ROSA SCHAPIRE ART PRIZE

TitleROSA SCHAPIRE ART PRIZE
BrandFREUNDE DER HAMBURGER KUNSTHALLE
Product/ServiceCORPORATE DESIGN FOR ROSA SCHAPIRE ART PRIZE
Category A01. Creation of a new Brand Identity: Consumer / Corporate / Non-profit
Entrant PETER SCHMIDT GROUP Hamburg, GERMANY
Idea Creation PETER SCHMIDT GROUP Hamburg, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Norbert Möller Peter Schmidt Group Executive Creative Director
Irma Kubala Peter Schmidt Group Senior Designer
Sonja Wegner Peter Schmidt Group Senior Designer
Carolin Tegeler Peter Schmidt Group Designer
Tobias Gagelmann Peter Schmidt Group Head of Production
Sascha Abraham Peter Schmidt Group Artwork & Workflow Supervisor

The Campaign

Unconventional, independent and valiant, Shapire's "alternative thinking" has been translated into a striking key visual: An upside down "R" representing her rebelliousness has been paired with a succinct serif to symbolise a rose thorn, whilst luminous pink attracts attention and contrasts strikingly with bronze tones and white spaces to dynamically reflect the noble character of this art prize. The upside down "R" – a symbol so clear that it can stand alone as a logo – challenges you to look at things from a different perspective, whether in print or digital media, as an installation or as the award itself.

Creative Execution

The key visual is used in many different ways. It appears not only in print and online media but also as a spatial installation and on signage throughout the gallery – and not least of all, as the prize itself. All communication media also feature a strongly reduced colour spectrum and the striking interplay between pink and bronze, combined with dominant areas of pure white, ensuring a high degree of recognition and visual awareness. All together this combination generates maximum impact for the newly created prize. This creative dialogue is especially visible within a dedicated "Homage" that honours the individual behind the prize's name and can be unfolded into a large, imposing poster. Here, the signature "R" of the key visual contrasts with a photograph of a rose set within a block of ice, that symbolises Rosa Schapire, a courageous artist active during a challenging time.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The first recipient of the award, chosen by Kasper König, is Romanian artist Dan Perjovschi. Since receiving the award, pictures of him with the R have been making the rounds in blogs, newspapers and social media throughout Europe. Additionally, 60 styrofoam Rs of varying size were strewn about Hamburg Kunsthalle to guide visitors towards the location of the award ceremony. Once the event was over, all of the Rs became prized possessions of souvenir hunters – exactly as we had hoped. But not only the extraordinary art prize itself has attracted the attention of the culture and design community. The upside down “R” was also the perfect figurehead for our brand work.

An art prize that was launched in 2017 has to compete not only with a multitude of existing awards, but also with an unprecedented number of media influences. With all these influences vying for people's attention, it was necessary to create a design that is quickly decodable and notable, yet still adequately reflects the high quality of the subject. This led us to a simple, iconic symbol that can be brought into ever new aesthetic contexts and will be easy to apply for many years.