New Award celebrates creativity & excellence in Fashion

Auckland – 17 February, 2011

Calling all New Zealand fashion designers and brands! Applications are now open for the inaugural James & Wells: Fashion Communication Design Award.

Developed in collaboration between Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) and James & Wells Intellectual Property, the award celebrates creativity and excellence in fashion-specific communication design – the architecture of New Zealand fashion brands and the communication of brand messages across a variety of media, which are designed to inspire and stimulate desire among consumer audiences.

The James & Wells: Fashion Communication Design Award is open to New Zealand fashion designers and brands, and will go to the best communication design portfolio.

FINZ executive officer, Mapihi Opai, says: “This award provides a wonderful platform to showcase the creativity, talent and collaboration behind New Zealand’s fashion brands.

“Communication design is about so much more than fashion imagery. It’s a discipline that involves strategic thinking, market research and problem solving. It’s all about being relevant; making sure that every element of the brand speaks to and connects with the target audience.”

Examples of communication design include – brand identity design, typography, copy-writing, web design, copy-writing, advertising, photography, illustration, animation, film and spatial concepts.

“James & Wells Intellectual Property is proud to build upon its partnership with FINZ and support New Zealand fashion with this award. It’s a great fit for us, because intellectual property law is a key component when it comes to protecting the creative endeavours of Kiwi designers,” says Carrick Robinson, partner, James & Wells Intellectual Property.

The award will culminate in a public exhibition of the three finalists’ work – Fashion Communication Design – to be held at Sale St during the New Zealand Fashion Festival.

Exhibition curators, Lisa Lloyd-Taylor and Kim Fraser, will also produce an academic research paper based on the award programme.

Mapihi Opai says: “It will be fascinating to see the narrative that emerges, because fashion and communication design reveal a lot about who we are, how we live and what we value.”

The winner will receive intellectual property services to the value of NZ$5,000 from James and Wells Intellectual Property, as well as an annual membership subscription from FINZ. And, the three finalists will take home their respective printed works from the exhibition courtesy of Blue Star.

Applications will be reviewed by an expert panel of judges, including:

• Mike Hutcheson, director, Image Centre Holdings.
Co-founder of Colenso and former managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi, he now heads Lighthouse Ideas, an incubator for creativity and innovation, and Image Centre Holdings, a digital marketing, publishing and print group. He is also a published author and regular columnist for The Independent and Unlimited.
• Mapihi Opai, executive officer, Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ).
• Carrick Robinson, partner, James & Wells Intellectual Property.

Applications for the James & Wells: Fashion Communication Design Award close on Friday, 11 March, 2011.

Applicants are required to submit an online application form, with a communication design portfolio attached.

For more information visit: www.finz.co.nz

ENDS

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