Cannes 2011: Reinforcing the jury's belief in print, an out-of-the-box idea

This year, it's been raining metals for India in Design. A small boutique agency from Delhi has got a gold for its brochure design, while the Grand Prix was awarded to a technological innovation, Cosmopolitan Hotel, Las Vegas. The other winning Indian agencies in this category are Mudra (2 silver, one bronze), and TBWA India which bagged a silver.

The Jury at Cannes who spend a few gruelling days to choose some of the best works from the world isalways on the lookout for that one idea, which they have never heard of, or seen before. And, most of the time, it's the technological innovation that catches the fancy of the jury members.

For instance, in the Design category, the Grand Prix winner is a superb piece where technology meets design. In such circumstances, when a print idea gets an instant approval from the jury to win a gold, the idea has to be perfect in all aspects. It has happened this year, when a brochure design for a pre-school chain, Mothers Pride, by a Delhi-based boutique agency Out of the Box, won a gold at Cannes.

Leslie Smolan, founding partner, Carbone Smolan, a New York-based design and branding agency, and a member of the Design jury, says, "It reinforces our belief that print is still here. The work holds its way for the traditional media."

Calling the piece of work as her personal favourite, she says, "The jury just loved every aspect of this design, starting from scale, format, colours, to typography. There wasn't even a debate on it."

Out of the Box had designed an over scale brochure for Mothers Pride, which was in the form of a children's book, based on the idea that when you are a kid everything looks big.

Smolan says, "It clearly illustrated that the school understood children, and it's here where the child would be allowed to blossom. It's very difficult to convey the message in so little words. The copy was fantastic, too."

Metals have been showering for India in the category, this year, and in the absence of an Indian representative in the jury. Apart from the gold won by Out of the box, Mudra has won two silver and a bronze, while TBWA has grabbed another silver.

Sharing their views on TBWA's work on Yatra.com, the jury says, "It's a clear concept of simple execution which became a powerful idea."

Smolan says, "These days you don't see design calendars, neither do you use them. And, when you do something innovative with it, it stands out."

TBWA India had designed a calendar by using immigration stamps -- they have the date in it -- with different colours.

The other silver winning work was Dwarf Depression by Mudra Communications. The jury felt the design work with the facial gestures of a man in illustration captured the emotional rendering of depression quite well.

This year, the Design jury was very harsh, but fair. Only 8-9 per cent (less than last year) of the entries got nominated, and few awarded.

The wining Grand Prix was a piece of work which needed contribution from different kinds of designers -- traditional interactive, interior. It won the Grand Prix because it turned a design element into a brand experience. The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas used 12 ft digital art illustration as canvas in the entire building.

To view interviews from Cannes 2011, click here.