Silver A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Goes to The River Runs Through Public Art by Beck Storer

Beck Storer recognized for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 22, 2022 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that The River Runs Through Public Art by Beck Storer, designed for Merbein Arts Group, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2021 - 2022 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Silver A' Design Award Explained

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding The River Runs Through Public Art

The River Runs Through is a dynamic art installation which explores the rich narrative of the water ways found at the Merbein Common; a native reserve on the Murray River of Victoria. The artwork combines traditional mural painting with innovative digital printing and is presented on the walls of an old refrigerated storage shed, which was once used to store fruit for a juice factory. At night it is a totally different experience; powered by the sun the artwork is transformed into a colorful light installation.

About Beck Storer

Beck is the founder of The Cutaway - a creative studio that explores cultural storytelling in the public space to connect people to places and craft messages of meaning and value. Combining her love for design, technology and craft, her work challenges the curious and presents visual stories in the public space that are compelling and memorable. Her career spans over 20 years in the communication design industry, with her work being peer reviewed receiving numerous international awards. Her projects are vast, applying her sharp creativity through a wide range of disciplines including brand strategy, art direction and public art activations.

Award Record

With this recognition, Beck Storer is a winner of 6 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2016 - 2017 to 2021 - 2022 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award

The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Entries typically include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. Awarded graphic designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/graphics

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/139879
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/139879
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!139879
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/166353
Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/merbein

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: The River Runs Through Public Art
Function: Public Art
Category: Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Branding & Advertising and Arts
Colors: Midnight Blue, Black, Dark Slate Gray, Maroon and Dark Red
Images: 5
Client: Merbein Arts Group

The Recognition

Laureate: Beck Storer
Country: Australia
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2021 - 2022
Design ID: #139879

Credits

Team: Beck Storer, Travis McGowan, Moose McGowan
Image Credits: Photography: Aaron Hawkins

Design Details

Unique Properties: In 6 months the project was fully funded by the Merbein community, a population just shy of 3000 people. Over $30,000 was raised from individuals and businesses, during an unprecedented year of many challenges due to Covid lockdowns. From a creative perseptive, the artwork combines traditional mural painting with innovative digital printing and is presented on the walls of an old refrigerated storage shed, which was once used to store fruit for a juice factory. At night it is a totally different experience - powered by the sun the artwork is transformed into a colourful light installation.
Inspiration: The artwork is inspired by the unique landscape of the Australian outback in regional Victoria and the Murray River, the longest river in Australia. It pays homage to a particular area on the Murray known as the Merbein Common. The Merbein Common is a floodplain reserve, nestled in a bend of the Murray River just north-west of Mildura. It is made up of a series of nationally significant wetlands, such as Cowanna Billabong.
Research: The aim of the project? To totally reinvigorate an old unused area into a new shared public space through the beauty of large scale public art. Started by goodwill, infused by community investment and delivered through design, the artwork has reignited the community with confidence, pride and ownership of a truly unique piece of public art that has transformed an unused area into an inspiring outdoor public space. The River Runs Through is the only large scale public artwork in the Sunraysia region and has now established Merbein as a predominant public art destination.
Challenge: Challenges arouse to ensure the surface was cleaned and suitable for the artwork, as over the years the old shed became quite deteriorated. This was solved by an intensive cleaning process of power sanding over 90 square metres of the sheds metal service and cleaning the entire site with a sustainable cleaning element and jet water pressure washes.
Realization and Technology: Creating a point of difference to the project, at night the artwork is powered by the sun by 3 large solar panel RGB floodlights which transforms it into a dynamic colourful light installation. In addition to the public art installation a series of communication assets were created. This included a website and social media strategy to share the development to the community which created interest and engagement from the broader Victorian mallee area. An interpretative signage display with included a QR code link to a Google map - encouraging people to visit the Merbein Common and the Murray River themselves.
Operation and Interaction: The public can view the art installation both during the day and night.
Project Duration and Location: The River Runs Through is located at 80 Game Street Merbein, Victoria Australia and is permanently displayed for the public.
Specifications: The project is big. Covering over 350 square metres the installation used over 200 litres of paint to transform the space. In addiiton to the traditional mural painting an innovative digital printing technique was used to transfer the abstract wave to the service. Like a huge sticker, this graphic was delicately positionedn with millmetre perfection to present a detail element to the mural and took 2 days to install.
Keywords: public art, mural art, projection art, graphic design, graphics, colour,