HOW’s In-House Design Awards recognize the very best creative work produced by designers doing in-house work for corporations, associations and organizations. From corporate identity, packaging, sales collateral, point-of-purchase displays, employee communication, membership materials and more, this premier awards shines a spotlight on an under-represented segment of the design industry.

Out of nearly 1,000 entrants, the design awards winners you see below are the ones who made the cut. As is apparent, the winning work is innovative and exciting. There is inspiration to be found in every category. Discover how tote bags aid nonprofits, how the Black Tie Uniform Campaign reached the Miami Heat, and much more.

Enter into the 2016 In-House Design Awards. Deadline for entries is May 6th!

HOW In-House Design Awards Winners

BEST OF SHOW

A NEW BREED OF BRAND GUIDELINES
Title: Uber Brand Guidelines, brand.uber.com
Creative Team: Strahan McMullen, Bryant Jow, Ana Heller
Company: Uber, San Francisco; uber.com
Location: San Francisco, California

PDFs are quick to fall out of date, a pain to revise and a poor reflection of Uber’s commitment to excellence.

“Design standards are a tricky thing for brands that are constantly changing,” says judge Alex Center, design manager at The Coca-Cola Company. “Too restrictive and they stifle creativity, quickly becoming ignored. Too flexible and they no longer serve their original purpose. The results are brand guideline documents that are often outdated and too bulky to update frequently.”

[See image gallery at s22294.sites.p729.sites.pressdns.com]
 

JUDGES

ASHLEIGH AXIOS // CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Ashleigh Axios is the creative director and a digital strategist at the White House, where she manages design from within the Office of Digital Strategy. Her office serves the mission of connecting people with purpose, creating meaningful opportunities for engagement and participation between the administration and public. Ashleigh is the president of AIGA DC, where she has been instrumental in forming DotGovDesign, an initiative connecting and empowering government designers. Ashleigh earned a BFA in graphic design from Rhode Island School of Design.

ALEX CENTER // LEAD DESIGNER AT THE COCA-COLA COMPANY

Alex Center is a Brooklyn-based designer who works for the global beverage leader, The Coca-Cola Company, where he leads the strategy and design vision for brands like vitaminwater, smartwater, and Powerade. In 2011, Alex was named one of the 200 Best Packaging Designers by Luerzers Archive. In 2013, he started sharing his story with speaking engagements with The Dieline, AIGA, HOW, and on Debbie Millman’s Design Matters podcast. In 2014, Alex was named a Person To Watch by GDUSA Magazine.

 ED ROBERTS // CREATIVE LEAD, ELECTRICITIES

Ed Roberts is a graduate of the College of Design at North Carolina State University. He has worked in the advertising and design industry on both the client and agency sides of the business for more than 20 years. Ed is a writer and award-winning creative director who is an expert at constructing high-performing corporate teams. Managing the growth of in-house departments as well as those who contribute to them has become Ed’s professional passion. Follow him on Twitter at @InHouseObs.

JUDGE CHOICE AWARDS

FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY’S WELCOME CENTER

Creative Team: Platinum Creative Image & Design
Company: Full Sail University
Location: Winter Park, Florida

“Full Sail University’s Welcome Center shows a winning combination of inspiration and education, physical and digital, vision and execution. A detail I most appreciate is that the installation in the welcome center casts imagery generated by students enrolled in their degree programs onto a carefully crafted, canvas-like wall with a simple message: ‘dream.’ It took care and restraint to not out-muscle, but supplement the student work and be the vehicle by which it shines.” – Ashleigh Axios

STARBUCKS RESERVE ROASTERY & TASTING ROOM

Creative Team: Jeffrey Fields, Jen Quotson, Mike Peck, Ben Nelson, Jon Cannel, Derek Shimizu, Fred Carriedo, Dana Deininger, Marisa Crane, Caytlyn Chilelli, Marisol Bowman, Krispijin Larrison, Tina Hsu, Britta Lyle, and Bonnie Dain
Company: Starbucks Coffee Company
Location: Seattle, Washington

“I don’t drink coffee. It makes my heart race. But when it comes to building a brand experience, nobody in the world does it better than Starbucks. Every store, cup, and package is a masterclass in branding and storytelling. The Starbucks Reserve Tasting Room is the holy grail of this approach. A shrine to coffee that is as unique as it is educational, as surreal as it is beautifully crafted. The passion that so clearly went into this space, well, it makes my heart race.” – Alex Center

IN-HOUSE PRODUCTION OF LES AFFAIRES PUBLICATIONS

Creative Team: Charles Desgroseillers, Annick Désormeaux, Martin Flamand, Élise Laplante, Jérome Lavallée, Josée Noiseux, and Louise Rouleau
Company: Les AffairesLocation: Montreal, Quebec

“Have you ever come across a piece that made you reflect on your training and why you chose a career in design? That’s exactly what I experienced when viewing Les Affaires, a fabulously crafted Canadian business journal that took my breath away. Les Affaires is a playfully restrained amalgamation of grid, type, and image.” – Ed Roberts

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

ARCHITECTURE

B2B

CONSUMER

EDUCATION

ENTERTAINMENT

FINANCIAL/LEGAL

FOOD & BEVERAGE

GOVERNMENT

HEALTHCARE

MISCELLANEOUS

NONPROFITS

[See image gallery at s22294.sites.p729.sites.pressdns.com]
*Note that the creative team for the Living Unbound project pictured above also includes Buddy Hanson.

SPORTS

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

TRAVEL

In-House Designer’s Resource Pack

Creative services teams are known for getting things done – under all circumstances. However, those same in-house teams can often times be over-looked or under appreciated. What are the keys to getting noticed and earning the respect that you deserve?

Get your hands on this resource pack from the editors at HOW Magazine and discover what you can do to get noticed, earn more respect and pave the way for career success. You’ll find an interesting case study (In-House Overhaul), strategies for succeeding in a corporate setting (The Corporate Creative), dozens for creative exercises for creative teams (Caffeine for the Creative Team), survey results from Fortune 500 company in-house designers (Metrics & Trends In-House Designers Need to Know), as well as two on-demand webcast sessions from inspiring designers, who want to help you establish yourself as more than just an order-taker.

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