Creative Services sweeps awards, brings home an ADDY

ADV_HeartToArt_121916_c.indd
The design on the Give Your Heart to Art invitation.

CASE Award? Check.

Educational Advertising Award? Check.

ADDY? Check.

Creative Services swept awards season, going three-for-three in competitions in which they entered.

The invitation for Give Your Heart to Art won the silver ADDY at the regional American Advertising Awards in the Card, Invitation or Announcement category. Art Director and Designer James Harman and Creative Director Lee Coburn developed the invitation.

Give Your Heart to Art is an annual event that started six years ago to honor and celebrate Radford University's commitment to the arts. The university's art collection has grown to include artists such as Picasso, Warhol, Dine, Baechler, Stella, Johns, Chamberlin, Motherwell and Miro.

A Whistler, a Rauschenberg – which was purchased through the event, a photograph by contemporary photographer Cindy Sherman and others were on display at Give Your Heart to Art. Most of the pieces featured faces, which was noticed by Harman during the planning stage of the invitation.

“He made the choice to feature faces from the current modern artwork collection,” Coburn said. “I think that was an inspired decision.”

2017-03-04-1
Left to right: Art Director James Harman, Director of Advancement Communications Ann Brown, Director of Creative and Marketing Services Lee Coburn and CVPA Communications Officer Leslie King.

Harman’s love for art led him to notice the common theme of portraiture in the images submitted to Give Your Heart to Art. Harman used that theme to weave the past into the future – to show where the collection is today and leave the door open for future additions to the collection.

“I wanted the piece to reflect the show and be edgy since the show was a modern art show,” Coburn said. “Many of these pieces that were to be shown at the event were controversial and provocative when first created and displayed; we were not marketing a traditional landscapes in watercolor show.”

Creative Services competed against advertising agencies and large corporations for the most recent ADDY recognition. More than 60,000 entries are received annually to the American Advertising Awards, which is sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.

“I am extremely excited for our team,” Harman said. “I have so much respect for the level of competition at the ADDYs and the quality of work produced in the region."

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and University Advancement, who placed the order for the invitation, allowed Creative Services the freedom and leeway to create a truly unique outcome.

“The client gave us the freedom to do our job and let us do what we do best – visually communicate and get results,” Coburn said.

“I think the piece was brilliant and had a delightful, energized spirit to it,” said CVPA Communications Officer Leslie King. “As this year’s Give Your Heart to Art was all about saying ’thank you’ to supporters of the Arts Society and those who contributed to the collection, James’ design conveyed this message in a creative and meaningful way.”

The invitation has moved to American Advertising Awards District 3 competition, and winners will be announced in late March.

Mar 9, 2017
Max Esterhuizen
(540) 831-7749
westerhuizen@radford.edu