Inspire and Impact
THE PUBLIC YOU SERVE

2018 was an inspiring and very competitive year for Adobe Government Creativity Awards applications. Across nine different categories, we had a total of 489 submissions – over twice the number of submissions we received in 2016/2017.

Government offices and agencies around the world are incredibly diverse, which made judging the entries, at times, like comparing apples to oranges. But certain features can be seen across many of the winning entries:

• A compelling story in the entry Behance project, with some background information, notes on process, and reporting on results, where appropriate.
• A cohesive brand for the agency or initiative, which was featured in illustrations, infographics, photography, video, motion graphics, and/or print media. Indeed, many entries featured only a new logo and any secondary brand assets from a recent rebranding effort. Often, the branding showcased mastery of Adobe Creative Cloud tools.
• User-centric design, as evidenced by user-generated content features, revision cycles that included user feedback, or a project scope that mentioned human-centric design principles.
  
  

Thank you to all the artists and designers who contributed their work to the 2018 Adobe Government Creativity Awards.
This year’s submissions were so exceptional, we decided to put together a highlight video featuring some of the video and motion graphic content:  Enjoy!

The winners of the 2018 Adobe Government Creativity Awards are:

Interactive Design - Mobile App/Application Design/Interactive Exhibition/Kiosk Design
Category Winner: Rebuild Palmyra

Description:
Palmyra. Probably the most beautiful ancient setting of Syria, becomes the sad example of a threatened World Heritage Site. In recent years, the terrorists of the Daesh destroyed the formerly magnificent ruins. How do we deal with the destruction of cultural heritage? And how can we experience history when the original is no longer there? These were the questions asked by the exhibition »Rebuild Palmyra?«. The exhibition was developed in cooperation with the »Office for Schools, Education and Science« of the city of Konstanz.

Category Finalists: StressAssess | PocketGov.com

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Interactive Design - Web Design
Category Winner: Denvergov.org

Description:
In 2015, the City and County of Denver's official website, www.denvergov.org, was moved to a new content management system (Adobe Experience Manager). The website underwent a complete cleanup and restructure of its more than 12,000 pages. The new service-focused website provides a blend of online city services and official government communications to all those who work, play, and live in Denver.

Category Finalists: VisitFlorida.com | Public Health Madison & Dane County | Boston.gov
Tuscaloosa.com

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Multi-Channel Campaigns - Citizen-facing Campaign
Category Winner: Growing Up NYC

Description:
Growing Up NYC (nyc.gov/growingupnyc) is a first of its kind mobile-first resource that connects families to City and community benefits and resources. Launched in 2016, the site is part of a three-component initiative from the NYC Children's Cabinet and also includes a policy framework and printed resource guide. Through Growing Up NYC, we partner with numerous government agencies and community organizations to get their resources, which are not easily accessible and might have gone unused, into the hands of City residents.

Category Finalists: Your Ohana | Say Yes Campaign | “Take Us With You” | EngageRoseville

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Multi-Channel Campaigns - Employee-facing Campaign
Category Winner: Civic Service Design Studio + Toolkit

Description:
The Service Design Studio in the Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity is the first-ever service design team within a municipal government dedicated to improving the lives of low-income residents in the United States. A core offering of the Studio is the Civic Service Design Tools + Tactics book, toolkit and website. These resources provide specific, tangible human-centered design methods tailored to complement and support the expertise of the people who develop and deliver government programs.

Category Finalists: One IRS Program | Los Alamos National Laboratory Employee Giving Campaign | Asset Savvy Campaign

Category Honorable Mentions: Saint-Etienne Opera House | NSW Health WSLHD - Quality Matters Campaign

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Multi-Channel Campaigns - Museum or Park Exhibit
Category Winner: MICRO/MACRO Art Exhibition

Description:
Art exhibit and related materials presenting scientific images captured through a microscope, enlarged and printed on acrylic sheets. Related materials include promotional postcard, promotional web graphic, and exhibition introduction sheet. The exhibit, hosted by the Johns Hopkins University (Montgomery County campus), served as both art exhibit and outreach effort to increase public awareness of NIST and its research. Article describing my process and inspiration for the exhibition.

