PrintWeek Awards jury say entries were exceptional, brilliant and outstanding
Under the cloudy weather of Mumbai, PrintWeek Awards 2012’s jury day opened arms to a jury panel of strong industry stalwarts on 28 July at Grand Hyatt Hotel.
31 Jul 2012 | By Supreeth Sudhakaran
The 32 member jury panel
The judging included a point-by-point assessment of the over 330 samples submitted by 116 companies.
Complimenting the quality of entries received KV Sridhar, national creative director, Leo Burnett, said, “Some of the entries submitted by the printing firms are really exceptional. These are fine examples of the kind of printing work that is possible even in India. I was amazed at some of the customised printing opportunities available in the country. We have all seen the personalised calendars and diaries, but the opportunities are galore, and as agencies we need to look at using these for our clients.”
Shormista Mukherjee, founder, Rickshaw, recalled how designers from her agency started coming up with ‘fresher’ ideas following visits to printing firms as part of the Print Yatra organised by PrintWeek India in February 2012. Talking about the awards, she said, “The kind of entries showcased here are some of the great examples of what Indian printing can do. I do hope more people get a chance to see these works, and come up with greater solutions for their clients.”
Karan Rawat, executive creative director, Grey echoed Sridhar’s view and said that Indian printers are at par with international printing companies with respect to quality. “In terms of technique and technology, we have the best in talent. However, from what I have seen, most of the entries could have become excellent pieces of communication if they had got the design elements right. This clearly illustrates how most advertising agencies have forgotten how to optimise one of the oldest forms of communication.”
Another jury member, Paulose Parakkadan, operations director, r-pac India amazed with several of the entries said, “Although, there are certain repetitions in effects and techniques used but the execution of the idea by several of the companies I judged was simply brilliant and classy.”
Shaziya Khan, executive planning director and vice president, JWT India felt that there is need for printers and communication agencies to collaborate to produce such outstanding works. She said, “Communication agencies have to look at how the printing technology space has developed and come up with solutions, and I hope more advertising agencies and designers collaborate with printers to come out with even greater work in future.”
The Jury Panel for PrintWeek India Awards 2012 was as follows:
| Ashwini Ashish Deshpande | Founder director & design practice head, Elephant Design |
| Bhavna Darira | Vice President - Brand, Aditya Birla Group |
| Farooqui Fazal | Packaging development manager, Heinz India |
| Fawzan Husain | Lens Impressions |
| Gayatri Jayaraman | Writer, Mint Lounge |
| Geetanjali Bhattacharji | Chief executive officer, Spatial Access |
| Hemal Kapadia | Founder and design director, Olive Design |
| Hitesh Pravin Shah | Studio manager, BBDO India |
| Huzefa Kanorwala | India and ME country manager, HH Print Management India |
| Indrajit Sen | Executive director, Indian Outdoor Advertising Association |
| Indranil Roy | President, Outlook Group at Outlook Publishing |
| Jayshree Joshi | Programme officer, Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Mumbai |
| Karan Rawat | Executive creative director, Grey |
| Kiran Prabhakar Prayagi | Director, Graphic Arts Technology & Education |
| Madan Mohapatra | Chief marketing, Future Group |
| Narendra Parmar | Editor and publisher, Printing Samachar |
| Paroma Sadhana | Production and design supervisor, Majlis |
| Paulose Parakkadan | Operations director, r-pac India |
| Pronoti Datta | Assistant editor, Times of India |
| Raja Sanyal | Head of marketing - India, Barclays |
| Runali Sawant | Assistant manager- packaging development, Hindustan Unilever Limited |
| Saurav Roy | Director, Idea Spice Design |
| Shaziya Khan | Executive planning director and vice president, JWT |
| Sheetal Dandekar | Senior product manager, Lupin India |
| Shormista Mukherjee | Founder, Rickshaw |
| Soma Roy | Packaging executive-quality, Marico |
| Sridhar Kondiparthi (Pops) | National creative director, Leo Burnett |
| Vijay Sampath | Chief executive officer, ACK Media |
| Vijay Sawant | Group creative director, Ogilvy and Mather |
| Yogesh Bambal | Packaging development manager, Cadbury India |
The shortlists in each category have been released online on 30 July 2012. The award-winners will be announced at the PrintWeek India Awards Night and Conclave on 30 August at Hyatt in Mumbai.