To say that it’s been a challenging year for everyone is an understatement. In our sector, as people processed the reality of the pandemic, marketing pretty much stopped for a while, leaving many designers without an income. And when brands did resume communications, strategy changed rapidly and designers had to keep pace if they wanted to survive. Add to this that many of them were juggling home-working, home-schooling and perhaps even losing their own loved-ones to COVID-19, whilst ensuring they delivered. And yet, in spite of everything – we did deliver. Which is why we think this year’s Design Week Awards are perhaps the most important so far…
From our studio to yours…
The pandemic affected every business and we were no exception. So, as we are going to pay homage to our sector, it seems appropriate to first thank YOU – our amazing, loyal clients, contacts – and of course our team. Our team have had to cope with working remotely, whilst dealing with all the personal stress caused by COVID, and their professionalism has never slipped. Our clients have had to change their campaigns at the last minute and we have worked round the clock for them. Because we have a background in public health messaging, we’ve helped organisations of all sizes disseminate the latest COVID-19 safety guidance quickly and accurately. We are proud of our team and we are proud of our industry as a whole…
Design’s response to COVID-19
As we blogged about at the very beginning of the pandemic, designers had a key role to play in the fight against COVID-19 – whether by disseminating data, guidance or finding ways to thank our key workers. Covid-19 influenced design so much that there was even a ‘Designing out COVID-19’ category at this year’s awards. This was won by the Department of Health for Northern Ireland for its COVIDCare NI app which reduced stress on health workers during the pandemic. When we predicted right at the beginning of 2020 that the future of healthcare was digital, we had no idea how quickly the world would become reliant on medical apps for safety. Or how much of our lives would go digital – but this is, of course, reflected in the awards too.
A unique year gave us a unique perspective
For many people the past year brought what was really important into focus and this extended to the design world. There have been many excellent examples of work related to wellbeing, social awareness and human connection, such as the iDetroit project which promoted the diversity of Detroit through portrait photography, DNA mapping and an app or the Sky Ocean Rescue café which used sustainable materials to recreate a reef at Sky’s headquarters and encouraged people to #PassOnPlastics.
Not all about the pandemic
While everyone has been working against the backdrop of the pandemic, as a sector we were still able to find inspiration beyond it. The 108-year-old San Francisco Symphony decided 2021 was the year for its rebrand. Tapping into the spirit of a braver future whilst retaining its prestige, it won the Identity Rebrand category. The new brand used digital, sonic and typographic experimentation, creating a typography where each character changed appearance as it reacted to sound.
Have you been inspired to up your game when it comes to your own design, print and web? Is this the year for a brave new brand to go with our brave new world? We would love to hear your ideas or offer you our impartial advice. Call us on 0208 590 0922 or email us at info@marcomedia.co.uk We’re here for you throughout lockdown and beyond…