first and only car-baked dog treat. After being baked inside a 70°C vehicle on a hot summer day, the treats were packaged and sold in-store and online. All proceeds from their sale were donated to the SPCA.

Second Place: Heinz Ketchup Puzzle

By: Rethink

Canada

Our objective was to re-ignite an emotional connection with Heinz in a culturally relevant way to bolster consumer loyalty and reignite love. We sought to stay top of mind by instigating significant chatter across social channels and to reinforce our iconic status as Canada’s No. 1 Ketchup.

Third Place: Sunlight-Activated Florida Adventure Map

By: SPARK

USA

Utilizing UV-sensitive photochromic inks, SPARK designed a unique, interactive map that, when exposed to sunlight, reveals unexpected Florida adventures. From prehistoric caverns to rare coral reefs, bioluminescent kayaking to America’s first underwater art museum, the map highlights outdoor adventures that take visitors beyond Florida’s famous beaches and theme parks. This enabled people to see beyond the familiar destinations of Miami and Orlando and discover the wealth of diverse experiences that exist across the state, in regions they never knew existed.

First Place: Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 2019 Year-End Report

By: Anne M. Giangiulio Design

USA

I designed this Ysleta del Sur Pueblo 2019 Year-End Report for the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, a Puebloan Native American tribal entity located in the Ysleta section of El Paso, Texas. With a focus on the traditional foods of the tribe, the report features photos and text that document the creation of time-honored recipes created by various tribal members, and the stories that accompany them. To achieve this, we worked with a Tiguan photographer, whom I art directed during the cooking or baking process.

Second Place: UDEM Annual Report 2019

By: Reset Co

Mexico

[In] 2019, Universidad of Monterrey changed their communication objectives to highlight the characteristics that have differentiated them from other universities throughout their 50 years: “soft skills.” These refer to those skills focused on emotional intelligence and how you interact with other people. These skills are learned in college along with the “hard skills” (technical knowledge of careers), with the promise that through these, the university inspires the best version of its community. For the development of this graphic proposal, we applied elements of the new university campaign to be consistent in communication. In this case, in addition to the personalized alphabet made for the campaign, numbers were also created based on the "Work Sans" typo
graphy to create shapes that reinforce the UDEM pillars [while functioning] as windows into the university to visualize its achievements in 2019.

Third Place: KCAI President’s Report

By: DMH

USA

The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) publishes The President’s Report annually to show donors the school’s ongoing advancements and accomplishments, including student success stories and data visualization. The 2018–2019 report is the first document to debut the new KCAI identity, created from its brand essence: Imagine what the world has yet to see. Its cover introduces the dynamic system in its gridmark form and its complementary “revealed blocks”—the missing components from the gridmark—through die-cut, to spark curiosity. The remainder of the piece is formatted in a gridded layout, purposefully representing the matrix foundation of the mark.

First Place: Impertinentes—14 livros de Gustavo Piqueira

By: Casa Rex

Brazil

The book compiles 14 books created by Gustavo Piqueira, produced between 2012 and 2018, that, with different degrees of intensity, sought to blur many of the existing limits between the established categories of the printed book through the exploration of the most varied articulations between text and image, visual and material, industrial and handmade, past and present, fiction and nonfiction. The cover therefore reflects two of the main dimensions of Gustavo's work: the deconstruction of “traditional” arrangements, when it appears as a book cover in which everything seems out of place and, by offering the reader the possibility of assembling/disassembling it, the playful look on the book as an object.

Second Place: Process: How to Create Community Buildings with Impact

By: HCMA Architecture + Design

Canada

The 208-page book functions as a manual to guide key decisions civic leaders need to make throughout each stage of a public building project. Projects of this nature span years and require fanatical dedication. As such, Process is housed within a sturdy canvas cover—screenprinted black with reversed-out letters intended to wear with age. The heavy-duty, tactile feel of the book harkens back to the nostalgia of "glovebox" machinery manuals that bore battle scars from use. Beneath the cover exists a black-on-white inversion of the bold typographic design, bound by an exposed spine, which metaphorically represents the design process—revealing how the book is made.

Third Place: Suspect Communities

By: Monograph

USA

We adapted an old COINTELPRO document to show the idea of surveillance and infiltration of communities. From the publisher: Suspect Communities is a powerful reassessment of the U.S. government’s “countering violent extremism” (CVE) program that has arisen in major cities across the United States since 2011. By undertaking this analysis, Nicole Nguyen offers a vital window into the inner workings of the U.S. security state and the devastating impact of the CVE program on local communities.

First Place: The X-Files: The Official Archives

By: Headcase Design

USA

The X-Files: The Official Archives is a hardcover collection of 50 FBI case files from the desks of Agents Mulder and Scully. Packed with lab results, autopsy reports, clippings, mug shots, crime-scene photos, and security camera printouts, the book allows readers to scour the evidence, immersing themselves in the story as a firsthand participant. We combined actual props used in the show with faux documents we created to meticulously build each case file. Era-appropriate FBI letterheads track the passing of time, while handwritten notes from the archiving Agent Harrison guide readers through the narrative. The goal of the book was to feel as realistic as possible, with aged and damaged artifacts that are placed in evidence bags, stapled, and clipped in the book—all meticulously rendered in Photoshop.

