2019
Type of client: Award Program
Type of work: Visual Identity

Celebrating annually the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphics produced around the world, the GOOD DESIGN exhibition program began as a partnership between the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago in 1950 and is continued today by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

meandyou communication design has designed the program’s identity for the fifth consecutive year, creating posters, merchandise, viral videos and advertising as well as the 400-page printed award-winning product catalogue.

For the 2019 awards’ campaign, we engaged research in the historical references of good design throughout the archival collection of the Chicago Athenaeum and other printed or online sources. We focused on a shortlist of pioneers in modern design during the 1950s and 60s, with Eero Saarinen to be promptly featuring in our list and hearts ❤️ for his neo-futuristic Tulip chair.

During our study, we came across a 1965 scheme showcasing a modern time apartment. And, as we observed the image, we realised that it comprehensively combined the new wave of minimalist interior design.

Holding on to the aforementioned imagery, we made an effort to replicate its interior composition with products that came from the 2019 winners’ selection. When the process was completed, the comparison between past and future brought up so many design similarities but also clean-cut design evolution.

Considering that the 1965 scheme constituted the ideal house, presenting the perfect products that a modern couple of that era possessed, the photomontage we created makes up for the ideal house and belongings a modern couple of our times aspires to acquire.

The bitmap effect we chose to add in all the design layouts was the middle ground to connect the 1950s (date that the first Good Design Award was organised) with the 2020s in terms of style digitisation.

The concept was used in all promotional materials for the announcement of the 2019 winners and also to promote the forthcoming edition for the year 2020.

The color palette was in accordance with the GOOD DESIGN logo color palette. Font: Gill Sans, Helvetica Neue. 🙂

REFERENCE: Ray C. (2016). Sixties House. UK: House & Garden, Octapus Publishing Group Ltd.

✍️ An Eero Saarinen ‘Tulip’ chair is at the centre of this precise 1965 scheme, with other pieces by H. K. Furniture from Heal’s. Heal’s also imported Danish lighting – seen here are a pair of white hourglass table lights and a striking pendant shade. Even the plain white ashtray was imported from Finland.