Art Directors Association of Iowa Announces 67th Annual Design Exhibition Winners

April 14, 2025
Experiential Design

RDG Planning & Design has been recognized for its environmental graphics and design work. 

The Art Directors Association of Iowa has recognized two RDG Planning & Design projects with Awards of Excellence and a Best of Category award. Presented annually, the ADAI Exhibition recognizes excellence in design across 20 categories, with finalists receiving an Award of Excellence, Judge’s Choice, Best of Category and/or Best of Show. 

At the 67th Annual Design Exhibition on Friday, April 11, in Des Moines, Iowa, RDG was presented with an Award of Excellence in the Environmental Graphics & Design category for When Things Get Moving Experiential Graphics and the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative Interactive Donor Wall, the latter of which also received a Best of Category Award for the Environmental Design & Graphics category.

Following months of renovations and upgrades, The Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines, hired RDG to create branding, color palette, logo, exhibit label templates and wall graphics for their fan-favorite exhibit platform, When Things Get Moving. RDG’s design honors the original, well-loved exhibit's legacy and aligns with the museum's overall visual language. The new environment invites participants to playfully experiment and explore the platform as they learn about the science of motion.

Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative serves Nebraska's parents and educators and engaged RDG to design a donor recognition wall to recognize the individuals and organizations whose contributions have enabled the collaborative to live out its mission. RDG's experiential designers identified two primary goals for the project: create a visually compelling piece highlighting donors' generous contributions, with the flexibility to incorporate future donors and develop a design that playfully engages the young children NECC serves. The resulting design is an interactive block wall with hands-on elements encouraging play and learning.

ADAI’s mission is to showcase the very best of Iowa’s design while connecting students and professionals across the state. For more than 60 years, the Design Exhibition has attracted hundreds of entries and attendees each year. The annual exhibition is open to both students and professionals across the state of Iowa.

Written by Erin Van Zee, Communications Director