Creativity and Ingenuity
Awards and contests are essential for evaluating creative achievement, as well as for visibility and recognition. Design awards celebrate creativity and ingenuity.
On November 18, 2020, the Rhineland-Palatinate Design Award was presented by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economic Affairs in the fields of visual communication. A seven-member expert jury selected the top 20 entries from a total of 289 submissions. The award was presented by the Design Forum Rhineland-Palatinate.
Among the award winners are Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele and Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele for their publication “Moholy-Nagy and the New Typography,” and student Lucie Langston for her illustrations “Through the Dunes – The Trauma of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” supervised by Prof. Monika Aichele.
The New Typography
The comprehensive publication by Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele and Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele documents a three-year research project on the National Bauhaus Year.
“Where is typographic development headed?”
In 1929, the Hungarian avant-garde media artist and Bauhaus teacher László Moholy-Nagy answered this question in his own way: He mounted original printed works and reproductions on large cardboard panels, supplemented by his own text on the history and theory of New Typography.
The publication by the two award winners brings together precisely these exhibition panels by László Moholy-Nagy. The content of the exhibition panels is accompanied by an “Abcdarium” featuring characteristic keywords from renowned authors—from A for “Akzidentien” to Z for “newspaper design.”
“[…] the minimalist black-and-white design conveys the Bauhaus philosophy at first glance. The presentation of Moholy-Nagy’s dominant works is, in turn, both framed and complemented by numerous details—typographically strong accents provide a soothing counterbalance here. Dense pages alternate with open spaces and large illustrations, creating a captivating narrative arc. The finely balanced typesetting and the harmonious overall concept combine to produce a publication that is as vibrant as it is profound.” (Bettina Schulz, jury member)
Through the Dunes
“In early January 2020, I traveled to Wales to study illustration at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Three months later, my Erasmus semester came to an end due to the global pandemic,” writes Lucie Langston in the introduction to her comic “Through the Dunes – The Trauma of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Langston was lucky: her home university, Mainz University of Applied Sciences, welcomed her with open arms, and she had no trouble settling into the new semester.
Langston herself, however, fared less well due to her involuntary return from Wales and the isolation caused by the pandemic. So Prof. Monika Aichele’s suggestion to draw her students’ attention to the New York Times’ (NYT) online diary “Art In Isolation” came at just the right time. The young illustrator created a 16-page autobiographical comic, which was published by the NYT in its Opinion section on July 20, 2020.
Langston drew inspiration from numerous walks in the Mainzer Sand Nature Reserve. “The Mainzer Sand Nature Reserve is unique and offered me an important refuge, inspiration, a place of regeneration, and space to rediscover myself and my surroundings,” said Langston.
“The result is a series of sincere drawings by a young artist that, with every stroke, tell a story—at once fragile and strong—of a time marked by fear, doubt, and the search for one’s true self.” (Franca Neuburg, jury member)
In total, seven of the 20 honorees received the “Design Prize” for outstanding work, and 13 received “Honorable Mentions” in recognition of other remarkable works.
The professors and students in the Communication Design program who have received a design award or distinction:
Design Awards
“Through the Dunes – The Trauma of the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Illustration category)
Lucie Langston / Advisor: Prof. Monika Aichele
“Moholy-Nagy and the New Typography” (Editorial Design category)
Gutenberg Design Lab / Mainz University of Applied Sciences: Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele, Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele [Eds.]
Awards
“The Poem Lab. A Machine Made of Books.”
Isabela Dimarco / Advisors: Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele, Prof. Florian Jenett, Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele
“Play Type – An Interactive Typography Assembly Table”
Anna Weirich / Advisors: Prof. Dr. Petra Eisele, Prof. Florian Jenett, Prof. Dr. Isabel Naegele
“typester – Microtypography. Click. Done.” (Category: Studies & Research)
Lisa Schmidt / Advisors: Prof. Philipp Pape
“Call for Creatives” (Digital Design category)
Lucas Hesse / Advisor: Prof. Florian Jenett
“PIONEER” (Moving Image category)
Felix Janz / Advisor: Prof. Katja Davar