Second Place: Moholy-Nagy and the New Typography / Moholy-Nagy und die Neue Typografie

By: Institute Designlab Gutenberg; Isabel Naegele & Julia Neller

Germany

The extensive publication documents a three-year research project on the National Bauhaus Year. It brings together the exhibition panels by the Bauhaus master László Moholy-Nagy, recently rediscovered in the Berlin Art Library, which are illuminated with characteristic keywords by renowned authors by means of an "Abcdarium"—from A for Akzidentien to Z for Zeitungsdesign. Through associative cross-reading, the typographic cosmos of ideas of the avant-garde of the 1920s can be experienced again.

Third Place: Morla : Design

By: Letterform Archive

USA

Morla : Design is a dynamic monograph spanning Jennifer Morla’s 40-year career. Recipient of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and an AIGA Medalist, Morla illustrates her creative process and design philosophy in the book, and shares the inspiration behind more than 150 projects. With an introduction by Paula Scher and a prologue by Erik Spiekermann, Morla : Design vividly demonstrates why design matters.

First Place: 2020 Arphic Font Library

By: Hong Da Design Studio

Taiwan

In Taiwan, font libraries have been primarily used for searching and editing, in the form of printed materials (flyers), come in various different forms resulting in difficulties when putting to use in packaging or publicity. As the numbers of font libraries increase the number of printed materials it increases, resulting in unnecessary consumption of paper and ink, which is a burden to the environment. To improve such situation, the designer focuses on three main points “conveniently assemble”, “visual diversity” and “environmentally friendly ”as the major themes for the ARPHIC Font Library, including the entire font library (from ARPHIC Technology Co., Ltd) encompassing thousands of fonts from the last 30 years that has been categorized into four collections.

Second Place: Where Ideas Lead

By: Design Army

USA

A promotional brochure to introduce the new branding tagline “Where Ideas Lead,” positioning Neenah as a partner in the creative process that provides the products and services—the solutions—to help bring brand visions to life and transform ideas into results.

Third Place: Arturo Alvarez Catalog

By: teiga, studio.

Spain

Arturo Alvarez entrusted us with the conception of a publication that visually summarized the brand's values. This publication should summarize its emotional light philosophy, handmade, crafts, design and product finishes. An art direction in photography and a design focused on showing the products through textures and representing the emotional light (lights and shadows projected in space) with a cover printed with luminescent ink that absorbs the light.

First Place: Emme

By: Deerfield

USA

EMME is rooted in the word “strength”; we wanted to create a brand that empowered women to be able to do whatever they set out to do. The name is a palindrome, and mirror quality of the logotype literally closes the loop on women’s health. Our mark is a modern-day Athena (the goddess of wisdom and the hunt) riding a tigress, and she's always a perfect shot. Our mottos are Woman on a Mission and Knowledge isPowerful and Power to the Pill. During a time when access to birth control and choice is at risk, we were honored to lead the branding with EMME as exceptional partners; led by women for w
omen. A passion project, EMME is an example of the power of branding to do good in this world.

Second Place: James Weldon Johnson Park Branding

By: Brunet-Garcia Advertising

USA

Amidst impassioned calls for social justice and racial equality across the country, the City of Jacksonville made the bold decision to remove the Confederate monument from Hemming Park, the city’s first and oldest park. Named for the Confederate veteran who purchased and installed the monument, the city recognized the opportunity to forge a new, more harmonious path forward by renaming the park after James Weldon Johnson, a Black writer, early civil rights activist, and native son of Jacksonville. We were entrusted to create a new brand identity for this historic project that would transform the park into a modern, urban space, engage diverse communities, and restore vitality to the city’s most prominent public square.

Third Place: Fisher-Price

By: Pentagram

USA

Fisher-Price is one of the world’s leading toy companies, defining the category in infant and preschool toys and playing an important role in childhood for almost a century, creating everything from “bump to bus.” Pentagram has collaborated with Fisher-Price on a refresh of its brand identity that highlights a return to a playful sense of fun. The system draws on the brand’s extraordinary heritage to build a complete visual language, and includes a custom typeface, messaging, art direction and merchandising.

First Place: IMAPI

By: Café.art.br and Odd.Studio

Brazil

The first thousand days of a child are the most important ones to guarantee a healthy development. IMAPI is a Nurturing Care Municipality Index that combines over 100 metrics that are strongly related to environmental development in these first days of a child’s life. The project is an 18-month effort from a diverse group of professionals to put together databases from 2015 and 2016 from all of Brazil's 5,570 municipalities, to create a sound, peer-reviewed methodology, and to make the results publicly available.

Second Place: A Walk in the Dark

By: James Round Design

U.K.

The data visualization, exploring the incredible legacy of spacewalking in its entirety, is presented in a similar structure to a constellation chart, and plots every person who has ever embarked on a spacewalk or moonwalk. I wanted the design to be in a vintage style, conjuring the timeless majesty of space, and conveying a sense of the ambition and enthusiasm around space travel that existed during the time of the moon landing and Apollo missions. The astronauts and cosmonauts are plotted chronologically according to the date of their first extravehicular activity. Different icons featuring stars, planets and other interstellar objects depict the various missions, while the scale of each icon represents the number of EVAs undertaken. Finally, EVA’s undertaken by the same person across different decades are linked to create constellations, presenting a complete picture that celebrates scientific achievement and our collective aspiration as a species to sit amongst the stars.

