Vacuosity

And the winner is...

I got some great news today. A logo I designed took Gold in its category at the Astrid Awards. And one of Lydia's logos took bronze honours in the same category.

Back in January my department gathered up some of its memorable work from 2001 and submitted it to the Astrid as well as the Gold Quill awards. Never having submitted to any awards programs before, I didn't expect much. I really didn't think about it, expect for the occasional "what if" daydream and "wouldn't it be nice" fantasy. I truly didn't expect to win.

But we got the call today and the official announcement is next week. It's funny, Lyn Whitham, my original VP, was far more excited than I was. I really don't know yet whether it's a big deal at all, but other people seem to think so. I got all kinds of congratulatory calls and emails, and Lyn called our Senior VP and was informing all of Senior Management. It was a bit unnerving. There were entrants from around the world, including, Japan, Brazil, Denmark, Belgium, and South Africa. That freaks me out.

When the official "we won" email went out, I asked that Lydia and I not be named individually, but that it be regarded as a win for the team. This event just confirms for me that design, truly good design, is a collaborative effort. I know that that logo was only as good as it was because I was able to solicit input and advice form my teammates, Marianne and Lydia.

We had a brainstorming session earlier this week about a tough project. It went really, really well. We all came away from the table inspired and confident that our approach to this design challenge would be a success. That's what I love about design and about teamwork.

A couple of weeks ago I was drawing a blank on a teaser campaign leading up to our Brand Launch. I asked Julia for ideas, and while the ideas I got weren't really appropriate for this project, I was able to springboard from her ideas and land on something that really suited.

The morals of today's show are: Never discount someone as a potential source of ideas, and never be too proud to listen to criticism and suggestions.

posted by David @ 11:41 p.m.