Category Finalists: The Lindau Science Trail

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Visual Communications - Data Visualization
Category Winner: NASA JPL Spacecraft Cost Estimation Tool

Description:
The Spacecraft Cost Tool is an application that spacecraft designers will use to estimate the cost of their spacecraft. The tool will help expedite and provide accurate cost estimates in the pursuit of mission concepts and mission studies. I was tasked with synthesizing user research into an interactive prototype that demonstrated an understanding of the use case, and reworking the visual design to meet Material Design Guidelines. I worked with users to iterate and validate my designs.

Category Finalists: Morehead Kentucky In Space | Preparing for Climate Change | Health Matters | Energy Investigation

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Visual Communications - Motion & Video
Category Winner: Wheels in Motion: A Winthrop Experience

Description:
Branded documentary about a public art project that came about as a result of a Winthrop University professor's efforts to give art students a real-world, paying experience. Filmed over the course of more than a year, this branded documentary offers a look at a public art project that came about as a result of a Winthrop University professor's efforts to give art students a real-world, working experience that challenged them, made a tangible impact on the world, and got them paid.

Category Finalists: Amtrak Military Hiring Initiative: Mission Success | The Real Downtown Miami Film | Oracy - Take Time Campaign | WOOP

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Visual Communications - Photography
Category Winner: Saint-Etienne Opera House 2017-2018 Season

Description:
EN: In 2015, we designed the visual identity of the Saint-Étienne Opera House. A typographic logo describing both the building (with its pagoda-shaped accent) and the mission of this opera (welcome and entertain all publics). As the seasons went by, the challenge was to continue and renew this story. For the first edition, we highlighted the agents, then the orchestra the following year. In 2017, we decided to mix agents, musicians and publics!

FR: En 2015, nous concevions l'identité visuelle de l'opéra. Un logo typographique décrivant autant le bâtiment (avec son accent en forme de pagode) que la mission de cet opéra (accueillir et divertir tous les publics). Au fur et à mesure des saisons, le challenge était de poursuivre et renouveler cette histoire. Pour la première édition, nous mettions en avant les agents, puis l'orchestre l'année suivante. En 2017, nous avions décidé de mélanger les agents, les musiciens et les publics !

Category Finalists: Veteran’s Glass Skyway Bridge Inspection | Dive Into History | Billy Powell: A Photo Essay | NGA 20th Anniversary Program

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Visual Communications - Print Communication, Graphic Design and Illustration
Category Winner: Sinking of the US Cargo Vessel El Faro

Description:
This 16-page illustrated digest summarizes the critical events and decisions that led to the Oct. 1, 2015, sinking of El Faro and the loss of all 33 crewmembers. The digest also synopsizes the more than 60 recommendations issued throughout the NTSB’s investigation of the sinking. The infographics and summary make for an easy-to-read digest, compared with the thousands of pages that comprise the NTSB’s final report and associated investigative documents, while still imparting potentially lifesaving information to our stakeholders.

Category Finalists: Breaking Barriers | NCCIC 2016: Building Toward a Resilient Cyber Ecosystem | Global Fund for Children | SteamCoders

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Special Designations:

Special Designation - Best Nonprofit Branding:
Relay Education

Special Designation - Best Historical Display:
U.S. Navy Mark V Dive Knife

Special Designation - Best Multilingual Website:
Access NYC

Special Designation - Best Videography:
The Last Goodbye

Special Designation - Best City/Municipal Branding:
Sankeo Public Transport

Special Designation - Best Illustrated Story:
True Stories of Volunteer Valor

Special Designation - Best Use of User-Generated Content:
Gilbert, AZ - 2018 Digital State of the Town

Special Designation - Best 3D Design:
NGA Pathfinder Magazine - 3D Edition

Special Designation - Innovative Web Design:
Birmingham City Council

Special Designation - Best Podcast:
Direct Current - An Energy.gov Podcast

Special Designation - Best Motion Graphics:
WOOP

Kathleen E. Wilson is a communications strategist with over 15 years' experience cultivating creative initiatives for leading organizations. She serves as communications team lead for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization offering integrated, cross-channel communications solutions to drive citizen engagement and improve the Veteran experience. Her passion for excellence in communications has positioned her as a recognized leader in visual identity and brand reputation, campaign planning, digital integration, and social media strategy. Kathleen is a native Washingtonian who loves to travel and visit museums. 