Third Place: Emotion Archive

By: McKinsey & Company

USA

It all started with a simple question: "How have people around the world coped with the COVID-19 crisis?" The Emotion Archive is an interactive data visualization, featured on McKinsey's COVID Response Center, that explores the reflections of 122 people in 22 cities and eight countries around the world. It offers a deeper look into how the pandemic has changed people’s lives and livelihoods while serving as an archive of the unprecedented changes and emotional responses triggered by the crisis.

First Place: Arrested Development

By: South China Morning Post

Hong Kong

The South China Morning Post graphics team chose to mark the one year anniversary of the ongoing anti-government demonstrations by visualizing the fate of those arrested on protest-related charges. Lead artist, Adolfo Arranz drew 8,981 unique silhouettes to show the number of people acquitted, discharged, bound over and convicted. The design makes clever use of the broadsheet format to show how many face prosecution, are under investigation or have been released. Readers can see at a glance that more than a quarter were female, the youngest was 11 years old, the oldest 84.

Second Place: Mohawk Maker Quarterly 16: Community

By: Hybrid Design

USA

Community as an aspiration has captured the attention of a broad cross section of the design world. As mediators of a cultural environment where we are constantly presented with everything, remarkably, we feel we are missing something. As curators of the Mohawk Maker Quarterly, and designers ourselves, we were struck by the possibility that the elusiveness of community stems from a hazy definition. Maybe we are drawn to something we haven’t fully de ned, dooming our desire to be forever unrequited. In this issue we investigate varied expressions of community with stories in three volumes: Place, Voice, Time, each representing a different point of vi
ew on community through a different point of view on design.

Third Place: MICA Commotion Vol. 08

By: Design Army

USA

The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore is one of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in the country. When approached to help find an exciting and “interactive” way to unite their 20 graduate programs, we developed and designed a semiannual magazine to connect students, alumni, faculty and prospective students. The new magazine was titled Commotion. The name comes from the belief that artists and designers create through exploration and investigation, taking inspiration from vast and varied sources; the process can be chaotic, noisy and confusing, but always rewarding. The magazine had to be visually dynamic and exciting to represent this process. We created visually exciting and compelling layouts, with bright pops of color, dynamic typography and custom illustration. The publication increased engagement and graduate enrollment and seamlessly connected the disparate groups to create a strong MICA experience that extends well beyond the college years.

First Place: Resilience Mural Project

By: Creative Theory Agency

USA

Resilience is the ability to persist and thrive in spite of challenging and unprecedented circumstances. This mural located in Washington, DC is designed to inspire our community through art and storytelling while offering resources to those affected by COVID-19. From physical to digital, this multi-layered project, in partnership with Capital One, was created to encourage perseverance through artistic expression and storytelling while providing pandemic relief resources to minority-owned businesses.

Second Place: Knit Con Event Branding

By: Hybrid Design

USA

Knit Con, [Pinterest's] annual employee conference, is designed to celebrate creativity, hands-on learning and the exploration of new skills and experiences. By focusing on the elements that tie Pinterest’s values and employees together, Hybrid Design created a fresh new take on the idea of the Pinterest Thread. Typographic expressions, illustration, art direction and photography work together to literally tie ideas together and take over the beautiful physical space that the Pinners call home. Installations throughout the Pinterest offices created the feeling of anticipation and excitement for the event to come to life and the well-deserved days of enrichment and learning for the Pinterest employees.

Third Place: Sniffing Out the Differences

By: Sniffing Out the Differences, ValueLabs

India

Sniffing out the Differences is a series of multisensory installations consisting of novel interfaces that use the unusual medium of smell along with sensor technology to narrate socially relevant stories for today. The narratives primarily deal with the modern conception of identity, and with differences which often lead to xenophobia. It consists of five installations titled Jallianwala Bagh, Identity stories, Mir Abdul Attarwala, Xeno 500, and Diversity in us. Each of these installations tackles a key social or cultural issue relevant to current society by allowing the user to experience multisensory inputs guiding them through varied narratives.

First Place: AIGA Chicago Mentorship Program 2020 Identity

By: One Design Company

USA

The AIGA Chicago Mentorship Program—one of the chapter's most successful and inclusive platforms—gives creatives from across disciplines a place to gather and share insights, experiences and resources. With programming that supports all levels of experience, the organization has collaborative mentor groups that develop a curriculum based on community interest and need. The One Design team was proud to support the program with a bold, flexible, custom typographic identity for the 2020 season—taking conceptual cues from the rich diversity of mentorship program participants.

Second Place: PRINT Award Certificates

By: Design Army

USA

Custom lettering for the 2019 Print Awards—each poster was custom for each region using various kinetic graphic elements. The certificates are oversized poster format, and were printed with white foils and inks. The goal was to create something epic and memorable for each winner, as these certificates also marked the end of the printed regional publication, and the start of a new online format. Long live PRINT!

Third Place: Confluence Chicago

By: One Design Company

USA

Collaborating with Chicago’s famed Merchandise Mart and BIFMA (the trade association for business and institutional furniture manufacturers), One Design developed a positioning strategy and brand system for Confluence Chicago, a new programming track for NeoCon 2020 (now slated to 2021) focused on bringing together creative practitioners from across multiple modes of design.

First Place: Muito Esquisito

By: Casa Rex

Brazil

Graphic design and illustrations for a children's book that creates fantastic animals—some described verbally, others visually. The illustrations move from mixing collages to simple, multicolored geometric shapes. … By combining distinct and easily identifiable body parts of animals into a single being, [they] evoke not only the fantasy of small readers but also broaden their visual representation—something that could easily be proved in the numerous school encounters in which students created their own "weird animals."

