Across the country each year local chapters of the American Institute for Graphic Arts host their own award shows celebrating design and creativity in their area. While the national AIGA organization has their own brand, each chapter is able to brand their awards as they see fit. We were honored to create the theme and visual identity of the 2019 Louisville edition of the AIGA Awards.
THE CHALLENGE
Creating an identity that inspires and captures the attention of a community already steeped in design is quite a challenge. We were tasked with building a brand and event that our peers would respect and want to be a part of. First, we began by brainstorming a theme and name for the show. From there it was expanded into a design that would be applied to everything from posters and social media, to the physical awards and event itself.
THE APPROACH
The irony of a design awards show is that design is subjective. Distributing awards declaring some pieces “better” or having “winners” in a field with no clear metric is inherently messy. Each person sees a design from a different background and perspective. We decided to lean into those gray areas and create a theme and brand centered around subjectivity.
A series of designs were created each featuring a different background made from ink splatters and brush strokes reflecting the messiness intrinsic in the process of creation. On top was a design made from different boxes that played with geometry and perspective, forcing the viewer to look from different angles and reexamine their viewpoint.
THE RESULTS
After months of thorough event planning and marketing, with Fieldtrip managing everything from catering to photobooths, the awards were a spirited success. Speaker Benji Peck of Peck Design Associates traveled from Nashville for the keynote address, and over 120 attended the standing-room-only show.
