UAB faculty, students win honors at 2015 American Advertising Awards regional competition

Two College of Arts and Sciences’ faculty and 24 students were honored with Gold and Silver ADDY awards for their individual and team projects

addy 1University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences’ faculty and students from CAS’ Department of Art and Art History and UAB Digital Media were honored with a wealth of ADDY awards at the 2015 Birmingham American Advertising Awards held Friday, Feb. 20. The theme this year was “Who Killed It?”

Associate Professor of Graphic Design Doug Barrett, MFA, was awarded a Silver ADDY in the Exhibition Invitation category for his work on the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts exhibition “Warhol: Fabricated.” Professor of Graphic Design Erin Wright, MFA, was awarded a Silver ADDY in the Public Service category for his “43 (Ayotzinapa)” poster.

Two dozen students were honored with Gold and Silver Student ADDY awards for their individual and team projects. The Digital Media Fellows program is a paid student program in which students from a variety of disciplines work in teams to produce media content for clients. This year’s award winners are all UAB clients, including UAB Admissions, UAB Honors College, AEIVA and TRIO Academic Services, says Director of Digital Media and Learning Rosie O’Beirne, M.A. Many of the students are majoring in the arts, including music, art and film. The awards they have received this year are a testament to the importance of a team approach because that is needed to create quality work, she says.

The Department of Art and Art History has a fantastic group of young artists and designers, who consistently demonstrate creativity, resourcefulness and hard work, Barrett says.

addy 2“By participating in the local ADDYs, our students have their work seen by design professionals and are able to gain a sense of how much their work is valued by the design community. Year after year, UAB takes home the Best of Show for student ADDYs, a recognition indicative of our students’ hard work and of the quality of our curriculum,” Barrett said.

2014 DAAH alumnus Ryan Meyer of Birmingham, a member of the team that won Best of Show, says he spent a year and a half in UAB Digital Media, honing skills every day.

“It’s the type of environment that lets students get their hands dirty and learn more than they ever could in a classroom,” Meyer said. “I have no doubt that I wouldn’t have my job at Scout Branding Company without the ADDY award-winning work I produced while at UAB Digital Media.”

“The media fellowship has taught me the value of teamwork. Winning an ADDY means that others recognize our collaborative talents and Birmingham’s potential,” said Matthew Henton, a senior and UAB Digital Media fellow from Bessemer.

Student awards are:

  • Best of Show ADDY in Campaign, for UAB Bachelor of Fine Arts Program (aka BFA series) by director, editor and composer Meyer; senior Matthew Drummond, editor, of Gardendale; 2014 alumnus Daniel Twieg, editor, of Birmingham; and 2014 alumnus Kevin Peek, composer, of Birmingham 
  • Silver ADDY in Collateral Material Stationery Packaging, for City Bee Company Logo by junior Tori Absher of Empire
  • Gold ADDY in Poster Campaign, for Birmingham Theater District by junior Stephen Stark of Huntsville
  • Gold ADDY in Integrated Campaign, for 4th Avenue Theatre District by Junior Stephen Stark of Huntsville; senior Sarah Smith of Las Vegas, Nevada; Jayla Perry; and senior Matthew Perkins of Albertville
  • Gold ADDY in Digital Advertising Campaign, for BFA Series by Meyer, Drummond, Twieg and Peek
  • Gold ADDY in Digital Advertising Campaign, for George Ferrandi Exhibition Promo by Meyer, producer and editor, and Twieg, cinematographer
  • Gold ADDY in Animation or Special Effect, for UAB Hill University Center Deconstruction Tilt-Shift by director and producer Meyer
  • Gold ADDY in Cinematography, for UAB Undergraduate Admissions by Drummond, Henton, Tyler Harris; and seniors Tyler Furgerson of Rainsville; Razaq Kadri of Lagos, Nigeria; James Cody of Birmingham; Benjamin M. Jones of Birmingham; Jessica Chriesman of Homewood; Tierra Andrews of Brewton; UAB Honors College senior Rebecca Egeland of Birmingham and UAB Honors College junior Jared Jones of Hayden.
  • Silver ADDY in Integrated Campaign, for Books-A-Million: We Know Books by senior Jeanette N. Vasquez of Birmingham
  • Silver ADDY in Logo, for Mark Green’s Pickled Garlic by junior Lisa Nguyen of Birmingham
  • Silver ADDY in Logo, for Vulcan Beverage Pickled Garlic by Marlena Roberts and Absher
  • Silver ADDY in Digital Advertising Campaign, for UAB Honors College by Drummond, Twieg, Hernandez, Henton, Peek, Harris, Furgerson, Kadri, Benjamin M. Jones, Cody, Chriesman, Salim Hakima, and UAB Honors College student Ben McCafferty of Madison
  • Silver ADDY in Music, for “RISE: Choose to Be On (Trio video)” by Cody, composer