The Art Directors Club Awards is the world’s longest continuously running industry award show. The awards celebrate the very best in categories such as advertising, digital media, photography, and much more but all with a focus on artistry and craftmanship.
For this momentous occasion there is no other awards designer and manufacturer that can honor such recipients with high-end awards than Society Awards.
Here’s how we redesigned the prestigious ADC Paul Manship Award.
"...What matters is the spirit which the artist puts into his creation — the vitality, the rhythm, the emotional effect."
Paul Manship
The Paul Manship Medallion: Over a Century of Creative Recognition
In 1921, a year after the Art Directors Club was created, Earnest Calkins organized the first ADC exhibition, which would later evolve into the annual ADC awards. The exhibit put into practice the belief the Club was founded upon that "artistic excellence is vitally necessary to successful advertising." To mark the foundation, Calkins would reach out and commission a young Paul Manship to design the Club’s symbol and iconic medal.
Paul Manship was an American sculptor who became a major force in the Art Deco movement during his time. His well-known pieces include the iconic Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center, the Celestial Sphere in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Cycle of Life in Andover, Massachusetts.
Related Reading: Trophies in the Arts: An artist’s mind, a Craftsman’s hand
Like many of his pieces, Manship took inspiration from his love of classical Greek mythology for the design of the medal. The obverse features an image of the Greek hero, Bellerophon, riding Pegasus above the sun, encircled by the words “ART DIRECTORS CLUB” “INCORPORATED 1920”.
The reverse depicts a painter with palette and brush, surrounded by the inscription “AWARDED FOR SPECIAL MERIT” and framed by a laurel wreath.
"..to honor those whose work redefines our profession. Work that doesn’t follow the times, but helps set the direction of what’s to come."
Brian Collins, Art Directors Club President and Co-Founder of COLLINS
Fusing ADC History with Modern Design
Manufacturing a custom trophy of this significance demands the same commitment to excellence that the award itself celebrates. Working directly alongside the Art Directors Club, our team focused on respecting the past while continuing to advance the field of award and trophy design.
To start with, Paul Manship’s original 54mm bronze medallion design is minted at Society Awards. Our skilled artisans mint the bronze medals to exact specifications before being secured inside of the newly designed clear acrylic cube.
The clear acrylic cube shape honors the multi-finish ADC Cube Award, which proceeded the Manship medal after its original retirement in the 1960s. The elegant design featuring the Art Directors Club logo is also crafted by Society Awards in collaboration with the ADC.
Related Reading: Custom Awards for Creative Competitions in Marketing, Design, and More
The result merges over a century of ADC history with the modern artistry; a fusion of two iconic symbols. The medallion that started it all in 1921 now floats visibly within from every angle inside the cube that has defined creative recognition for over fifty years.
That required close collaboration and trust, careful material selection, and meticulous attention to detail at every stage of production. The finished award is the Society Awards answer to how we demonstrate the Paul Manship Award vision.
Click To Learn More About Our Designer Collaborations
Honoring the Standard that Defines Creative Excellence
An ideal recipient for this prestigious custom award is an advertising or creative professional who:
- Acts as a catalyst for change
- Demonstrates foresight and innovation
- Embodies a lasting legacy
- Made the most significant contribution in the last two years
Society Awards represents these values every day with each of our clients, including the Art Directors Club Awards.
The award redesigns entrusted to us by our clients are a catalyst of change for even the oldest ceremonies, bringing them into a modern age while respecting history. We incorporate innovation and foresight into every aspect of collaboration, design, materials, manufacturing, and delivery.
Our work embodies the legacy of achievement and honor, creating cherished heirlooms for generations to come. Every year and every day we make significant contributions to recognition programs across the globe.
The redesigned Paul Manship Award carries a century old belief in the power of creativity, and Society Awards is honored to have brought it to life.
But Manship’s medallion was more than our first award. It became a statement: that the work we do can be both practical and profound. That commercial creativity, when done with care and conviction, can be the best of our culture, in itself.
Brian Collins, Art Directors Club President and Co-Founder of COLLINS
To get started on a custom award for a ceremony, accolade, recognition program, or more, please contact our concierge here or at (212) 845-9980 .
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