WINNER
Studio Thonik
by Thonik, for Thonik OG BV
"Designing and building your own workspace is still an experimental alternative in the current economic reality. This building is an ultimate form of self promotion," says Thonik's co-founder Thomas Widdershoven. The Studio Thonik building was designed in collaboration with MMX Architects as a “spatial manifesto of Thonik's design philosophy, characterised by social commitment and a playful take on modernism's heritage”, according to the studio.
The mixed-use development is home to Thonik's new two-floor office space, a sake bar, a Japanese Omakase restaurant, an event space dubbed 'the Thonik loft' and a rooftop terrace with 360-degree views over Amsterdam's inner city and financial district. It seeks to be a hub for the local creative community.
Celebrating Thonik's graphic roots, the lines on the facade refer to Mexcellent, a typeface designed for the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The combination of horizontals, verticals and diagonals “attests to radical simplicity”, says Thonik. The large windows aim to make Studio Thonik stand out and welcome “curious pedestrians”, while an external staircase, balconies and corner windows project onto the street, connecting the interior and exterior. Studio Thonik is an all-electric and zero-emission building that uses solar and wind energy, high-quality insulation and smart ventilation.
The judges said: “Who needs direct mail when you’ve got a direct building. Love it.”
Cheers! Limited Edition Wine Collection
by Together Design
Together started Perfectly Put Together as an annual collection in 2014 to “challenge ourselves creatively” by designing, producing, bringing to market and fulfilling a product, says the studio.
The 2020 collection, Perfectly Put Together, was Christmas-themed and took the form of a “stylish celebration at home” including three bottles from German winemaker Thielen Wine, owned and run by the family of Together Design's co-founder Katja Thielen.
Together produced a 500-bottle limited-edition wine collection with exclusively designed packaging, accompanied by a selection of wine-related gadgets and accessories. It worked with Spanish illustrator Cabeza Patata to visually interpret the characters that represent each wine on labels and gift packaging, with each character designed to easily split between the top and bottom half of its body.
Inspired by “character split books”, Together designed the outer gift packaging as a drum with all three character illustrations that swap top and bottom body parts as the lid is revolved. A warm, fresh and contemporary colour palette looks to bring a new twist to traditional-looking German Riesling wine labels. “The design is upbeat and happy – providing that cheerful experience we were all looking for last Christmas,” says Together.
Augmented Assembly
by Dn&co, for Ask Us
Commissioned by Ask Us for Ideas to reimagine public spaces to “fit our new reality”, place branding specialist Dn&co conceived a conceptual app, Augmented Assembly, that allows people to “socially distance anywhere, for any occasion”.
The app uses an innovative pattern design based on the Voronoi diagram to adapt to all types of spaces, and projects boundaries onto the ground to allow people to find safe, comfortable spots in public that align with Covid-19 social distancing restrictions.
The app was demonstrated in London’s Parliament Square: “As the nation woke to the extent of systemic racism, we aimed to create an effective solution for people to safely gather during protests, performances and processions,” says Dn&co.
Augmented Assembly resulted in Dn&co’s highest Instagram engagement rates and was extensively covered in industry press.
Goodbye 2020 Party Cannons
by Music
Music wanted to send clients a self-promotional item that “brought joy, but also acknowledged how difficult 2020 had been for everyone”. The agency says it needed to be original, beautifully designed, useful, memorable and stand out during a traditionally busy time of year for clients.
The agency created a set of seven party cannons to celebrate “the end of a terrible year” at home. Each cannon uses Music's signature black and white styling alongside optimistic song titles such as Twist and Shout and The Only Way Is Up. When twisted, the cannons release confetti featuring lyrics from the song emblazoned on the outside. They were packaged with a double-sided insert featuring instructions and a “2020 is over!” poster as an homage to John and Yoko's “War is over!”
Pencil Box
by Studio Sutherl&, for Boss Box
Studio Sutherl& created a box of pencils as a promotional piece for Boss Box, dubbed Pencil Box. The box is a high-end, hand-crafted item that shows off the box-making and printing skills of Boss Box and Boss Print to select clients.
The studio created a unique set of illustrations based around a series of different characters shown on each side of the box, all of which are formed from the basic pencil shapes of the shaft, hexagon, circle and shavings. The four characters are Bubo the Owl; Ningyo, a fish-like creature; Calaca, a Mayan skeleton, and Helios, the sunflower.
Studio Sutherl& also designed a complete modular typeface using the same shapes to create an identity that’s used on the Pencil Box, the pencils, the insert and postcards. Print foils and coloured Fedrigoni papers are used on the box to give a mid-century feel. The studio also produced simple, playful animations to promote the project on social media.
Self-promotional Projects
shortlisted
Self-promotional Projects