Second Place: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance

By: Journey Group

USA

The assignment was to create a pane of U.S. postage stamps to honor the Harlem Renaissance. The four literary figures honored on these stamps were chosen to highlight diverse facets of the Harlem Renaissance: writer, philosopher, educator and arts advocate Alain Locke; novelist Nella Larsen; bibliophile and historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg; and poet Anne Spencer. The stamps feature stylized pastel portraits of the four honorees based on historic photographs. The artist created each piece of art by first sketching in pencil on translucent paper. He then moved to pastel pencil on paper to make the final designs.

Third Place: Rishi Tea & Botanicals—Boxed Sachets

By: Studio MPLS

USA

Rishi Tea & Botanicals tasked us with redesigning the retail presence of their core line of tea sachets and loose-leaf teas. Offering hand-picked teas of the highest quality, and using ingredients that were globally sourced through rigorous, fair-trade practices, we knew this was not your ordinary tea. We chose to represent each flavor profile with its own unique hand-painted illustration. We created 19 original gouache paintings, inspired by the origins, ingredients and experiences of each flavor profile. Utilizing stark white as a canvas, these paintings rest on the front of each box of sachets, while blind emboss and gold foil serve to elevate the packaging above all other tea packaging in the retail category.

First P
lace: A Love Letter to Austin

By: Guerilla Suit

USA

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of shelter-in-place orders citywide, Guerilla Suit asked itself how we could use our collective creative powers for good. What could we do to help our family, friends and neighbors during these most trying of times? While we were all doing our part to help flatten the curve, our small local businesses were suffering. Y'allmanac was created as a resource to help preserve our local businesses and help keep Austin Austin. When deciding how and where to spend our hard-earned dollars, we urged Austinites to eat, drink, shop, play, hire and care locally.

Second Place: BMS UNITED

By: KOMMIGRAPHICS

Greece

BMS UNITED has been active in the shipping industry since 1990, and today is one of the leading bunkering companies in the world. An important characteristic is its multinational culture, as well as its reliability, responsibility and transparency towards customers. Based on the progressive character of the company, we designed far out[side] the classic boundaries of this market. The new website of BMS UNITED presents a company that embraces diversity, is constantly evolving and always aiming to the top.

Third Place: Industry City

By: IBM Originals

USA

Much of what IBM offers is not seen with the naked eye, and therefore our clients are unaware of our expertise and solutions. We have an opportunity to present our solutions through the lens of our client—and how it will enable them to meet their customer expectations of today. This interactive experience holistically displays IBM’s breadth and depth of industry expertise and innovative technology in scenes that are familiar to the audience. The points of interest host inspiring and humanizing stories of problem solving, success through reinvention and working smarter, while also linking to our must-win solutions.

First Place: FIT 75th Anniversary Gala

By: Cynda Media Lab

USA

The FIT 75th-anniversary identity is an elegant design system that focuses on timeless design fundamentals such as balance, visual rhythm and simplicity. This design direction will fully manifest its potentials when produced with special inks and/or other high-end printing technologies to enhance the texture element in this design. For the anniversary gala, a set of Save the Date cards was designed and sent to the invited guests. These cards are printed with heavyweight matte finish paper to create the deep black, which contrasts with the bright color geometric shapes with a slight gradient treatment.

Second Place: Holiday Celebration Box Limited Edition

By: Hybrid3

USA

We designed a package for the client, Dowbuilt [a custom home builder], … a unique wood box with hidden hardware and magnetic closure … to house the gift of wine from Water-1st—a nonprofit organization that provides access to clean water and sanitation for the world's poorest people. The letterpress wrapping allows handwritten notes to recipients.

Third Place: CCD Holiday Card

By: Colin Campbell Design Inc.

Canada

As part of the promotion for my design business I like to send out an annual holiday card. The subject matter varies depending on my travels and focus during the year. This card was inspired by our trip to Nara, Japan, and features my interpretation of a caution sign in the park. The card is letterpress printed by Fox & Found Letterpress on Crane's Lettra 110 lb. cover, natural white.

First Place: Wilder Fields

By: One Design Company

USA

Wilder Fields is a technology-enabled food company producing extraordinarily flavorful, fresh, safe and sustainably grown food for local communities across the country. Harnessing bleeding-edge technology, sustainable operations and ethical real estate practices, Wilder Fields seeks to nourish the world and transform local economies by reinventing the practice of large-scale indoor vertical farming. The One Design team worked with CEO Jake Counne, CCO James Radke and their team since early 2020 to develop the Wilder Fields brand identity and communication strategy. Formerly known as Backyard Fresh Farms, a new name, positioning strategy, messaging plan, identity program and packaging system has been crafted from the ground up to express a more resonant, emotional and authentic narrative for the organization.

Second Place: Office Ours

By: One Design Company

USA

Office Ours is a series of virtual studio tours focused on the nuts and bolts of running a creative practice. Featuring an evolving roster of studios, the programming track is an opportunity to dig below the surface and see how businesses operate, evolve and thrive. One Design created and named the series. An elegant, time-keeping variable logo and classic design system came to life online and off. A digital content hub—custom built by the One Design team—served to promote upcoming events in the series, and provides access to past episodes.

