BOOM! Judgement Day

December 08, 2008 Filed Under: Contests 0 Comments

After months of planning, blood, sweat and a few paper cuts, BOOM! kicked off a jam packed weekend with a Friday night presentation at Byrons SouthEnd. Our esteemed judges, Drew Davies of Oxide Design, Kenna Kay of TV Land and Josh Silverman of Schwadesign each presented on the BOOM! theme – Where Creativity and Communication Collide. The evening concluded with dinner and drinks at Nolia.

Judgement Day started early Saturday morning with breakfast at the Art Institute. The judges stayed busy reviewing all 440 entries with a total of 559 pieces. Let me say that again... 559 pieces! After surveying the work, 51 websites were reviewed by each judge. After a single elimination round, each website could receive up to 3 bean votes per judge. Let me add that we are in the South – only pinto beans were used for voting. From the 124 promotional design and advertising entries, 29 winers were selected. Then the judges selected winning entries – five editorial designs, five environmental designs, five packaging, three photography and two illustration. The judging concluded with 24 motion graphic projects projected for all to watch, with 8 entries selected.

It was an inspiring experience to walk through room after room of high caliber work – all done right here in the Carolinas. I don't envy the judges in having to narrow down that field of work. The judges never wavered in their energy and worked collaboratively in the selection process. The day ran long as there was so much work to review. Our Saturday volunteers stuck it out to the end as we bumped dinner up to 8:30 pm so the judges could complete the winning selections.

All three judges expressed how much they enjoyed their entire experience and how inspired they were with our chapter and with the work being done in the Carolinas. Kenna Kay commented on how she was impressed with the amount of high quality work. She added that she got quite a sense of the region in many pieces. Drew Davis added that the BOOM! competition showcased a solid body of work – Charlotte and Raleigh have every right to be proud of their design community. Josh Silverman was also astonished by the wide variety of entries that had a good balance of local and small-scale to international clients.

Post-judgement celebrations at Feast were festive and fun. Our judges enjoyed kicking back after a long day. Feast's host invited our group upstairs to the VIP lounge as the celebration continued and later wrapped up with some quieter drinks and live jazz at Blue. The judges said they felt like rock stars and think we have set the new standard for how a guest speaker should be treated while visiting a chapter.

BOOM! could not have happened without our corporate partners: ABZ Design Group, Tathwell Printing, Athens Paper, Smart Papers and Jeff Holt Photography.

Acceptance letters will be sent out by Monday, December 15th. Mark your calendars, the BOOM! Gala will be held on April 4th, 2009 at the Mint Museum. I would like to thank all who entered this year's competition and for supporting AIGA Charlotte so we can continued to provide our diverse selection of programs and national speakers.

Written by: Shane Sellers, BOOM! Show Director, AIGA Charlotte