Branding Campaign for Norwegian Music Festival Wins Design Grand Prix

A brand campaign for the Bergen International Festival in Norway won the Grand Prix in the Design category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Wednesday. What it is: The campaign, created by agency ANTI Bergen, sought to give the classical and avant garde music festival a stronger visual identity. It did so by creating a logo based on the letter "F" that resembled a chord and a mathematical system that allows the logo to grow, divide and form a musical beat. The brand put it on stationery and outdoor ads in different combinations, and the program featured a digital component, Soundsmith, where people could create music with the "F" online. Why it won: Jury members appreciated the "quietness" of the work -- something they saw reflected in other pieces like Apple's "Intention" film by TBWA/Media Arts Lab, which won a Gold. "We insisted on looking for the things you look at in great design," said Mr. Nwokorie. "It begins to identify why a small design idea has the power to transform the experiences many people have." Alisa Wolfson, design director at Leo Burnett, said that having been to the town of Bergen and knowing how small it is, she felt the design touched and impacted everyone there, not just people interested in the festival. Barry Quinn, exec creative director at Junipier Part, said the work was notable because it "wasn't an ad trying to be design. It truly was a complicated design project." The jury: The jury was chaired by Ije Nwokorie, global CEO of Wolff Olins. There were 20 voting jury members. Mr. Nwokorie said it took the jury six days to go through the shortlist. "The things that are recognized here are the best examples of design in the world," he said. "It represents fantastic design craft, and pulls in solutions to problems." Looking to next year: Mr. Nwokorie said entrants next year should clearly identify the problem they're trying to solve with their design. Next year's entrants can look forward to the category being even broader, reflecting how design touches every point of business. Other Lions: Other pieces called out by jurors included "Cleft to Smile," from Ogilvy Mumbai for Operation Smile; a shipping box for Colgate toothpaste sent to schools in Myanmar that featured a special design teachers could use as "posters" to teach kids about dental care; and U.K. supermarket LIDL, which opened up a pop-up gourmet restaurant to change the company's market perception -- a project that led the company to a profit for the first time in 10 years. "I want to see money well spent and ideas coming to life in a different way and I want to see the bridge between an art experience and advertising," said Ms. Wolfson.

Branding Campaign for Norwegian Music Festival Wins Design Grand Prix

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