Kickoff for 6th Annual Maroon & Gold Awards

February 20, 2007

Program Notes

Welcome
Gina Kennedy, Co-Chair of the Awards Committee

Panelist Presentations

Ami Berger, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Editor/Writer, Playing to Learn: Neverwinter Nights, 2006 Maroon and Gold Award winner: Excellence in Writing

Project Challenges: Submitting faculty research that appeals to a wide audience. Playing to Learn: Neverwinter Nights was appealing because the research connects the theoretical to the practical application.

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Christopher James, University Libraries, Project Lead, The Transfer of Knowledge: The art of Botanical Illustration 1491-1980, 2006 Maroon and Gold Award winner: Campaign

Project Challenges: Use the beautiful subject matter to make a meaningful design that fit within the University Library’s standards.

Christopher James, University Libraries, Project Lead, University Library Halloween Book Sale, 2006 MARGO Award winner

Project Challenges: Short turnaround time, small budget, how to show audience there were more than just scholarly books for sale.

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Shelley Johnson, sJohnson Creative, 2006 Maroon and Gold Awards Judge

Advice: The judges have to move fast, so make sure your entries clearly articulate your objectives and audience, illustrate what your decisions were, why you made them, and what the outcome was. Remember that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Pay attention to typography, even a conceptually strong piece can fail due to lack of attention to type. Some of the more successful pieces are made when designers and writers work together from the get-go, so the design can appropriately represent the content.

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Deb Parker, City of Minneapolis, 2006 Maroon and Gold Awards Judge

Advice: Execution against budget – production should be equal to content. Impact statements are great, being able to provide a measurable amount of success for your entry helps. With Web development and design, usability must always win before beauty. 

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Closing
Gina Kennedy, Co-Chair of the Awards Committee
2007 Maroon and Gold Awards Entry forms are available on the Web site. Remember to make your entries concise.

Q&A
Q: (for Ami Berger) Response in your office after you won the M&G Award?

A: Reminder to colleagues that professionals and not just faculty do good work too, and can receive recognition and awards just like faculty can. A reminder to faculty to keep professionals in the loop with their work to help them look good. A realization that few people outside the Forum knew about the M&G Awards until she won.