Red Dot Design Award recognises international designers and agencies at the Red Dot Gala

This year’s winners of the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design were celebrated. Guests from around 30 nations accepted the invitation to the festive Red Dot Gala. Special moments included the announcement of the Red Dot: Grand Prix winners and the revelation of the Agency of the Year. The awarding of the Red Dot: Junior Prize also remained a surprise to the very end.

“This evening, we have witnessed innovative brand and communication design. It’s fantastic to pay tribute to the achievements of the best agencies, designers and companies in our most recent competition, while in the company of our international guests. Personally, presenting the trophies to the winners on stage and celebrating this together brings me great joy,” reflected Professor Dr. Peter Zec, CEO and founder of Red Dot. He served as the evening’s host, along with the Red Dot jurors Kelley Cheng, Thilo von Debschitz and Alison Park Douglas, handing out the Red Dot trophies to the recipients of the highest awards.

With its esteemed reputation and prize money of 10,000 euros, the Red Dot: Junior Prize is one of the most coveted awards in the world of design. This year, the German student Marie-Luise Charlotte Weier had the pleasure of receiving this exceptional honour.

Her project “PYRY” left a profound impression on the Red Dot jury. “We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first saw it,” described the juror Thilo von Debschitz, conveying the initial impact the project had on him and his fellow jurors. Marie-Luise Charlotte Weier had submitted a frozen book, a photographic journey to the Arctic Circle, to the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design 2023 competition.

“PYRY” captivated the jury in multiple ways: its aesthetically pleasing photographs and their message couldn’t have been more intensely staged or tactilely experienced. In terms of form, the unique aesthetics of the risography technique and the technical execution of the ice-covered pages were fascinating.

The trophy that crowned this award was presented by Red Dot Vice President Jana Zec to Marie-Luise Charlotte Weier.

The exhilarating highlight of the award ceremony was the presentation of the “Stylus” trophy by Daniel Leyser, Global CEO of MetaDesign and the previous year’s titleholder, to Thomas Clever and Gert Franke. The founders of the CLEVER°FRANKE agency celebrated their success with around 40 employees on the Konzerthaus stage.

“CLEVER°FRANKE was considered a pioneer in data visualisation when founded in 2008 and has since become an internationally sought-after specialist in translating complex data sets,” said Peter Zec, pleased with the choice. Thus, the Red Dot: Agency of the Year award also brings a design field into focus that has had a significant impact economically, while strongly influencing society as well. “There is now no doubt that information is the ‘raw material’ of our time. However, this raw material requires design so that we can harness it for the benefit of society,” Peter Zec affirmed.