Zumtobel Group receives iF gold award


29th February 2016

(Austria) – Designed by artist James Turrell, Zumtobel Group’s 2014/15 annual report impresses jury in Communications category.

Zumtobel Group’s 2014/15 annual report, designed by the artist James Turrell, has been awarded the iF gold award 2016 in the Communications category. From over 5,000 submissions, the Zumtobel Group’s annual report has, together with 75 other entries, thus made it into the TOP selection of a high-class, international jury of experts and has therefore received the iF gold award 2016. The awards were presented last Friday at a ceremony at BMW Welt in Munich.

The annual report by the light artist James Turrell joins Zumtobel Group’s 24-year series of artistically designed books, which have been collectors’ items for many years already. The annual reports are created in collaboration with high-profile artists, architects and designers.

Zumtobel Group grants the artists great freedom, and they are released from all CI requirements. The connecting element between the artist and the company is however always the fascination and the complexity of the subject “light” and the rootedness of the designers with regard to Zumtobel Group’s business environment.

“In this annual report, Zumtobel decides to present the data sets in a short, concise and objective way, printed on pink paper. Apart from that, the company leaves the field to artist James Turell, who has created an excellent book on his light-and-colour projects, subjects that match, of course, the company’s focus. However, the degree of freedom with which the subjects are treated is absolutely fantastic, as is how authentic they are, and this again reflects well on the company,” was how the 58-member jury explained its decision.

The James Turrell’s decorated annual report is entitled “Extraordinary Ideas – Realized”. The work depicts important installations by the artist from all periods of his work, accompanied by essays by – and interviews with – some of Turrell’s colleagues and friends. The graphic concept is by Lorraine Wild of Green Dragon Office, Los Angeles. The Munich photographer Florian Holzherr – with whom James Turrell has had a longstanding collaborative relationship – is responsible for the photos. Many of Turrell’s light installations were photographed for the first time by Holzherr for the purpose of this annual report.

“We are especially pleased about being honoured with the iF gold award, and it acknowledges the uniqueness of our annual reports. The report by James Turrell, with whom the company has been closely linked for years, is a very special one for us too. Turrell’s artistic work explores the individual’s perception of light in a fascinating way,” explained Astrid Kühn, VP Global Communications Zumtobel Group.

Zumtobel Group’s annual reports are no strangers to renowned awards and international prizes, including Anish Kapoor’s report and “Brighten the Corners”, which won the 2014 iF communication design award, and received the gold award at the ADC Art Directors Club New York in 2013, and gold at the German Art Directors Club Awards, besides other prizes for design. SANAA’s Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa received the red dot award – communication design 2012 for their 2010/11 annual report, as well as first place in chromolux’s “more with less” challenge. Snøhetta – the book by Kjetil Thorsen – was named “most beautiful book of 2015”, in Norway. Christian Boros, Berlin, was awarded the Red Dot Grand Prix Annual Report for his 2009/10 annual report. The list of renowned artists continues: for example, David Chipperfield Architects, Olafur Eliasson, Hani Rashid, Appelt, Studio Achermann and Stefan Sagmeister.

www.zumtobelgroup.com