NEMA is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s annual Publication Awards. Judging was especially challenging and exciting this year, with 199 entries from 60 museums in 10 categories. The Publication Awards honor excellence in design, publication, and communication in the world of print and digital museum publishing.

This year’s judges were Ann Sgarzi, marketing director of the Discovery Museums in Acton, Michael Hanke of Design Division, Inc., and Brad Larson of Brad Larson Media. They spent a thorough and thoughtful day of judging, discussing, and determining, hosted by the Discovery Museums. The level of excitement and energy on the exhibit floor outside the judges’ room was matched by the dedication and professionalism within. NEMA is grateful to all the judges and to the Discovery Museums for their time and generosity!

The judges were looking not only at the formal elements of design for each piece, but also ease of use, clarity of purpose and message, definition of audience, and accessibility of content. In other words, not only ‘is it pretty?’ and ‘is it easy?’, but also ‘can I tell who it’s for?’ and ‘does it say what it intends?’ Judges were also intent on handing out the awards to publications that were not only best of the submitted pieces, but that were truly excellent examples for others in the field to learn from.

Best in Show was awarded to the Mystic Seaport Museum for its suite of supplementary marketing materials for the ‘Sea History Alive’ online & print campaign, including video spots, teaser posters, and infographics. The judges praised the way each component of the campaign stood on its own merits as being well thought out, targeted, and designed, yet also fit seamlessly into the larger plan, providing links between elements that were both enticing and supporting. The copy writing in particular received praise for its ‘great hooks’ and humor which piqued the interest in a minimum of words.

Books, Exhibition Catalogues, and Educational Materials

This year’s judges favored educational materials with a purpose beyond marketing specific educational programs, so their top choices went to disparate but engaging self-guided activities. While the Yale Center for British Art received compliments on the charming illustrations and inventive folding of its booklet to include a poster, both it and the Yale University Art Gallery’s architecture activity received more praise for their focus on promoting surprise and introspection, prioritizing an individual’s critical thinking process over the ‘scavenger hunt’ or ‘fact finding’ style of guide, which has the benefit of being interesting to a much wider age range as well.

Among the exhibition catalogues, the discussion centered around creativity of format versus classical appeal. Yale University Art Gallery’s Odd Volumes won top billing for its double-bound format, which appealed to the curiosity and then rewarded it with a comprehensive catalogue within. Meanwhile, the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst received praise for the beautiful solidity and ‘velvet feel’ of its catalogue, Du Bois in Our Time, and both the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage and Cape Ann Historical Association both received honorable mentions for their catalogues’ abilities to capture the quirky constructs and archaeological curiosity of the exhibits they represented.

The general books category was one of those the judges said was most difficult, due to the sheer range of book genres represented and the overwhelming number of submissions they simply wanted to sit and read. In the under $500K budget range, awards went to the Littleton Historical Society for its sincere and dedicated coverage of three hundred years of local history, and to Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University for its series of Famine Folios, with each short book dedicated to a particular theme.  In the over $500K category, the Fruitlands 100 Objects, 100 Stories, 100 Years book got top honors for its elegant mix of photography and text in a format that was classic and yet diverse enough to avoid ‘tiring’ layout repetition. Beautiful photography or illustrations, well-identified entry points to the text, and well-targeted content characterized all the award recipients in this category.

Marketing & Development Materials, Invitations, and Annual Reports

In the newsletters & magazines category, the judges felt that these two types of periodicals deserved separate attention, owing to their differences in purpose and content. Therefore, they awarded dual placements in this category. Top marks went to the Fleming Museum of Art’s newsletter for its simple and sophisticated design, with beautiful and interesting choices in photography and infographics, and to RISD Museum’s Manual, about which the judges said they ‘wanted to read the whole thing,’ and specifically called out the poster inserts for commendation.

In the general marketing materials categories, two press kit folders from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum tied for first place, one for its direct simplicity and the other for its bold and colorful photography and clever use of interior space. Postcard design also received commendations in the form of Plimoth Plantation’s font-based holiday programming card, and the dramatic menu contrasts depicted between masters and servants at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University.

Drama was also the keyword of the day for the two top placing invitations: Peabody Essex Museum’s shiny, intricate folding ‘Dream Gala’ invitation and New Bedford Art Museum/ArtWorks’ ‘Party on the Cove’ invitation with its high impact landscape photography choices. Each were noted for their playful qualities and their clever use of layers and reveals.