Great news: Due to several requests, the deadline for submissions has been extended to Friday, June 8, at 5:00pm ET. This gives you one more week to complete or improve those first submissions--and plenty of time to submit one more project for yourself or your team. The categories with the fewest submissions right now are:

John Jacobin has over 30 years’ experience within the federal government design space,overseeing the design integrity of published products and social media content, and championingdesign standards. John has presented to the President’s Management Council (PMC) at the White House on design and public policy, to help build institutional-level support for design work in the federal government. John is also the creator and organizer of the Design in Governmentgroup, known as DIG. After completing his bachelor’s degree in design, he continued his training abroad at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, in France. He also completed the Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders AIGA Program at the Yale School of Management.

Adam Morgan is a Senior Creative Director at Adobe. He ensures that the writing and creative execution is world class across the enterprise, from long-form thought leadership to Adobe.com and demand gen. He’s a marketing and advertising veteran of 23 years, with a creative pedigree from several international ad agencies. He was named one of the Forty Under 40 business leaders by Utah Business Magazine, and Advertising Professional of the Year for Utah in 2014 by the American Advertising Federation. To read one of his articles on data-driven creativity or more about his new book, Return On Ideas — proof that creative ideas are better for the bottom line, visit his blog at ReturnOnIdea.com.

Martha is the Founder of Dorris Consulting International (DCI), which works with private companies and governments to improve the lives of Americans through transformed government services.  Martha leverages her almost 34 years of federal experience after retiring from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to drive efficiencies and mission enablement through improving the customer experience (internally and externally) and the citizen experience.  She worked primarily in the areas of information technology acquisition, digital service delivery and citizen or customer experience.   Martha currently works with a wide range of companies in the citizen and customer experience domain to understand the government and partner to improve government services. 

Ms. Dorris has been recognized for her hard work, dedication and leadership in numerous ways.  She was a Fed 100 award winner in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011.  She has been active with the International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA) for over 15 years and was named a Distinguished Service Award winner in 2005.  Martha was also recognized by AFFIRM with the 2008 Service to the Citizen Award and named the Civilian Agency IT Executive of the Year by Government Computer News for 2009.  She was a Sammie finalist for the citizen services category in 2012, was recognized with an Administrator’s Award for Meritorious Service in 2014 and most recently was awarded the Franke Award by the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council.

Teri Takai is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning.   From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors.   A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan.  She is a member of the FirstNet Board and several industry advisory boards.   Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

 In the Virtual Gallery you can see projects from the past two years and filter the winners.

As we open the next competition round it´s getting even more exciting. Once a project is submitted you will see it instantly in this virtual gallery as a new submission and you will be able to filter by the competition categories.

Take a tour  

Live Well San Diego is the County of San Diego’s vision for a region that is Building Better Health, Living Safely and Thriving. The Live Well San Diego Support Team won the Adobe 2016 Creativity in the Public Sector Award in part because of the collaborative spirit of its partners and the innovative use of design and technology to make a lasting impact in their community.

The Live Well San Diego 31-Day Challenge is a daily digital notification via a smartphone or computer to help participants try new things and accomplish simple tasks each day for a month. Each challenge was sent using an email marketing tool or Google calendar notification and connected participants to Partner resources to help them incorporate positive behavior changes into their lives and create positive habits. A bonus challenge also connected participants to another Live Well San Diego signature event called Love Your Heart and helped participants learn more about heart health and grow towards a healthy, safe and more thriving life. Social media channels offered additional resources in conjunction with the day’s challenge. Each numbered challenge on the attached checklist is linked to the email marketing newsletter that offers additional resources to support the participant in completing the challenge. 

Here’s how the vision came about. This is an interview with Lana Findlay, Health Information Specialist, from the Live Well San Diego Support Team in the Office of Strategy and Innovation at the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.

Read the interview on Adobe Public Sector Blog

See their awards submission on Bēhance

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