Third Place: How the “Share a Little Sunshine” Logo Evolved Into “LoveFL”

By: SPARK

USA

VISIT FLORIDA’s original advocacy platform, “Share A Little Sunshine,” initially started as a campaign designed to encourage travelers to visit Florida by featuring residents who shared what they loved most about their home state as a way of extending a welcoming invitation to their out-of-state friends to come join in the fun. But after 10 years and three million pieces of content, this pool of advocates had exploded into a flourishing online community of local fans who formed a bond through their love and pride for all things Florida. … As part of our comprehensive repositioning effort, we made sure to capture the true spirit of these grateful loyalists by holding a “Sunshine Summit” attended by 30 of the most active and outspoken followers from across the state. Naturally, our intention was to start off our strategic work by listening and letting their voices not only shape the new brand, but also play an integral role in becoming a part of its ongoing success. What resulted was a total makeover of the identity, including a new logomark, color palette and identity system that accurately reflects the vibrant personality and genuine gratitude of those more than 100,000 proud Floridians eager to celebrate all the reasons why they LoveFL.

First Place: Exponential Growth of COVID-19

By: TEGNA Design Tank

USA

This summer, KUSA—a Denver-based news station—asked TEGNA Design Tank to create an animated explainer graphic to assist in describing how contagious COVID-19 can be and how infection rates are measured. The main goal of this animated piece was to explain some of the more technical aspects of disease infection rates through the use of strong visual storytelling. In order to demonstrate why social distancing amidst the outbreak of COVID-19 is so important, we made use of clean, minimalist design layouts and bold, yet gentle, colors. This motion graphics piece provides an animated representation of the scientific term known as “R naught” and details how exponential growth can (and has) occurred in the spread of the coronavirus. Our simplistic choices for symbolizing the spread of infection in conjunction with legible text queues effectively educate viewers on the significance of vaccinations and what makes COVID-19 a serious global health concern.

Second Place: REC Narrated By Christophe Pillet for Studio TK

By: Tolleson

USA

Studio TK wanted to create its first-ever video by highlighting Christophe Pillet, designer of its newest table collection, Rec. As is standard across much of the contract furniture industry, designers work with many brands. Subsequently, a simple search can return multiple videos from competing manufacturers featuring the same designer, answering the same generic questions. For Studio TK, we needed to unearth a story that went beyond just furniture, that broke from the mold of traditional designer videos and that played into the spirit of Studio TK’s human focus and social charisma. We began by interviewing Pillet over the phone and found a consistent throughline—designing for happiness—that would pair well with Studio TK’s brand and provide content rich in visual storytelling. Our original storyboards set out to capture this story utilizing in-person interviews with Christophe, plus live action b-roll of his studio in France. But then COVID hit, forcing us to completely rethink how we could tell his story without the conveniences afforded by a traditional in-person film production. With the Studio TK brand as our guide and the safety of all involved as our priority, we took this as an opportunity to challenge ourselves creatively to think beyond our original idea, and found our inspiration in stop-motion animation.

Third Place: Dreams in Fiber Optic Wood at MSK Cancer Center

By: C&G Partners

USA

The digital installations for the new David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care are designed around the feelings and needs of patients and caregivers. The main lobby hosts the welcome wall, Dreams in Fiber Optic Wood, featuring images in motion that glow directly through the wood of the building. Inspired by nature, the dreams include koi fish, butterflies, flowers and bonsai trees, all constantly changing with the

seasons. The effect is deliberately meditative and atmospheric so that it can be viewed for one minute or 100. Because light passes through thousands of actual tiny holes in the wood, a special approach was required to create the original animated sequences. Recent science has clinically proven that artistic and nature-based experiences (in medical language, “positive distractions”) can speed healing and improve outcomes. Random natural motion—like what is found in water, wind, foliage, animal life and the motion of light—has been demonstrated to hold near-universal appeal for patients in medical contexts.

First Place: I'm Feeling Myself

By: Malik Dupree

USA

“I’m Feeling Myself” Highlights the importance of self love and self care for Black Queer males who are still struggling to be themselves in a hyper masculine society. The main goal of this photo series is to let go of any and all insecurities of being a Black LGBTQ+ individual, while confidently looking into the mirror and saying "I'm feeling myself today." Whether it's putting on your favorite stylish du-rag to keep your hair kept, doing some daily skincare routine, or spending some well-deserved time with close friends, looking after your well-being as well as the state of other Black Queer folks is critical, especially now!

Second Place: 36 Days of Type

By: 80east Design

USA

[This is a] series of still-life photographs using everyday household items illustrating the 26 characters of the alphabet, and 10 numbers (zero though nine). Shown here is the master grid of all 36 images and five photographs individually. Created and posted one per day on Instagram in early 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Third Place: Where Ideas Lead

By: Design Army

USA

Promotional images to introduce Neenah's new branding tagline, “Where Ideas Lead,” positioning Neenah as a partner in the creative process that provides the products and services—the solutions—to help bring brand visions to life and transform ideas into results.

First Place: Goddess Experience Poster Series

By: Brunet-Garcia Advertising

USA

The Goddess Experience, a performance series written, directed, and performed by Ebony Payne-English, needed a cohesive set of expertly crafted promotional materials to draw attention to the project. Centered around reclaiming her experiences as a new mother and a woman of
color living with HIV, we needed to communicate both the beauty and universality of her story. Inspired by the artist’s name, we created profile silhouettes of her and her daughter from exotic ornamental ebony wood.

