365: AIGA Year in Design Winners Announced

AIGA, the professional association for design, recently announced the winners of 365: AIGA Year in Design, a 360-degree view of design over 365 days. The competition, which was rebooted in 2022, celebrates excellence and represents innovation across all categories of communication design, from print to web to service to spaces, both physical and virtual. With 466 entries from countries around the globe, including the United States, United Kingdom, Hungary, Philippines, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Singapore, Turkey, and more, this year’s jurors selected 51 entries that represent excellence in design, including RDG Planning & Design, which was recognized in the environmental/experiential design category for “Create. Meaning. Together.”

Located in the lobby of RDG’s Omaha office, “Create. Meaning. Together.” Is designed as a physical expression of RDG’s culture and core beliefs and to communicate the firm’s mission statement, Create. Meaning. Together. This statement describes the firm’s ethos of working with clients and communities and is a distinguishing characteristic of how the company views the role of every employee in the firm. The objective was to create an engaging no-tech experience that would inspire a deeper understanding of the firm for vising clients, community members and future employees.

“Most lobbies are used to showcase marketing graphics or projects. Our intent for this graphic design was to shift the focus to RDG’s employees – to highlight the names and identities of people who contribute every day to the success and culture of our firm. We’re honored that AIGA saw the impact and importance of this piece and saw fit to recognize it with a year in design award,” said RDG Graphic Designer Tony Montgomery.

RDG’s design creates an engaging no-tech experience that inspires a deeper understanding of the firm for vising clients, community members and future employees. In their assessment of the project, the AIGA jurors praised the mission-driven nature of the design, stating that the piece “creates a space where that mission is always top of mind. The signatures feel handcrafted, which makes it clear that everyone who works there is an equal part of the team.”

The 365: AIGA Year in Design competition recognizes designers, design teams and their clients for effectively working together to design creative solutions for challenges presented by businesses and organizations during the calendar year 2021. The competition was first launched in 1924 as “Contemporary Printing for Commerce.” Since then, it has been called: “Printing for Commerce” (1925–1953); “Design and Printing for Commerce/Fifty Advertisements of the Year” (1954–1967); “Communication Graphics” (1968–2000); and “365: AIGA Year in Design” (2001–2011).