Among the annual fund and other development materials, it was connection that held top priority. Plimoth Plantation’s Annual Report received first place with praise for its nice balance of photography and content, friendly-sized print layout, and emphasis on exciting new projects. Historic New England also received kudos for its behind-the-scenes look in its Annual Report, promoting that vital sense of engagement and belonging.

Digital Platforms

As so much of the world’s information consumption has switched to digital platforms, standards for accessible, mobile-friendly design have risen sharply. In this category, the judges were especially impressed with submissions that paired easy navigation with inventive options for a deeper access to content. RISD Museum’s website received first place for its exceptional attention to detail in its online collections database, with numerous sorting options allowing for unusual and unlikely search combinations. The Eric Carle Museum’s website was praised for its navigability and friendly interface, while the Mead Art Museum’s exhibition mini-site, Pain’s Pyrotechnic Spectacle, received an honorable mention for its impressive flexible and mobile-friendly design.

A Note on Publications of all Types

This year, the judges were especially interested in clean, simple design. Though a few ‘busy’ submissions were deemed outstanding despite their ‘overwhelming’ amounts of color and copy, in general the publications which prioritized easy entry points and graphics featuring connections between people, experiences, and collections fared best. This extended to the content-heavy formats as well, where magazines, journals, and books that offered shorter, digestible sections with clear headers and relevant supporting graphic elements were deemed more audience-friendly than those without, regardless of other design considerations. The judges were also impressed with the number of submissions that had a clear local focus and a commitment to a specific audience, no matter how limited by region, age, or interest.

This fall, the Publication Award winners will be featured at the NEMA Annual Conference in Portland, Maine, November 4-6. We encourage you to stop by and explore the winning publications, come up with ideas that will save your museum time and money, and discover new ways to reinvigorate and re-imagine your existing publications in the coming year!

 Click here to download a list of winners.

2015 Publication Award Winners

Best in Show
Mystic Seaport Museum
Sea History Alive print, online & video campaign
Project Director: Cheryl Ritacco
Designer: Outthink

Annual Fund, Capital Campaign, & Other Development Materials
First Place
Plimoth Plantation
Annual Report 2014
Project Director: Courtney Roy-Branigan
Designer: Kristen Oney

Second Place
Historic New England
Annual Report 2014
Project Director: Kris Bierfelt
Designer: Grossman Marketing Group

Third Place
Fleming Museum of Art
Annual Fund 2014
Project Director and Designer: Chris Dissinger

Books
First Place (under $500K)
Littleton Historical Society
Littleton, Massachusetts 1714-2014: Three Hundred Years of History
Project Director: Ann Himmelberger
Designer: Melinda Hobausz

First Place (over $500K)
Fruitlands Museum
100 Objects, 100 Stories, 100 Years at Fruitlands Museum
Project Directors: Janet Bailey & Mary Delaney
Designer: Boynton Studio

Second Place (under $500K)
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, Quinnipiac University
Famine Folios
Project Director: Grace Brady
Designer: Group C Inc.

Second Place (over $500K)
Mystic Seaport
The Charles W. Morgan: A Picture of An American Icon
Project Director: Mary Anne Stets
Designer: Pediment Publishing

Third Place
Newport Historical Society
Newport History Bytes: 50 Fast Facts
Project Director: Elizabeth Sulock
Designer: Pure Imaging Inc.

Honorable Mention
The Berkshire Museum
In Kindergarten
Project Director: Craig Langlois
Designer: Studio Two

Educational Publications, Materials & Kits
First Place
Yale University Art Gallery
“Architecture” self-guided activity
Project Director: Tiffany Sprague
Designer: Christopher Sleboda

Second Place
Yale Center for British Art
“A Field Guide to Extraordinary Things”
Project Director: Lyn Bell Rose
Designer: Sean Kuhnke

Third Place
Fleming Museum of Art
“Buddhist Art” exhibit guide
Project Director: Christina Fearon
Designer: Chris Dissinger

Exhibition Catalogues
First Place
Yale University Art Gallery
Odd Volumes: Book Art from the Allan Chasanoff Collection
Project Director: Tiffany Sprague
Designer: Christopher Sleboda