Second Place: Breathe and Vote

By: Rigsby Hull

USA

The AIGA Design for Democracy/League of Women Voters exhibition celebrates a century of voting rights uneasily, acknowledging that women of color didn’t gain that right until 1965. As a woman working on the project I found the discrepancy intolerable. And as a mother, I heard George Floyd’s dying plea as a call that cut across all racial lines, a petition to all mothers: “Mama, vote.” “Breathe, and vote.” Collaborating with artist Michael Ray Charles, we visualized that call on placards, church fans, banners, and in this second submission to the AIGA poster exhibition.

Third Place: Never More

By: Code Switch

USA

[This is] an anti-Trump poster inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. I wanted us to remember what really matters this year: That we must all show up and vote the current inhabitant out of the White House. The famous phrase "Nevermore," combined with one simple yellow brush stroke, is sufficient to convey the message.

First Place: Fika Promo Package

By: PS Design

USA

Most commonly defined as “a coffee and sweets break,” Fika is a Swedish concept and a state of mind. Not just a break with some joe, but a moment to slow down and appreciate all that is good in life. Time to connect with friends and loved ones over a good cup of coffee and something sweet. After visiting Sweden this concept of Fika was one of the biggest cultural gems we took back with us. As a thank you to our clients and colleagues this year, we decided to share the ethos behind this wonderful Swedish tradition by providing them with all the “necessary” goodies so they too can experience it firsthand. The concept behind the extending type as the box opens is simple—take more time to take your pleasure seriously—a subtle nod to the famous quote from the great Charles Eames.

Second Place: Glenmore Valentine's Day Promotion: Those who print together, stay together.

By: Best Studio

Canada

Glenmore wanted to promote the fact that they are Canada's only custom tube manufacturer, as well as highlight some of their luxury printing and packaging techniques with a direct mail piece for Valentine's Day. They needed something that would speak to their core audience of designers and design agencies and be visually engaging enough for people to take notice. We created a gift set that was immediately eye-catching while highlighting several different print techniques offered by Glenmore. Each box contained three custom-designed candy-containing tubes alongside cheeky Valentine's Day cards and stickers that played up printing puns.

Third Place: Bracom Mooncake Magic Giftbox

By: Bracom Agency

Vietnam

Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated across many Asian countries. … In Vietnam, it is regarded as a children’s holiday, as well. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, they parade through the streets with illuminated lanterns in different colors and shapes. The moon coming in the roundest and brightest represents a reunion. Therefore, this day is also an occasion for a family gathering. The mooncake set by Bracom, featuring the enchanting image of the moon, is highly believed to be a valuable present to show our appreciation toward friends and clients for their productive cooperation. The visualization of the autumn moon rising over a tranquil lake reminds us of putting aside the hectic life to enjoy the allure of nature for the present.

First Place: Department of Digital Remains

By: Anjali Nair, Maryland Institute College of Art

In 50 years, the dead will outnumber the living on Facebook, and it will turn into a virtual graveyard. The Department of Digital Remains is a fictional federal agency that keeps a tab on all your virtual actions, which will determine your fate in the digital afterlife. In an age of immortal digital presences, this is a speculative look at what happens to our online selves after we die. This project uses design fiction to examine digital lives through the lens of digital death while trying to answer the question: If we have found ways to treat physical remains of the departed with dignity, why not digital remains?

Second Place: With Water

By: Yasmin Ali, College for Creative Studies

With Water is a brand/identity initiative that was created in direct response to Detroit's water shutoffs. Not only does it aim to provide water to people experiencing a shutoff but it aims to spread awareness and use political messaging to promote governmental change. The brand began with extensive research on Detroit's complex and nuanced water system that has left thousands of Detroiters without water. Research included looking at billing practices, the unique drainage charge, mismanagement in Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and the neighborhoods that are most affected by these shutoffs. From our research on demographics we found that the majority of those affected by the shutoffs were Black families and that single Black mothers were hit hardest. Looking at the issue of Detroit's water system, it was clear that systemic racism had created barriers that limited access to something as basic as clean and reliable water. Reading articles and interviews it seemed as though shame had been directed at those experiencing a water shutoff rather than at the city for depriving people of water in the first place.

Third Place: Breathe

By: Akshita Chandra, Maryland Institute College of Art

Breathe is an interactive and dynamic typographic artwork of breathing type. It reminds the user to slow down and breathe along. It was created in direct response to the universal and high anxiety we all faced due to the uncertainty and change that seemed to consume us during peak lockdown. The interface with the type-able breathing typeface lets the user type out any combination of letters or words, select from a variety of five different typographic treatments, choose an ambient music to go with and meditate along! The breathing pace of the typeface is set to mimic the pace that was calming and relaxing. The artwork was coded in p5.js.

First Place: I'm Feeling Myself

By: Malik Dupree

USA

“I’m Feeling Myself” Highlights the importance of self love and self care for Black Queer males who are still struggling to be themselves in a hyper masculine society. The main goal of this photo series is to let go of any and all insecurities of being a Black LGBTQ+ individual, while confidently looking into the mirror and saying "I'm feeling myself today." Whether it's putting on your favorite stylish du-rag to keep your hair kept, doing some daily skincare routine, or spending some well-deserved time with close friends, looking after your well-being as well as the state of other Black Queer folks is critical, especially now!

