Wagner Design Associates Blog

In a competition of marketing materials for local economic development companies, Ann Arbor SPARK was awarded a first place win for its 2011 Annual Report designed by Wagner Design Associates. The win came in the category of “print marketing materials” for populations between 100,001 and 500,000. The competition, sponsored by the Michigan Economic Developers Association (MEDA), is in its 7th year.

All submissions were categorized by the size of the community represented by the economic development organization. Then they were evaluated based on creativity, graphic design and content. Judges noted that the annual report was “well organized and visually enticing” and praised its finish, color, size and shape.

Linda Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Communications LLC contributed copywriting, editing and consulting services to the report. Fitzgerald Communications is an Ann Arbor-based company specializing in content development for business, health care, education, technology and the nonprofit sector.

MEDA, an organization whose objective is to lead Michigan’s economic development through education, networking and advocacy on economic development, will announce winners during its annual meeting on August 21-24 at Mission Point Resort, Mackinac Island.

Ann Arbor SPARK’s mission is to advance the economy of the Ann Arbor Region by establishing the area as a desired place for business expansion and location – by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from those that are established to those working to successfully commercialize innovations.

Wagner Design provides a full range of creative design and advertising solutions for a wide spectrum of industries including high technology, retail, health care, financial, and academic sectors. The firm has won recognition and awards for its work in print collateral, direct mail, electronic communications, and web design, and has been featured in various design publications.

Contact:

Kathy Roeser-Nordling

Wagner Design Associaties LLC

T: 734.662.9500

E: kathy@wagdesign.com

Jenn Cornell

Ann Arbor SPARK

T: 734.765.0174

E: jenn@jenncornell.com

Printwell Printing, Inc.’s corporate magazine, Cover to Cover, has received a gold award in the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen’s (IAPHC) 36th International Gallery of Excellence competition. Cover to Cover joined hundreds of entrants from around the globe in competing for awards honoring excellence in the arts and sciences of graphic expression. International judges critiqued entries based on quality of production, overall visual appearance and overall difficulty of the printed piece.

Ann Arbor graphic design and advertising company, Wagner Design Associates, designed the magazine using elements to showcase Printwell’s wide range of capabilities. At first touch, readers notice the cover’s unique suede-like feel, created using an innovative aqueous coating which is more cost effective than printing on an expensive paper often used for the same effect. Printwell is committed to green design and in one article readers see what soy ink looks like as well as learning about Printwell’s commitment to recycling and pollution control.

The first edition magazine explores many facets of the company and the printing industry itself. It targets creative professionals, print buyers and anyone interested in learning more about printing. Topics include What Every Print Buyer Really Wants, The Search for Stability in a Printing Partner, Eco-Friendly Printing, and Finishing Touches for a Job Well Done. It’s been extremely successful and Wagner Design has been engaged to design another edition to be published later this summer.

Printwell was founded in 1983 by CEO Paul Borg, in a 1,000 sq. ft. office. From these humble beginnings the company has grown into one of the largest commercial printing operations in Michigan. Printwell has received numerous recognitions in recent years including 5 out of 6 consecutive annual “Best of Category” awards for heatset web from The Printing House Craftsmen Club. In 2010 they were honored with “Best in Category” for sheet-fed printing. Recently, Printwell achieved G7 certification for calibrating proofing and press equipment to standards set by IDEAlliance. With sheet-fed, half-heatset web, full-heatset web, and state-of-art digital printing, Printwell offers their customers a wide range of printing services.

Wagner Design provides a full range of creative design and advertising solutions for a wide spectrum of industries including high technology, retail, health care, financial, and academic sectors. The firm has won recognition and awards for its work in print collateral, direct mail, electronic communications, and web design, and has been featured in various design publications.

Ann Arbor, Michigan – Wagner Design Associates, an Ann Arbor advertising and graphic design firm, received a Silver ADDY® in the Ann Arbor Ad Club’s 2010 ADDY Awards competition.

The ADDY was awarded to Wagner Design for Ann Arbor SPARK’s 2009 Annual Report. The brochure style annual report features the tagline “fast. forward.” on the cover and throughout, and describes SPARK’s ongoing contribution to accelerating the pace of business growth in the Ann Arbor area. Motion blurred graphics evoke the feeling of speed, complementing the theme.

