European Design Awards 2020: the winners, the numbers and Greece

07 May / 2020 / Inspiration /

This year’s European Design Awards ceremony was in full digital mode as the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak that is shaking up the entire world put the live ceremony on hold.

The announcement of the results took place last week from people’s homes and offices through a “home-made” event, broadcasted live on YouTube.

During this gathering jury members and press representatives as well as representatives from various European Designers Associations dropped by to read out the jury’s deliberations.

The Grand Awards winners of the year is Norway's ANTI, named the 2020 European Design Agency of the year, Tumpić/Prenc, the Croatian studio is awarded the ED-Awards Best of Show trophy for the wayfinding system it developed for “Pula - Pola City Pools” and the ED-Awards Jury Prize is awarded to “Helping Hands – A guide to sign language for nursing and medicine” designed by German-based Lucra Designstudio.

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A post shared by ANTI (@anti_inc) on May 1, 2020 at 8:09am PDT

Breaking down this year’s EDA2020 in numbers provides some inghtful information for the state of the design communiy and our industry in Europe.

More than 1500 participants coming from 35 different European countries submitted their work this year.

The awarded work came from 26 different countries.

With 44 competition categories “aligned,” the ED-Awards juries (consisting of editors, publishers, academics, and bloggers) handed out 34 gold, 62 silver, and 62 bronze prizes.

This year, the Netherlands managed to retain the top spot in the country listings with 5 golds, 9 silvers and 9 bronze awards.

Norway was a strong contender but ended up in second place with 4 gold, 10 silver, and 14 bronze prizes, while Greece was a surprise at the third place with 3 gold, 7 silver, and 5 bronze prizes with Beetroot Design Group winning four trophies in total. Parachute type foundry -the design studio that keeps Typeroom’s digital presence alive and kicking-, Bob Studio and G Design Studio are also big winners with two trophies each.

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Following is the full list of the Greek design studios which keep on providing projects of excellency, despite the country's harsh times for the creative industry.

Gold 2020

Digital, Promotional site: Antonis Kounellas by Kommigraphics Design Studio

Miscellaneous, Printed miscellaneous: Jam Pedals by Beetroot Design Group

Digital, Motion graphics: Sky Premium Life by Beetroot Design Group

Silver 2020

Publication, magazine: Archisearch, The Paper Edition by Post–Spectacular Office

Illustration, corporate illustration: At Heroic Rhythms by G Design Studio

Packaging, packaging miscellaneous: Brain On Fire Matchboxes by Sputnik Design Team - Linakis Digital

Packaging, food & beverage packaging: Kudu Coffee by Bob Studio

Internal production, self-initiated projects: Marlet AntiManifesto, a typographic XXL compendium by Parachute

Packaging, alcoholic drink packaging: Warehouse Ten by G Design Studio

Illustration, corporate illustration: Yiayia And Friends by Beetroot Design Group

Bronze 2020

Packaging, health & beauty packaging: Aenaon by Bob Studio

Promotion, brochure: Parachute® Type Elections 2019 by Chris Trivizas

Miscellaneous, original typeface - display: PF Marlet by Parachute

Miscellaneous, student project: Vlemmata (gazes) by Kimon Ladonikolas

Packaging, food & beverage packaging: Yiayia And Friends by Beetroot Design Group

Congrats to all. Explore the gallery for the Grand Awards and more winners and visit ED for the full list of this year’s critically acclaimed projects.

The ED-Awards is an annual awards program for the best communication design in Europe. It is based on a collaboration with the top graphic design magazines in Europe that are also represented in the print jury. The digital jury is comprised of representatives from the leading European digital publications, blogs, and communities. 

Next year’s European Design Festival will be hosted in Valencia, Spain.

Tags/ typeface, greece, type design, packaging, fonts, awards, european design awards, marlet antimanifesto

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The 2020 European Design Agency of the year is ANTI. ANTI is a multi-disciplinary agency offering creative solutions to clients from every part of the world.

ANTI people believe in simplicity, storytelling, and creating fans. A New Type of Interference — a philosophy that forms ANTI’s culture, guiding their process and how they are organised.

