Press Release
ABA Typographic Posters Advertising and AR Campaign by Paul Robb Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Paul Robb honored for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 17, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category for ABA Typographic Posters Advertising and AR Campaign by Paul Robb, designed for S6 Foundry. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed 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.
More About ABA Typographic Posters Advertising and AR Campaign
ABA Typographic Posters is an advertising campaign created for an arts university. Large-format typographic posters are printed and installed in public urban locations, where bold layouts and color systems attract attention. Each poster works as a marker for augmented reality content, which viewers reach by scanning the printed image with a smartphone. The augmented reality layer adds animated and interactive material that extends the printed message. The campaign presents art education to prospective students in a direct and participatory way.
About Paul Robb
Paul Robb is a Creative Director and Type designer with over 30 years of experience, and is a Professor of Graphic design at the University of Perugia, and a Professor on the MA Brand design course of the Academia of Perugia. Since 2000 he is Creative Director for Salt&Pepper an award-winning multidisciplinary contemporary graphic design studio focused on transforming brands and businesses. Expressiveness and authenticity are the basis of his work which is completed with a balanced fusion of creative design and technology. In 2020 he started S6 Foundry which develops creative fonts by designers for designers.
Award Record
This recognition makes Paul Robb a winner of 26 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2018 - 2019 to 2025 - 2026 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/179734
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179734
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179734
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/175604
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
- ABA Typographic Posters Advertising and AR Campaign
- Function
- Advertising and AR Campaign
- Category
- Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Arts
- Colors
- Black, Indian Red, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Slate Blue and Dark Olive Green
- Images
- 5
- Client
- S6 Foundry
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Paul Robb
- Country
- Italy
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179734
Credits
- Team
- Paul Robb, Moria Bartoloni, Tommaso Paganini
- Image Credits
- Paul Henry Robb
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This project is a public visual advertising campaign combining expressive typography and augmented reality to promote an arts university and engage prospective students. Large-scale typographic posters operate as both communication and invitation, activating curiosity in urban spaces. Through AR interaction, static visuals transform into immersive experiences, positioning typography as a gateway to creativity, exploration, and contemporary artistic education.
- Inspiration
- The project was inspired by the need to communicate artistic education beyond traditional institutional language. Drawing from contemporary graphic culture, typographic experimentation, and urban visual systems, the campaign reframes typography as an experiential medium. The objective was to speak directly to young creatives, encouraging discovery, participation, and personal engagement through curiosity-driven interaction rather than didactic messaging.
- Research
- Type of Research: practice-based visual communication research. Research Objectives: to engage prospective students through interactive typography. Methodology: integration of graphic design and AR interaction. Data Collection and Tools Used: visual testing, mobile AR platforms, large-format prototyping. Participants or Experiments: public users in urban environments. Results: increased engagement and curiosity. Insights and Impacts: enhanced visibility of art education through immersive communication.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was transforming institutional communication into an engaging public experience. Internally, the project required balancing experimental typography with clarity and accessibility. Externally, it demanded reliable AR performance in uncontrolled urban conditions. Ensuring seamless interaction between printed media and digital layers while maintaining visual impact required extensive testing, refinement, and cross-disciplinary coordination.
- Realization and Technology
- The campaign was developed through a hybrid graphic and digital workflow with AR. Typography-driven posters were designed for large-format print using custom layouts and color systems. Augmented reality layers were implemented using mobile-based AR platforms, linking printed triggers to animated and interactive digital content. The integration of physical and digital media was tested on-site to ensure accessibility, responsiveness, and visual coherence.
- Operation and Interaction
- The campaign begins as a typographic message encountered in public space. Viewers are invited to scan the posters using their mobile devices, triggering augmented reality content that expands the visual narrative. The interaction transforms passive viewing into active exploration, creating a memorable experience that communicates the university’s creative approach and encourages deeper interest and participation.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was developed and implemented in 2025 in Italy. It was designed as a public-facing campaign and installed across selected urban locations, where it engaged prospective students through physical posters and augmented reality experiences, supporting the university’s enrollment and cultural outreach activities.
- Specifications
- The project consists of large-format printed posters installed in public urban locations, produced in standard outdoor advertising dimensions. The AR component is accessible via smartphones using marker-based image recognition. Digital content is optimized for real-time interaction, ensuring compatibility across common mobile operating systems and screen resolutions.
- Keywords
- Typography, visual communication, advertising campaign, augmented reality, student engagement, art education, public space design, interactive posters, cultural promotion, creative discovery, graphic design, urban communication
