Art Directors Club Honors Projects from Mainz University of Applied Sciences
One gold and four bronze awards: That’s the tally for Mainz University of Applied Sciences following the Art Directors Club (ADC) awards ceremony on Friday evening in Hamburg. The ADC jury honors young creatives for outstanding achievements in communication and design with the Talent Award in gold, silver, and bronze. A total of 9,600 entries were in the running for the coveted awards this year. Mainz University of Applied Sciences was honored for the projects “Helau-o-Mat,” “Mainz leuchtet,” and “sketchair – designs that do not matter.”
The“Helau-o-Mat”(awarded a Golden Nail) is an interactive Carnival installation created as part of an interdisciplinary project involving all three departments at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. The Carnival float made its debut in February 2024 during Mainz’s Rose Monday parade. “The Helau-o-Mat is a fantastic and holistic production that has been meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail. Joy and sustainability as top priorities make Carnival a unique and participatory experience,” according to the jury’s statement. Prof. Dr. Ostheimer, who co-led the project, is delighted with the award: “We are proud of the interdisciplinary collaboration among the three departments and are very pleased that our jointly developed concept—which was brought to life with a great deal of fun and attention to detail—has been recognized and honored by an independent expert jury.”
“Helau-o-Mat” awarded the Golden Nail: from left: Prof. Juergen Rustler, students Konrad Nedezki and Franziska Diehl, and Prof. Dr. Bernhard Ostheimer (Copyright: Mainz University of Applied Sciences)
“Mainz leuchtet”(awarded three bronze nails) is a light festival that, for the first time last September, transformed downtown Mainz into an interactive canvas for art, design, and innovation. A team of over 30 students and faculty members from the Time-Based Media program developed fascinating video projections that used modern technologies to display moving images and animated stories on the facades of prominent buildings. “The ADC awards are, of course, a wonderful recognition—not only for our students and our university, but also for our teaching concepts: an interdisciplinary approach to teaching that not only focuses on formal, artistic, and design-oriented practice but also engages with urban society and brings art to public urban spaces,” says Professor Olaf Hirschberg, Dean of the Department of Design.
This year, the Late Light Festival “Mainz leuchtet” will take place from September 26 to 28, featuring facade illuminations developed by students at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. The Late Light Festival “Mainz leuchtet” was realized as part of a collaborative project between the state capital of Mainz, the municipal company Mainzplus Citymarketing GmbH, and Mainz University of Applied Sciences.
“sketchair – designs that do not matter”(awarded bronze) is the master’s thesis by Damian Richter (Communication Design), which explores how artificial intelligence could support human creativity. “sketchair” enables users to create innovative chair designs using sketches and words, supported by AI. This app, an interactive exhibition, and an accompanying book form an integrated platform that demonstrates the connection between human creativity and AI in a practical way.
The Art Directors Club of Germany is an association dedicated to promoting creative communication. The ADC Festival is the largest gathering of the creative and communications industries in Germany and took place this year from June 4 to 7 in Hamburg.
