Best of Manchester Awards launched with ID competition
Urbis has launched a graphic design competition aimed at creating a new visual identity for The Best of Manchester Awards 2009.
The annual awards, which celebrate innovation in music, art and fashion, are organised by Urbis and, each year, presided over by a panel of industry experts.
Already for 2009, Peter Saville, Luke Bainbridge and Miranda Sawyer have agreed to judge the awards, while confirmed partners include Harvey Nichols Manchester and Flux Magazine and support has been pledged by Computer Arts Magazine.
The graphic design competition is open to any design agency based within Greater Manchester, with the ‘prize’ an £8,000 contract and the chance to work with Urbis on the marketing campaign for the 2009 awards and associated exhibition. The concept will be carried through online media, as well as press advertising and print and needs to not only inspire the city’s top creative thinkers to enter the competition, but also to attract visitors to come and see the shortlisted work, exhibited at Urbis over the summer.
"The Best of Manchester Awards are about much more than an awards night," says Vaughan Allen, Urbis’ chief executive. "They are about supporting the creative industries in Manchester and helping an emerging generation of creative practitioners step up to the next level of their careers. For 2009, we wanted to extend that support to Manchester’s enviable graphic design community, by inviting designers based in the city to work with us. The end result of this competition will be some great design – and the chosen agency will not only get a paid contract in return, but the chance to work on one of the city’s most creative, and creatively fulfilling, projects."
Winners of the 2008 awards included vintage fashion boutique, Rags to Bitches, which recently won a special commendation at the fashion industry’s leading awards (the Drapers Awards), and artist Naomi Kashiwagi, whose work is currently on display at Cornerhouse as part of the exhibition, The Intertwining Line. Entries for 2008 were up 65% on the previous year, while the panel of 17 judges included Robert Harwood-Matthews (CEO TBWA), Caroline Elleray (Head of A&R for Universal Music), fashion entrepreneur, David Mallon (The General Store), Luke Bainbridge (Observer Music Monthly), and the broadcaster and critic, Miranda Sawyer.
The competition runs until 17 December, with the chosen agency contracted to work with Urbis before the Christmas break. The Best of Manchester Awards 2009 will launch in Februrary, with the awards ceremony planned at the end of June and exhibition planned to continue throughout the Summer to October 2009.