Creativity Annual Awards

2009-05-13T12:01:00.000-04:00

There will be no more posts on this Blog. The Creativity Blog is migrating to Wordpress and it will be integrated within our website. It's almost done! You can get more news on our Facebook page as well. Link is on the home page of the Creativity website.

2009-03-18T09:35:00.003-04:00

The official invitations for the judging panel have been sent out and I am awaiting acceptance. Once the judges have all checked in then I will be making the announcement to everyone. I am very excited about the potential panel this and I think you will be too!

2009-02-26T15:49:00.001-05:00

Creativity Annual Awards will have a booth with our sister company Crescent Hill Books at both the AAF Conference & HOW Design Conference in June. Stop by, say hi and receive a special promotional code that will help you save money on this year's entries!

2009-02-23T11:11:00.003-05:00

Time to get down to business - we have received interest from over 150 individuals for the 39th judging panel. We are going to sift though the information and make our best selections so that your entries are receiving the critical eye they deserve!

Thank you to everyone that showed interest in judging - we will be sending an official invitation to panel within the next couple weeks.

2009-01-20T07:40:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone - it's been awhile! Winners were notified, trophies have been shipped and the 38th Annual is in its production phase. This year SW!TCH Studios in Arizona is designing the book. I am very excited about how it is looking and they are the first firm to get their hands on it after 37 years~it is going to look VERY different!

I have been getting the website updated with all the Platinum winners. This year for the 1st time you can actually see the video pieces instead of just screen shots - I was able to figure that one out myself...not too bad for a non-designer! The site should be completely finished by the end of the day.

Creativity 39 dates have been sent - competition opens June 1, 2009. Judging is tentatively scheduled for August 27-30, 2009. Now I just need to get judges - if you are interested, please send a bio to info@creativityawards.com.

2008-08-25T11:14:00.002-04:00

The winners of the 38th Creativity Annual Awards have been decided. Our judges spent 3 days poring over every entry and giving it a critical eye.

This year we had a record number of entries and received them from 44 countries and 45 U.S. States. Thank you to everyone that entered.

Preliminary notifications have been sent to the winners, all will receive their official letters and complimentary certificates in the mail shortly.

All winners will be posted to our website in a couple weeks or so and press releases sent to all major design news outlets.

Congratulations to everyone and don't forget to purchase your tickets to the 1st Annual Awards Gala in Louisville, KY on Nov. 1. Best in Category winners will be on display and our keynote speaker is David Carter!

2008-06-20T10:03:00.001-04:00

3 weeks to go! The entries are pouring in!

Late entries are accepted until midnight, August 8th, but don't wait that long - why spend extra money on late entries you don't have to?

2008-06-12T16:54:00.002-04:00

OK, got a minute to come up for air and realized I haven't posted anything for a week.

Postings will probably be spotty with the competition opened and all, but I wanted to remind everyone that the CFE is shorter this year - only 8 weeks instead of 12 weeks.

Why? Because I had to allow time for judging, notification of the winners and still leave at least 2 months for those that need to make travel arrangements for the Gala to get a good price.

Just in case anyone was wondering why the schedule changed this year - it's definitely for the good, the Gala is going to be fabulous! Anyway - make sure you have those entries in by July 15 - anything after that incurs a late fee of $20.00 each entry!

The new entrants this year are too numerous to mention so I'll just say welcome all! I am sure you will see who they are in on the site & in the 38th Annual - some of the work coming in is tremendous!

Talk at y'all later!

2008-06-04T10:54:00.003-04:00

WOW!!!

Entries are coming in hot & heavy! One note for Safari users - Safari seems to be caching the old site. When trying to log in to the 2008 Awards make sure this url is showing:

http://www.omnicontests3.com/crescent/omnicontests/login/login.cfm?competition_id=4

We are trying troubleshoot and hopefully will have this resolved VERY soon. You can also call me anytime - 866.519.2571.

2008-05-23T09:59:00.003-04:00

A week from Sunday and we are off to the races! Back in the office yesterday after spending 4 days with an incredible group of people at the HOW Conference in Boston. I never knew that 4,000 designers and advertisers were so friendly!

It was great for me, though, because I was there by myself and it forced me to get out of my comfort zone and walk up and talk to people I didn't know. I made some great connections and met some really funny and warm people.

Highlights from the conference sessions (according to me):

Keynote from Jeremy Gutsche - Trendhunter.com - funny, informative, inspirational. What a great way to kick off the conference!

Tips for Productivity - Scott Belsky of Behance - I feel that I am an organized person, but he had ideas that were fantastic! Really inspired me to make some changes in the way I handle things.

Design Matters - an interview of Michael Bierut of Pentagram - not a huge insight into the inner workings of a creative master, but funny. He had great advice.

The Design Catch-22 - David Schimmel - Again, learned some things about running my own business that I needed to hear and was also a confirmation that I was doing some things right!

Those were my favorites - how about yours? I will DEFINITELY be attending Austin in 2009!

2008-05-16T16:15:00.006-04:00

2 weeks to go. Everyone around here is VERY excited with the response we have received after the CFE dropped. We have been listed on some nice blogs and news directories - thank you for those that have posted us.