Sponsored nationally by the American Advertising Federation and locally by the Ann Arbor Ad Club, the ADDY Awards Competition recognizes and rewards creative excellence in the art of advertising. Beginning at the local level, in 200 markets nationwide, the ADDY’s three-tiered competition is the largest and most representative advertising awards program in the industry.

Ann Arbor SPARK’s mission is to be the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor Region as a desired place for business expansion and location by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from those that are established to those working to successfully commercialize innovations.

Wagner Design provides a full range of creative design and advertising services to organizations in the high technology, retail, health care, financial, and academic sectors. The firm has won recognition and awards for its work in print collateral, direct mail, electronic communications, and web design, and has been featured in various design publications.

Ann Arbor, Michigan – In a competition of marketing materials for local economic development companies, Ann Arbor SPARK was awarded two first place wins for materials designed by Wagner Design Associates. The wins came in the categories of “print marketing materials” and “website” for populations between 100,001 and 500,000. The competition, sponsored by the Michigan Economic Developers Association (MEDA), is in its 5^th year. In 2009 the Lenawee Economic Development Corporation was awarded first place for “print marketing materials” designed by Wagner Design.

MEDA, an organization whose objective is to lead Michigan’s economic development through education, networking and advocacy on economic development, announced winners at an awards ceremony held in Traverse City on September 16^th.  All submissions were categorized by the size of the community represented by the economic development organization.  Then they were evaluated based on creativity, content and branding.

Ann Arbor SPARK’s mission is to be the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor Region as a desired place for business expansion and location by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from those that are established to those working to successfully commercialize innovations.

Wagner Design provides a full range of creative graphic design and advertising services to organizations in the high technology, retail, health care, financial, and academic sectors. The firm has won recognition and awards for its work in print collateral, direct mail, electronic communications, web design, and has been featured in various design publications.

Contact:

Wagner Design Associates, an Ann Arbor advertising and graphic design firm, received one Gold and one Silver ADDY in the Ann Arbor Ad Club’s 2009 ADDY Awards competition.

A Gold ADDY was awarded to Wagner Design in the self-promotion category for a wall calendar designed for University Lithoprinters. For each calendar day, the design featured Pantone color swatches chosen in seasonal colors.

The silver ADDY was awarded to Wagner Design for a self-promotion flash piece. The online card production featured holiday-themed headshots of the agency’s staff in a flipbook format.

Sponsored nationally by the American Advertising Federation and locally by the Ann Arbor Ad   Club, the ADDY Awards Competition recognizes and rewards creative excellence in the art of advertising. Beginning at the local level, in 200 markets nationwide, the ADDY’s three-tiered competition is the largest and most representative advertising awards program in the industry.

Wagner Design provides a full range of creative design and advertising services to organizations in the high technology, retail, health care, financial, and academic sectors. The firm has won recognition and awards for its work in print collateral, direct mail and electronic communications and has been featured in various design publications.

Kathy Roeser-Nordling
Wagner Design Associates LLC
T: 734.662.9500
F: 734.662.6590
E: kathy@wagdesign.com

Since I am fairly new to Wagner Design, I am learning a great deal about graphic design in Ann Arbor. One of the most interesting ways for me to get to know our company has been getting ready for the ADDY competition. Basically, the  ADDY Awards are the Oscars of advertising. According to their website the ADDY Awards have over 60,000 entries a year and “represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world.” The competition starts at a local level, moves to a district level, then goes on to a regional level, and finally peaks at a national competition. It’s put together by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), which is supported in part by ad clubs around the nation, including the Ann Arbor Ad Club (of which, Wagner Design is a member.)

So, every January, with a resolute spirit, Wagner Design looks back through
our year of creativity. We ponder what we did well and what we can do even
better in the next year. Some of our past submissions (and winners) have showcased the fun, highly creative, and professional work we do. One of our favorites was the retirement campaign for the beloved head of United Bank and Trust in 2006. For him, we created a HICKMANOPOLY game, with supporting “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards, properties, and money that played on Hickman’s image and bank branches in the surrounding communities. When this campaign won a people’s choice ADDY, Jill, Laura, Kathy, and Kristin went to celebrate after the gala. While at Bab’s, they spotted a photo booth–one of those mall types that spits out four photos in a row–and decided to try it out. What resulted was inspiration to take those four little photos and create a self-promotional ad, which also won an ADDY the following year.

I’m not only excited to see what happens with this year’s competition, but
also to be a part of the kind of creativity that happens at Wagner Design. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the big day.