Auckland multi-disciplinary design company Alt Group walked away from one of the design industry’s largest and most prestigious international competitions last week with four red dots and a red dot grand prix in their luggage. And it’s the first time a New Zealand design company has received this coveted prize.
Alt Group co-founders Ben Corban and Dean Poole travelled to Essen, Germany, to collect the loot at the red dot awards and took out the grand prix award in communication design (in the corporate category) for their identity work for Auckland law firm, Hudson Gavin Martin.
Only six grand prix were awarded out of 6,112 entries in the 2009 awards, which have been running since 1955.
Managing director Ben Corban says winning the four red dots was a “bit of a coup” in itself. But to be handed the prestigious grand prix award at what is regarded by many as the world’s biggest pure design competition was “completely unexpected”.
“We’re just really stoked,” he says. “Through endorsements good things come.”
Alt Group creative director Dean Poole says winning a grand prix award is a great achievement for New Zealand design.
“This award validates our whole team’s commitment to design excellence and is a great endorsement for New Zealand on the international stage.”
The Hudson Gavin Martin project, which saw Alt Group design everything from the firm’s branding, corporate artwork, print advertising and collateral, has already won the company plenty of national and international design accolades, including a Silver at the 2009 Cannes Design Lions, two Pencils at the One Show Design Awards and a Gold Cube at New York’s ADC Awards.
Alt Group devised the identity for Hudson Gavin Martin, a boutique legal practice formed by three partners who specialise in intellectual property and technology law, as an ongoing conversation about how good ideas come in threes.
This was extended into the office environment, where a custom-made carpet welcomes clients with a ‘Hop, Skip, Jump’ message, as well as various text-based artworks and brochures featuring trilogies like ‘Friends, Family, Fools,’ ‘Beg, Borrow, Steal’ and ‘Equity, Assets, Liabilities.’
As well as the grand prix, Alt Group brought home two red dot: best of the best (best of category) awards for its work with Hudson Gavin Martin and New Zealand furniture manufacturer Formway. And the ‘red dot’ quality label was also presented for its work on Hawke’s Bay based Farmgate Wines and their Hudson Gavin Martin ©h®is™as Christmas project.
The red dots top off what has been something of an annus mirabilis for the Ponsonby-based firm, which has picked up a total of 58 international and local design awards this year.
