Think back to 1992, the world of graphic design was a very different place. For me it was more about making my mum birthday cards and pictures of our family to stick on the fridge. For the world, graphic communication was still dominated by print. The internet was in it’s infancy and smart phones were a mere daydream. Branding was king!
The AGDA (The Australian Graphic Design Association for the Brits) is the peak national organisation for professional graphic designers. It was founded in 1988 to facilitate the advancement of the graphic design profession in Australia. The year 1992 saw AGDA launch it’s awards competition which has since continued as a biennial affair.
2012 sees the twenty year anniversary of the initiative, a milestone inspiring the organisation to host a retrospective of the last two decades. A celebration of the work and previous winners generated over a time of huge change for the industry.
In their own words, “It seemed appropriate in this space to transform our awards programme, from an event about winners, to a review that celebrates the creative process, innovative thinking, the people and clients that make the work happen. The Australian Design Biennale has been developed to help the community discover the difference between everyday communication and quality creative communication. Review, dream, transform, be happy!”
Famous VS curated the exhibition and designed the printed material including an A5 book that does a grand job of not only showcasing the work but the creative process along with slices of the past and present. The book flirts with uncoated, coated, coloured and raw papers not to mention mono, full colour and special! And if you are wondering where the glass mountains come in, you know those yellow pencils we all aspire to, well the AGDA have the Pinnacle Awards, affectionately known in the industry as glass mountains!
If you live on the wrong side of the world and can’t make the exhibition the website is an excellent way to soak up twenty years of creativity. Or treat yourself to the book here.