Second Place
Davis Museum at Wellesley College
New View: 2014 Faculty Exhibition
Project Director: Claire Whitner
Designer: Stoltze Design

Third Place
University Museum of Contemporary Art at UMass Amherst
Du Bois in Our Time
Project Director: Loretta Yarlow
Designer: Pamela Glaven

Honorable Mention
John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities & Cultural Heritage
A Brief Guide to the Lost Museum
Project Director: Steven Lubar
Designer: Benjamin Shaykin

Honorable Mention
Cape Ann Museum
Strong Breezes and Passing Clouds
Project Director and Designer: Meredith Anderson

Invitations
First Place (under $500K)
New Bedford Art Museum/Art Works!
“Party on the Cove”
Project Director: Noelle Foye
Designer: mediumstudio

First Place (over $500K)
Peabody Essex Museum
“DREAM gala”
Project Director: Kristen Ternullo
Designer: Leann Leftwich

Second Place
Peabody Essex Museum
“Turner & the Sea”
Project Director: Kristen Ternullo
Designer: Julie Diewald

Third Place
Fruitlands Museum
“Summer Solstice Farm to Fork Dinner”
Project Director: Mary Delaney
Designer: Richard Gioiosa

Honorable Mention
Historic New England
“Feast in the Field at Casey Farm”
Project Director: Janet Zwolinski
Designer: Blair Lustig

Honorable Mention
Museum of Science, Boston
“Trustees & Overseers Holiday Invitation”
Project Director and Designer: Lori Sartre

Honorable Mention
The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum
“Pop Up Museum”
Project Director: Susan A. Kaplan
Designer: Fall Design

Marketing/PR Materials
Joint First Place
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Goya folder
Project Director: Janet O’Donoghue
Designer: Jill Bendonis

Joint First Place
Peabody Essex Museum
India Folder
Project Director: Kristen Ternullo
Designer: Leann Leftwich

Second Place
Fleming Museum of Art
Museum Rack Card
Project Director and Designer: Chris Dissinger

Third Place
Peabody Essex Museum
“In Plain Sight; Discovering the Furniture of Nathanial Gould” rack card
Project Director: Kristen Ternullo
Designer: Emily Larsen

Honorable Mention
Plimoth Plantation
Christmas and Holiday programming postcard
Project Directors: Ellie Donovan, Rob Kluin, and Jessica Rudden
Designer: Kristen Oney

Newsletters & Magazines
Joint First Place
Fleming Museum of Art
Monthly newsletters
Project Director and Designer: Chris Dissinger

Joint First Place
RISD Museum
Manual: A Journal about art and its making
Project Director: Sarah Ganz Blythe
Designer: Derek Schusterbauer

Second Place
Bostonian Society/Old State House Museum
Proceedings of the Bostonian Society
Project Director: Nathaniel Sheidley
Designer: Adams Design

Second Place
Peabody Essex Museum
What’s Going On @PEM
Project Director: Lisa Kosan
Designer: Leann Leftwich

Third Place
Peabody Essex Museum
Connections (Calder issue)
Project Director: Lisa Kosan
Designer: Leann Leftwich

Supplementary Materials
First Place
Mystic Seaport Museum
“Sea History Alive” print, online & video campaign
Project Director: Cheryl Ritacco
Designer: Outthink

Second Place
Fleming Museum of Art
Museum map
Project Director and Designer: Chris Dissinger

Third Place
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College
Dress Mead Up paper doll set
Project Director: Pamela Russell
Designers: Keely Sarr and Maria Darrow

Honorable Mention
Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, Quinnipiac University
Soup postcard
Project Director: Grace Brady
Designer: The Social House

Honorable Mention
Peabody Essex Museum
Chocolate bar wrappers
Project Director: Kristen Ternullo
Designer: Emily Larsen

Websites
First Place
RISD Museum
Main website
Project Director: Jeremy Radtke
Designer: Project Projects

Second Place
The Eric Carle Museum
Main website
Project Director: Rebecca Miller Goggins
Designer: Alexander Isley Inc.

Third Place
Mystic Seaport Museum
Sea Stories blog
Project Director: Cheryl Ritacco
Designer: Outthink

Honorable Mention
Mead Art Museum
Pain’s Pyrotechnic Spectacle online exhibition
Project Director and Designer: Bradley Bailey