Redacción Alabrent
Brazil, China, Portugal, Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Czech Republic and Italy are the countries selected by a jury of experts for their most interesting and innovative creations. The finalists have reached the last stage of the twelfth edition of Fedrigoni’s international competition, which highlights the best designs using Fedrigoni and Fabriano special papers, and Manter and Ritrama adhesive label materials. Any technique could be used for printing and the entries come from the worlds of packaging, graphics, brand communication and publishing.The Fedrigoni Top Award showcases ideas that can inspire new perspectives and is an opportunity to celebrate the value of paper in the planning and production of all types of products. More than 1000 designs, produced between July 2018 and the end of June 2020, were entered. A panel of well-known international experts in the world of design and communication made up the jury, which carefully analysed the entries according to originality, expertise and appropriate use of Fedrigoni papers.
The following is the shortlist of finalists who will compete for the Fedrigoni Top Award 2021 in each of the four competition categories: “Big Kitchen” (Lisbon, Portugal), “Book Key Cucine” (Verona, Italy), “Golden Moments” (Leeds, Great Britain), “La Lepre e la Luna” (Montecassiano, Italy), “No Man’s Space / Capricorn Vermouth Dry & Eclipse Gin” (Spoltore, Italy), “Buche & Gran Buche” (Barcelona, Spain), “Album di Famiglia / Last Colony Gin” (Spoltore, Italy), “Birrificio sul mare” (Camaiore, Italy), “Quinta dos Montes - Parcela Nº5” (Covas do Douro, Portugal), “Armatore, lo Zingaro del Mare” (Salerno, Italy), “Basao Gongfu Teabag Series Packaging - Archive Box” (Xiamen, China), “Jordi’s Chocolate” (Hradec Kr, Czech Republic), “No One can Fail - Écrire son Nom (Upo 3)” (Le Havre, France), “Moholy / Nagy and the New Typography” (Mainz, Germany), “Phoenix Art from the Artist Xue Song” (Shanghai, China), “Tupigrafia Magazine Issue #12” (San Paolo, Brazil), “L'Architecture des Arbres” (Paris, France).
The selection process took place over several days in November in the beautiful rooms of the Fedrigoni Historical Archives in Verona, which hosted the jury in strict compliance with all Covid19 health regulations. In order to evaluate all the entries in time, the group of experts was extended with the entry of Martina Corradi, marketing manager for HP Indigo® and PWP for Italy, Silvana Amato, professor and editorial graphics expert and Roger Botti, general manager and creative with Robilant Associati. The expert jury added to the experience of Simon Esterson, president of the jury and art director of Pulp and Eye Magazine (UK), Frank Goehrhardt of Taschen, who is extremely successful in the world of high-end publishing, Min Wang, professor at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Ivan Bell of Stranger & Stranger, a world expert in labels for the spirits sector and Juan Mantilla of KIKO Milano, a specialist in the design and production of cosmetics packaging.
But for the online community of enthusiasts and sector workers who could see the entries on the Fedrigoni competition web page there is already a winner, with “ITsocase” in the packaging category receiving the most online votes. Designed by I’M comunicazione for Teorema Mediterraneo, on Fedrigoni Arena White Smooth 450g paper, it received 815 “likes” in an almost landslide result (4.7 out of 5). The piece is still visible online as it waits to be exhibited with the other winners. “ITsocase” is a “suitcase” for a sensory trip around Italy. It starts with the colours of Mediterranean landscapes and ceramics from the Amalfi coast, and moves on to the texture of the paper that enhances its brilliance, ending with the flavours of gastronomic products.
“Every year the high quality, technical ability and artistic level of the projects that the jury is called upon to judge is confirmed,” says Marketing & Sustainability Director for Fedrigoni Group, Chiara Medioli. “Being able to see so many projects at the same time allows us to have a clear vision of what is going on in the world of graphics and design: publishing is making an extremely strong comeback, a huge range of ideas for tea packaging is coming out of Asia and Australia, and labels for wines and spirits are becoming increasingly accomplished. We are extremely proud to be able to provide texture and to contribute to projects that blend culture, experimentation, creativity and new technologies, reaffirming the role of paper as a design tool.”Confirmation comes from the range of products. Tintoretto paper has always been the preferred choice for sophisticated self-adhesive labels, but many beautiful books and art catalogues have been printed on Arena, a range of white and ivory paper and card that was launched by Fedrigoni in September, whilst many packaging ideas are geared towards Materica, a more tactile, softer paper in natural colours.
There are four categories in the competition: Publishing, dedicated to Gianfranco Fedrigoni, which includes books, magazines and art books; Corporate Identity ranging from product and service catalogues to brand identity materials, calendars and diaries, and from invitations and greetings cards to paper gift items; Packaging such as boxes, gift cases, shopping bags and counter displays; Labels, reserved for high-range food labels but above all for wines and spirits, which this year made up the lion’s share with a third of all entries, confirming a booming sector with Fedrigoni as its European leader.
In the hope that the pandemic will allow the event to take place, Fedrigoni’s objective is for the winners to be announced in June at a ceremony in Paris, with entries on display in an exhibition. As well as receiving a symbolic trophy, the most interesting designs will feature in a catalogue that will be distributed worldwide. The jury will also assign special recognition in each category to the best piece produced using digital HP Indigo printing technology, who co-sponsor the prize with Fedrigoni.
For the complete list and photos of the entries, visit www.fedrigonitopaward.com