I want to welcome brand new participants this year: MCM Communications, Kinetic Corporation, Bonapace Associates, the Water Environment Federation, Not for Tourists, St. Paul's Secondary School, Urban Influence & Roberts Wesleyan College. Welcome All!

I have answered a few preliminary questions regarding mailed entries vs. uploaded entries, etc. - see my answers on the "Competition News" page of the site.

I am leaving for the HOW Conference tomorrow - see some of you there! Be back in on Thursday and will recap my experience there.

Have a great weekend everyone!

2008-05-08T16:08:00.003-04:00

Ahh, the Kentucky Derby is over and our fair city is back to normal. I took a little vacation last week, had family come in town for the big party. I am refreshed and back at it - speaking of which, only 23 days left - can you believe it?

The Call for Entries dropped in the mail yesterday - and for those that are anxious to get their entries in - just drop me an email or give me a call to see if you can go ahead and submit before the official opening. Honestly, it would make my life MUCH easier for everyone to have their entries in early.

If you get stuck during the submission process, don't hesitate to use the Live Chat option available on our site now.

2008-04-24T16:33:00.002-04:00

Hmmmm - not feeling well today. I think it's the stress getting to me.

Call for Entries is at the printer - everyone should be receiving them very soon. I think I'll lay down now.

37 days & counting.

2008-04-15T16:32:00.002-04:00

Getting proof of the Call for Entries tomorrow. Countdown to Creativity 38 has begun...only 46 days to go!

I hope everyone is pre-registering for the competition - so when the competition opens, all you have to do is upload your entries and pay your entry fees - that's it!

Preparing the mailing list is my task at hand. Oh, a bonus to pre-registering - you will DEFINITELY receive a Call for Entries.

2008-04-03T10:52:00.002-04:00

Hooray! I received the proofs for the 37th Creativity Annual. I am now feverishly proofing everyone's credits and images to make sure they are correct. I must say everyone's work looks fabulous.

Then I am back to getting the mailing list compiled for this year's competition so all you wonderful designers out there get the call for entries. Make sure you submit your email address or send me your mailing address to get on the list - this year's competition is going to be great! 8 weeks until the Call for Entries goes out.

OK, back to work...

2008-04-02T09:31:00.003-04:00

Creativity 38 Enhancement Announced!

Starting with the 2008 Competition, the Platinum Winner in the Book Design, Cover category will have the opportunity to be paid to design the Creativity 38 Book Cover - what a feather in the portfolio!

5,000 copies distributed Internationally means your work will be in front of the movers and shakers in the industry.

Just one more way we, here at Creativity, want to help you promote your skills and achievements to the world.

2008-03-06T16:55:00.002-05:00

Our judges panel has been set! I hope everyone is happy with the quality of the panel we have secured for the 38th Awards. I was literally overwhelmed with bios to review of interested judges!

Our gala is also coming together - Sat, Nov 1st @ Churchill Downs. A day of dining and racing on Millionaire's Row (you know, where all the stars hang out on Derby Day!), and then an evening of dining and dancing at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

A display of Platinum Winners will be available and David E. Carter is our keynote speaker! Music is going to be supplied by the Rigby's.

More info to come - and woo hoo - we might get 10 in. of snow tonight - so I might not be around tomorrow!

2008-02-29T09:59:00.002-05:00

Happy Leap Day!

The buzz has started - Creativity 38 is going to be better than ever! Our judging panel has been finalized and will be announced very shortly.

Our judges are an impressive list of professionals with many hours of past judging experience. They come from both coasts and points in between. A positive take on judging design competitions can be found here - http://www.marketingmixblog.com/blog/2008/02/38th-annual-cre.html.
Thank you Colleen for spreading the word!

If you are interested in judging you can submit background information at anytime for next year's panel to info [at] creativityawards.com.

Don't forget to join our email list to be notified when the Call for Entries opens! Go to www.creativityawards.com to sign up.

2008-02-25T12:08:00.005-05:00

Well, I just came across this and realized it existed. It's funny how some things are left off the radar when you assume a new position.

Anyway, let me introduce myself - I am the new Marketing Director for the Creativity Annual Awards. My name is Kathleen Ritchie and I have 12+ years in the Marketing and Advertising industry. I have worked in a gamut of industries from manufacturing, travel management, publishing, textiles and now I run a design competition. By far I have to say this is the most exciting opportunity to date - I get to see the vision of cutting edge graphic designers and advertisers from all over the world!

I have implemented many changes to the competition styling that I hope everyone enjoys.

The website has once again been rehabbed and will be rolled out within a couple weeks.
I have opened the judging to experts from all over the globe - we have 18 judges for Creativity 38 whose credentials should impress even the most skeptical.
Call for entries time will be shorter but notification of winners will also be quicker.
Our new trophy manufacturer, Bruce Fox Inc., has performed beautifully for Creativity 37 and everyone is happy with the results!
New categories will be introduced for Creativity 38 to help us keep up the the latest trends in the Advertising & design community.
Creativity will be holding a Gala in early November for all Creativity participants and those that just want to rub shoulders with greatness! Included will be a Day at the Races at historic Churchill Downs and an evening dinner/dancing event to honor of the winners at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

Most of all - I want to hear from you. Give me your comments and feedback. Also, let your friends know about Creativity - it's bigger and better than ever.

I will update the submission instructions for Creativity 38 when Call for Entries gets closer - stay tuned!