Second Place: Hack(Comedy)

By: Lan Zhang

USA

The word "hack" has many meanings. In the computer programming realm, "hack" is known as an act of gaining or attempting unauthorized access to a network or computers. However, this term is also long established in the comedy industry, referring to materials copied from original comedians. My native language isn't English, and I struggled to become culturally competent in American society, where humor is also a crucial cultural pedestal. With my design background and programming ability, I started my design research in decoding the secrets behind becoming fluent in the comedy language. "Hack(Comedy)" is a computational comedy net art interface and a net art performance. "Hack(Comedy)" aims to interrogate our perception of humor through live procedural text generations that reflect the American comedy landscape's condensed themes and identities.

Third Place: SOF | Sisters Overpowering Fibroids

By: Hamda Al Naimi

USA

SOF is an acronym for Sisters Overpowering Fibroids. To translate the core of the brand identity, it was essential to use a simple name that embodies strength and support. Consequently, the goal is to bridge the gap between people diagnosed with uterine fibroids, their doctors, as well as creating a safe and supportive space. SOF aims to encourage and empower patients to be in charge of their health through multiple design deliverables. SOF is a concept project inspired by the design
er’s journey with uterine fibroids, the frustration of being handed the same generalized brochure after a doctor's visit, meeting women in similar positions who have waited too long to get treated. While not dangerous, ignoring the symptoms can lead to complications. Possible solutions involve creating a sense of urgency, giving patients enough personalized information and a support system.

Thompson is a Chicago-based artist, writer and creative catalyst. He calls himself a "recovering Adman," having spent the first 35 years of his adulthood creating ads and commercials for many of the nation's biggest agencies. He was one of the first African Americans hired by a major Chicago advertising agency, moving ever higher from pasting storyboards at the Foote Cone & Belding agency in 1968 to working on the first “Take a Break at McDonald’s” commercial. He eventually became an art director at J. Walter Thompson, where he developed ads for Kemper Insurance and Kraft cheese.

Four years ago, "I had a revelation," he told the Chicago Tribune. "The key to understanding the race problem is one word: branding. Not only were cattle and slaves branded, but America became the world leader in branding through advertising. And the greatest ad campaign in American history was for American racism: By branding Africans as subhumans, it justified the slavery that America's success is based upon. My job now is unselling racism."

Among his books and campaigns is this coloring book. I asked Thompson a few questions about the book and the workshops he has organized using it as a catalyst.

Has this been published?

It's been published by me as part of a grant I received from the Chicago Community Trust. I've distributed various iterations at different events over the last two years.

Who did you create the coloring book for?

Everybody, but especially "color-challenged" adults.

How has it been received?

It has been received well … well, very well.

Do you have hope that this book will inform and alter understanding?

It already has in some places here in Chicago. The book and my whole "Colored" concept is my "special sauce" for saving the world (well, at least the USA).

Where is it available?

It's only available at events sponsored by the Chicago Community Trust right now—or, by ordering from me either on my Facebook page, or my email address.

Do you have any future plans?

Do I! I've got two grants that look like they will get funded as part of the Healing Illinois initiative here by the end of this month. I plan to offer it at select bookstores and through museum stores.

Born out of a deep-rooted desire to better the world through design, More Hugs by Ken Lo is the latest initiative to spring from the mind of award-winning designer Ken Lo of leading creative agency BLOW Hong Kong.

Drawing from a wide-ranging plethora of elements from contemporary pop culture, More Hugs by Ken Lo combines Ken’s signature bold and flat style with distinctive iconography to create a graphic design series that speaks to the heart. With its universally relatable message of “more hugs, less hate”, More Hugs by Ken Lo aims to instil change through its refreshing earnestness, as well as being a meditative reflection of Ken’s personal history and unique view on the world.

View the full project here.

The large-format book from Callisto Publishers captures air travel in some of its most romantic eras via the industry’s most outstanding commercial art.

There are vintage ads, chapters devoted to each major airline and their identities, commentary about how the industry and its related media have evolved—and it’s all wrapped up in a hand-crafted case with a metal cover paying homage to the aluminum alloys of 1960s jet manufacturing. (Moreover, the technical side of the overall production is on point; the book utilizes 17 colors, five varnishes, as well as foil printing and embossing.)

With work by Massimo Vignelli, Mary Wells Lawrence, Saul Bass, Ivan Chermayeff and more, it’s a book we’re delighted to escape into in this most landlocked era.

Check out a medley of the ads featured inside below. And to order a copy, go here.

The impeccably designed spaces serve as a hybrid next-gen bodega and cafe, or, as Foxtrot puts it, “the digitally native evolution of the corner store.”

Now, Leo Burnett is taking Foxtrot’s aesthetic to the next level with its “Good Stuff Delivered” campaign, which focuses on small moments of joy in the pandemic age.

As the agency writes, “At the heart of the ‘Good Stuff Delivered’ campaign are new, simple yet tongue-in-cheek black and white illustrations inspired by Foxtrot's tightly defined aesthetic, done by Leo Burnett. While these playful graphics have always been Foxtrot's signature, the campaign turns them into larger-than-life expressions to capture the essence of delight that is core to the brand's foundation.”

The imagery is set to be deployed across all of the brand’s touchpoints, from the virtual to Foxtrot’s store bags and new coffee merch. Coinciding with the campaign’s focus on surprise and delight, Foxtrot is also treating its customers to random free coffee, gift cards, and more during the launch.

