Trend spots – red dot award: communication design 2007

In this year’s red dot award: communication design, brand staging ranks number one. Modern communication design allows customers to experience a brand and leaves them with a lasting impression. Polite reservation and a return to craftsmanship itself are the essential criteria with which designers respond to a time in which almost anything is possible thanks to technology.

Corporate design – respectability through upmarket design

In a global market, brand consciousness and brand rating become increasingly significant for positioning a company. Documenting the value of a brand and the individuality of the company in a reputable but original way are the tasks of good corporate design. The market’s increasing internationality results in globally oriented design. Experimental in material and form, the greatest importance is still attached to printed work. In general, the design is characterised by particularly high quality; the works are exclusive and reserved, with a sophisticated character. The design with its outstanding quality is reputable and likable at the same time, thus creating consumers’ trust in the brand.

Information Design/Public Space – trendsetting brand staging

Gone are the days when quantity was top of the list. Instead of target groups, style groups are defined in modern communication design, and highest quality is the primary goal. This also applies to the field of Information Design/Public Space, which is a significant factor for today’s brand staging. The brand is innovatively and experimentally staged in showrooms; three-dimensional presentations provide an informative glimpse of future projects. Modern communication design allows customers to experience the brand and leaves them with a lasting impression. This year’s entries from the field of Information Design/Public Space are trendsetting and groundbreaking for the design of the future.

Advertising – emotional patriotism

The increased design consciousness of internationally oriented companies has also become clearly noticeable in the field of advertising. The world is increasingly moving together and this is also having an effect on communication design. The pieces of work are high-quality, emotional and witty, with designs meeting global standards. The designs have high graphic and immediate quality – for the designers the sensual experience is to the fore. Communication is often inspired by the target group’s regional environment and with emotional patriotism the designers capture the contemporary zeitgeist.

Packaging Design – creative presentation of products

Modern packaging design was the centre of interest in this year’s red dot award: communication design. The design in this category is authentic, clear and target-oriented; the high-quality packaging presents the products in creative ways. The design has been reduced to the essentials; transparent materials direct the attention to the products themselves. Packaging design gives the brand an identity and once this has been established, the design is repeatedly re-interpreted while retaining its high recognition value. Regardless of whether it is washing powder or simply a piece of information – the packaging creates an image, which receives value through design. In the face of the multitude of products on the market, packaging increasingly fulfills the function of differentiation and is used pointedly as a marketing tool. Innovative technical details give the designs an original touch and offer the consumer the highest possible benefit.

Editorial – a return to craftsmanship

Also in the age of multimedia, the written word remains the most lasting means of communication. All award-winning works of the category ‘Editorial’ have high-quality and innovative concepts. Minimalist and reserved, each work is an individual piece of art, with a consistently and professionally realised design concept and loving attention to detail. With their works, the designers express their innermost thoughts and ideas and realise their messages with distinctly defined graphics. Emotional, individual, with rough edges – design is always a mirror of society, and today designers face such a variety of topics from the past that a unified trend cannot be defined in the ‘Editorial’ category, but rather a global undertone – a return to craftsmanship itself, to the fundamental idea, which is realised and communicated consistently through design.

Posters – creative interaction

Posters address a large and mostly unfiltered target group. They must stand out at first glance, and immediately burn themselves into the observer’s mind. The language of forms of modern poster design is very minimalist and designers create a direct concise message. The award-winning works have outstanding graphic and overall design quality. Topics are successfully conceptualised in original ways. Succinct, clear motives immediately capture the onlooker. At the same time, the design interpretations are pioneering. Aesthetic, honest and direct – communication in modern poster design takes place in the minds of the observers.

Interactive Media – a changing world

In our modern society which is subject to constant change due to technological progress, trends come thick and fast in the field of ‘Interactive Media’. Technology makes almost anything possible resulting in a great variety of options offered. From the rich combination of images, colours, movement, and sound effects to sober objectivity – anything is represented. The design possibilities are constantly growing with the ever increasing data streams and the task of the designers is to create clearly structured, user-friendly websites, which communicate the information as appropriately and aesthetically as possible. It is not sophisticated bells and whistles that make a good website, but a clear and understandable structure, which is fun to use and combines the necessary functions in an intelligent high-quality design.

TV & Cinema – less is more

The entries in the field of TV & Cinema indicate a clear rise in this category. In an age of sensory overload, the designers face the difficult task of directing the attention to the information itself. What they provide are innovative ideas that are cleverly realised and feature distinctive, clear designs. The creative compositions are not aiming to impress with razzle-dazzle effects, but put communication to the fore and demonstrate highest design skills. ‘Less is more’ is the guiding design principle in the ‘TV & Cinema’ category, and the designers impressed the demanding jury with simple, but original works.

Sound Design – acoustic brand identity on the increase

The still very young category ‘Sound Design’ clearly shows a sensitisation this year. Sound design is the acoustic brand identity and it has to fulfill one goal above all: To represent the brand and the target audience at the same time. Like a catchy tune, the acoustic design piece is to convince the consumer instantly. Good sound design creates an acoustic stimulus, which is immediately connected with the brand. The designers face the challenge of designing a succession of notes or a melody in such a distinctive way, that they have the same expressiveness as the traditional logo or the packaging. Identification is the keyword of modern sound design, which impressed the jury of experts with innovative and groundbreaking compositions.