Washington, DC, 4/23/2007 -

The American Association of Museums announced today the winners of the 27^th annual Museum Publications Design Competition (Pub Comp). The competition, which acknowledges excellence in the graphic design of museum publications, is the only national, juried event involving publications produced by museums of all kinds and sizes. This year’s contest drew 1,040 entries. Twenty-six items received a first prize, 20 received a second prize and 57 received an honorable mention.

 

In 2000, AAM introduced the “best-of-show” award—the Frances Smyth-Ravenel Prize for Excellence in Publication Design. Known as the Franny, the prize is named for the late editor-in-chief at the National Gallery of Art, a long-time Pub Comp judge who was instrumental in helping the competition achieve the national stature it has today. This year, the judges awarded the Franny to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for the book Zaha Hadid, designed by Natasha Jen and Susan Sellers, 2x4 Inc. Published in conjunction with the museum’s 30-year retrospective exhibition on the architect, the 197-page volume impressed judges with its innovative design.

 

Competing institutions were divided according to budget: museums with annual operating budgets of $750,000 or more and those with budgets of less than $750,000. Within each budget division, entries competed in 15 categories, including books, educational resources, newsletters, fund-raising materials and scholarly journals. Entries in all 15 categories were eligible for the Franny.

 

Two teams of judges chose the winners. Comprising the first team were Judy Metro, editor-in-chief, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; W. Ralph Eubanks, director of publishing, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; and Robert Wiser, art director, Archetype Press, Silver Spring, Md. Serving on the second team were Jane Lusaka, editor, Freer Gallery + Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Rodney Williams, RCW Communications Design, Alexandria, Va.; and Bennett DeOlazo, creative director, Studio B, Alexandria, Va.

 

A selection of the winners will be displayed at AAM’s Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™, which takes place in Chicago, May 13-17. The competition results will also be featured in the July/August 2007 issue of AAM’s national magazine, Museum News. View the complete list of Pub Comp winners at www.aam-us.org/

 

About AAM

The American Association of Museums (AAM) has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional, and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.  

 

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