Smart design for a brand that’s hot to trot.

Created by Spark and Visit Florida, you open the map and discover a basic outline of the state and instructions to go outside. When you do, the sun works its magic and a wonderland of Florida’s lesser-known gems appear, from rare coral reefs to prehistoric caverns and bioluminescent kayaking treks.

Created with UV-sensitive photochromatic inks, the map was delivered inside the most recent issue of Outside magazine. Readers can delve deeper down the rabbit hole thanks to a QR code on the map that leads to more information about the locales.

“There will be a time when people travel again,” Visit Florida’s Staci Mellman writes. “They will be looking for experiences where they can explore the beautiful outdoors. Florida has these kinds of experiences in abundance and this map provides a fun and compelling way to discover Florida’s hidden gems.”

Check out the map in action below.

As she says, “Given the current climate of cut-throat job hunting (especially in the ad world), I have decided to do something out of the ordinary—some would call it being bold, some would call it desperate, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.”

Arutyunyan’s strategy: She drops by the agencies where she would love to work and posts a custom “For Hire” ad on the wall. She then takes a photo of it, posts it on LinkedIn and tags the agency—telling them that she’ll be on Zoom every day from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. waiting (and hoping) to be interviewed.

As she notes, the experiment is causing her to explore how prospective employees have adapted to job hunting during a pandemic—and how technology can be further utilized in job searches beyond the traditional ins and outs.

“With this project, I want to inspire others to drop their egos, take risks and to push the boundaries of thought and set norms,” she says. “When we think of job hunting, we think it’s a tedious and boring process that doesn’t deserve any creative thought. … Why not have some fun with it?

“With this pandemic came great change, and what better time to remind others that technology is always available for them to adapt to any circumstance, and that all it takes is a different angle.”

Want to hire her? You know where to find her.

We’ll follow up to let you know where she lands.

The new agency already touts Facebook and P&G as clients, with Cartwright having made waves for the latter with “The Look” at Cannes in 2019. Rather than rely on business as usual, though, the agency is partnering with Grey Group and focusing on a new model that gives them access to Grey’s international talent pool—with the intended result being that brands will have a more direct relationship with Cartwright’s leadership.

“My goal in structuring our agency this way allows us to maintain the highest level of client interaction and partnership, while giving us the ability to pull unlimited resources and scale globally as needed,” Cartwright writes.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Cartwright sits on the board of the Ad Council and The One Club for Creativity, and has spent time at Ogilvy & Mather, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Wieden + Kennedy and Butler, Shine Stern & Partners, in addition to his own former shop, Union Made Creative. He’ll remain on at Saturday Morning, the nonprofit he co-founded in 2016 to combat racial bias and injustice.

As for the state of his industry, “Advertising hasn’t lost its way or become irrelevant,” he writes. “In fact, our business is now more important and necessary than ever before. We take in more information in a day than our parents did in a lifetime. People aren’t sitting around waiting on your ad to come out. This requires a different type of creativity. Creativity has to be bold and audacious in order for you to pay attention, inspire you to share and entice you to want more.”

To ring in the Venice, CA–based launch, here’s a medley of Cartwright’s powerful work. For much more, click here.

The Toronto Public Library asked Canadian designers armed with Photoshop to choose one of the many wartime posters held in the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana and adapt it to help message (verb, meaning “to communicate”) this historic pandemic. The call has had dozens of submissions that are now showcased online. According to Toronto Public Library, “All the signs of support in our city during the pandemic have been truly inspiring.”

Read more about the initiative here.

In addition to work and sketches, the site contains his biography and additional notes. His life follows a path that various New York moderns adhered to. As the site describes:

“At 15 he won first prize and his first award, for a poster in a New York City Parks Department contest. He majored in Applied Arts at Straubenmuller Textile High School, a highly respected vocational high school, while living in a NYC public housing project.

“By the mid-1940s, ineligible to serve in World War II due to a disability from a childhood illness, Arnold worked days in the art department of RKO Radio Pictures. He attended Cooper Union at night, graduating in 1946. While at Cooper, he studied design with Howard Tafton at the Art Students League and attended György Kepes’ illustrious “visual fundamentals” class at Brooklyn College, as well as Alexey Brodovitch’s workshop at the New School.

“In 1948, after a few years freelancing, he set up an independent studio at 19 E. 48th St. in New York. Arnold’s wife, Dorris, whom he met waiting for an elevator at RKO, assisted him in the studio with production work. In the late 1960s, following his death, Dorris became one of the first women to work in typography sales in New York….

“The studio was a magnet for designers, writers, photographers and illustrators who continuously dropped in to borrow a desk, share stories and exchange ideas about design projects. A small roster of young designers, handpicked from design schools, were hired as assistants. Many moved on to stellar careers in the advertising and design world.”

“Trump’s Suggestion That Disinfectants Could Be Used to Treat Coronavirus Prompts Aggressive Pushback” (NY Times) and “Lysol maker warns against internal use of disinfectants after Trump comments” (NBC News).

Well, “Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea” (Walter Winchell) it begs the question: Dateline Washington: Is the President plugging brandnames at briefings to make up what he’s lost in a collapsing stock market (stop!) or simply medicinal malpractice? (Stop!)

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About Steven Heller

Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.View all posts by Steven Heller →