News Archive
Downtown Lincoln Map & Guide Wins National Design Award
Posted 15, 2011 in DLA
The Downtown Lincoln Association (DLA), in partnership with Chocolate Cake Communication Design of Lincoln, has been awarded the 2011 American Package Design Award by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) for the design of their Downtown Lincoln GoTo Guides.
The GoTo Guides include nearly 400 downtown dining, shopping and retail service businesses and conveniently fold up into the size of a credit card. They exhibit unique hand-drawn icons, caption text, and a downtown Lincoln skyline, as well as beautifully drawn artwork on both the front and the back covers. In addition, DLA also included a listing of several annual festivals, events and athletics that happen year round to showcase all the activities that our vibrant downtown has to offer.
Michele Tilley, owner of Chocolate Cake, said the award is great news for both DLA and her agency and added that after working so diligently on the project, “It’s always nice to have an impartial party recognize your work.”
Tilley also spoke of her inspiration for the map’s distinctive artwork.
“We created a hand-drawn piece to give the guide a personal thumbprint and a friendly, fun feel. The small size was chosen to fit easily in a pocket or purse and for ease-of-use,” she said. “I actually spent a morning driving around getting photos of the various landmarks and city to use as reference.”
The award is the culmination of several months of work on the planning, designing and the layout of the maps.
Tilley said the GoTo Guides have received a good response from both downtown businesses and Lincoln residents.
“I’ve heard great feedback from everyone. Even businesses who have historically not used DLA maps or materials were excited about putting these pieces out.”
DLA and Chocolate Cake were two of less than 150 firms and organizations that were recognized with Award Certificates of Excellence from GDUSA, a monthly business-to-business magazine that has been published by Kaye Publishing Corporation for the last 40 years. The magazine highlights some of the latest news, trends and ideas in the design field and is read by graphic designers and creative professionals in design firms, corporations, ad agencies and publishers across the country.
