365: AIGA Year in Design Winners Announced

AIGA Celebrates the Innovation and Inspiration of the Design Community

New York, NY—AIGA, the professional association for design, is pleased to announce the winners of 365: AIGA Year in Design, a 360-degree view of design over 365 days. The competition, which was rebooted in 2022, celebrates designers, design teams, and their clients for effectively working together to design creative solutions for challenges presented by businesses and organizations during the calendar year 2021. This competition recognizes excellence and represents innovation across all categories of communication design, from print to web to service to spaces—both physical and virtual. 

With 466 entries from countries around the globe, including the United States, United Kingdom, Hungary, Philippines, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Singapore, Turkey, and more, this year’s jurors selected 51 entries that represent excellence in design.

Selections from this year’s jurors of the 2021 competition can be viewed in the Winners Gallery.

“As we see the proliferation of communications across channels and experiences, design has the power to impart meaning with audiences, inspire them to act and create impact that helps change the world,” said Ken Fox, 365: AIGA Year in Design Chair. “It was inspiring and energizing to facilitate the open and thoughtful discussion of this year's entries and to participate in the often vigorous debates.”

AIGA thanks this year’s panel of esteemed jurors: Ken Fox (Jury Chair) Principal / Executive Creative Director, 50,000feet, Chicago, IL, Rafael Esquer, Creative Director, Alfalfa Studio, New York, NY, Min Lew, Executive Creative Director / Managing Partner, Base, New York, NY, Clement Mok, Design Instigator, The Design Office of Clement Mok, San Francisco, CA, Nakita Pope, Chief Chick / Brand Strategist, Branding Chicks, Atlanta, GA, and Jan Wilker, Co-Founder, karlssonwilker, New York, NY.

Read what this year’s jurors have to say about some of this year’s designs:

AMA Constructing Memory Interactive Art Book
“Powerful and haunting stories found their canvas in this well thought-out, 360, analog-digital project that includes an interactive book, a series of videos, and augmented reality.” —Rafael Esquer

Inque Magazine (Issue One)
“It’s a pleasure to see a well-designed magazine with an added focus on its haptic beauty and impact. And the predetermined ending date of the magazine is an excellent gesture.” —Jan Wilker

OSU Design Lecture 2021
“An ode to hand-drawn letters. Wonderfully old-school, yet it feels very contemporary and personal. The letter scrawls are meticulously planned for legibility. Job well done.” —Clement Mok

Can you see the music? - music-driven dynamic brand identity for Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra
“This brand identity takes a technical concept and applies it in such a way that you still see the organic nature of the music. It is an excellent example of what happens when designers collaborate with other disciplines.” —Nakita Pope

Love Ocean
“Simple idea. Well executed wholistically.” —Min Lew

The competition was first launched in 1924 as "Contemporary Printing for Commerce." Since then, it has been called: "Printing for Commerce" (1925–1953); "Design and Printing for Commerce/Fifty Advertisements of the Year" (1954–1967); "Communication Graphics" (1968–2000); and "365: AIGA Year in Design" (2001–2011).

Design is at the heart of successful businesses and AIGA is committed to creating and restoring pathways for designers and design teams to raise awareness of their work and its impact. Competitions are instrumental in identifying emerging and hidden talent within the design community, recognizing effective visual design solutions in the marketplace, and communicating the added value of design to adjacent industries. Work selected by jurors will chronicle the contributions of design and designers to business value and visual culture.