ANTI firmly believes “in the potential of the unexpected, the power of interference, and that diversity generates the most impactful ideas.”

“From the intersection of creativity, business, culture, and technology we create visual identities, integrated idea platforms, advertising, content, and entertainment that lead brands into awareness and cultural conversation.”

ED-Awards Best of Show was given to the wayfinding system developed by Croatian Studio Tumpić/Prenc for “Pula - Pola City Pools”.

The underlying concept on which the entire visual identity was built upon, is based on a series of conversations the studio people had had with professional and recreational swimmers alike

These conversations gave them the idea of a line – a basic graphic element that guided the entirety of their creative decisions.

The outcome is a wayfinding system which "guides" the visitor similarly with how a line at the bottom of the pool guides a swimmer towards their goal.

The ED-Awards Jury Prize was awarded to “Helping Hands – A guide to sign language for nursing and medicine” designed by german-based Lucra Designstudio.

“Helping Hands” is literally a holistic concept that includes a 96-page manual, an app with all gestures as video, communication cards, a board, and a marker.

“Helping Hands” introduces sign language to medical professionals.

The use of these different media enables medical professionals to communicate with deaf people.

Following is a selection of some awarded projects at this year's European Design Awards.

European Design Awards, Gold 2020. Digital, promotional site: Antonis Kounellas by Kommigraphics Design Studio.

European Design Awards, Gold 2020. Miscellaneous, printed miscellaneous: Jam Pedals by Beetroot Design Group.

European Design Awards, Gold 2020. Digital, motion graphics: Sky Premium Life by Beetroot Design Group.

European Design Awards, Silver 2020. Publication, magazine: Archisearch the paper edition by Post–Spectacular Office

European Design Awards, Silver 2020. Packaging, alcoholic drink packaging: Warehouse Ten by G Design Studio.

European Design Awards, Silver 2020. Internal production, self-initiated projects: Marlet AntiManifesto, a typographic XXL compendium by Parachute.

European Design Awards, Bronze 2020. Miscellaneous, original typeface – display: PF Marlet by Parachute.

Marlet is an inspiring set of typographic elements based on a minimal and simplistic approach to elegance. This type system is made for timeless elegance through numerous combinations diverting from passing trends in type design. Inspiration came from the roaring 20s and 30s, decades that embraced women’s independence both socially and politically.

Marlet projects elegance and understated luxury, bringing femininity and all its complexities into the limelight, with lean lines concluding to subtle humanist curves which reference simplicity and underline the font’s exquisite quality. Its thick-thin, serifless strokes express the modernity of the fashion industry, breaking away from the monotone sans serif.

A type system with contrast progressing from low (Text version) through medium (Display) to high (Finesse), with differentiated letter widths (Titling), extravagant letterforms (Swash) and finally 64 eclectic patterns (Motifs), Marlet evolved from a single typeface into a comprehensive type system in various weights which support Latin, Greek and Cyrillic including an exquisite set of garment patterns.

Contrary to the other families, the sophisticated capitals of the Display version come with slightly tapered strokes in order to embody the contemporary qualities of a sans serif typeface into the dynamic virtue of a serif.

Simple and elegant at the same time and in contrast to ultra-feminine Didot and Bodoni, Marlet is a ladylike infused typeface that is nonconformist, multifaceted, fashionable and romantic, strong and chic, casual yet provocative.

European Design Awards, Bronze 2020. Packaging, health & beauty packaging: Aenaon by Bob Studio.

European Design Awards, Bronze 2020. Promotion, brochure: Parachute® elections 2019 by Chris Trivizas. This publication was released as part of the Parachute® Elections 2019 campaign and it is inspired by the current Greek electoral landscape as well as the domestic and international pre-election period.

This limited edition introduces ten favourite typefaces of Parachute® Typefoundry as typographic candidates through ten typographic ballot papers.

Each ballot paper is accompanied by the pre-election promises of the corresponding typographic candidate, whose tone of voice and discourse are inspired by real political candidates.

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