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A Division of UnderConsideration

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The winners of the 2011-12 FPO Awards have been posted on the Winners page of the FPO Awards site. Judging took place this past Friday, July 6, 2012 here in Austin, TX — pictures of the day can be found in this Flickr set. Read on for additional notes, thoughts, and a peek at the big-ticket winners.

Entries
277 Submissions
—
65 Offset
44 Letterpress
29 Silkscreen
15 Foil Stamp
2 Engraving
11 Digital
1 Inkjet
12 Other
3 Varnishes
3 Binding
7 Laser-cutting
4 Die-cutting
81 Mix

Winners
93 Winners
—
20 Offset
16 Letterpress
10 Silkscreen
4 Foil Stamp
2 Engraving
2 Digital
0 Inkjet
1 Other
1 Varnishes
3 Binding
4 Laser-cutting
3 Die-cutting
27 Mix

Observations
Same as last year, we were hoping for a few more entries but it seems like this is bound to be a small competition. Given the high quality of entries, though, this feels like a perfect niche competition that we are happy to keep going.

We will most likely move to a three-judge jury instead of five next year, as 300 entries don’t warrant a big group.

There are a couple of categories we will be dropping next year: flexography and thermography. We included the former assuming more packaging entries would come in and the latter to be inclusive of all mainstream printing methods but the fact that thermography looks like tiny, shiny squirrel droppings on paper is evident by zero entries in the category two years straight.

Once again, we were amazed by how well the combination of design judges and printer judges works. The best contrast was with offset and specialty printer expert Jeff Hernandez of Classic Color schooled everyone involved in the ins and outs of almost every project, while master typographer Louise Fili set an extremely high standard for what should be considered great typography.

The one trend we saw across all categories was the handbill typography effect: piling on and stacking a bunch of different typefaces and ornaments. It was fun the first two or three entries but after a dozen of them, the effect had become too much of a bore. To work, this has to be done expertly, and a few entries managed to do it well.

Overall, there were no other surprises. The work was very strong across all categories and we look forward to next year’s submissions.

Special Awards
One Best of Show was awarded and only the Radical Production Award was claimed. There were very few Sustainability Award nominations, none of which made it to the second round.

Next Steps
We will be working on producing the annual in the next three or four months. This year we will again publish a book but not an iPad app, and this year we will be testing a paywall website.

Sneak Peek at the Top Winners

Best of Show
Annual Report for Adris group by Bruketa & Zinic
Printed by Cerovski D.O.O.



Radical Production Award
Book for Dion Lee by Ultra
Printed by Adams Print



Best of Category, Offset + Louise Fili’s Judge’s Pick
Poster for Self-Promotion by Column Five
Printed by Impress Graphics



Robynne Raye’s Judge’s Pick
Business Card for M David Media by Brandon Harrison
Printed by M David Media (Stamper/Embosser)



Best of Category, Mix + Mig Reyes’ Judge’s Pick
Book for The Vilcek Foundation by yesyesyes design
Printed by N/A



Ben Levitz’s Judge’s Pick
Poster for Self-Promotion by Jim Godfrey Design, LLC
Printed by Rowley Press



Best of Category, Laser-Cutting + Jeff Hernandez’s Judge’s Pick
Wedding Invitation (client held Private) by Ceci New York
Printed by N/A



Best of Category, Letterpress
Coasters for Fabric of Social Dining by Bex Brands
Printed by N/A



Best of Category, Letterpress
Booklet for AIA Indianapolis by Commercial Artisan
Printed by Faulkenberg Printing


Congratulations to all the winners.

One to the Tenth Self-Promotional Publication

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