ChannelOklahoma.com - Money - Red Dot Hails Books' "Humanity"

ChannelOklahoma.com - Money - Red Dot Hails Books' "Humanity": "Groucho Marx's quip that outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend [and that inside a dog, it's too dark to read], seemed to be proven correct at last week's Red Dot Communication Design awards. In a field filled with high-tech Web sites and sleek graphics from corporate Goliaths like Asian electronics makers Samsung and Sony (SNE), a small Swiss communications agency called Nestro and its colorful biography of a local geologist made the biggest impression on the international judges.

The Red Dot awards, held in Essen, Germany, are among Europe's most renowned creative events. Each year, a distinguished panel of 12 judges chooses two top-prize winners in the junior and senior category and recognizes several hundred more designs.

MAKING AN IMPACT.

These real red dots are proudly displayed by competition winners throughout Europe, Asia, and increasingly the U.S., as a stamp of approval, much like America's Good Housekeeping Seal. This year's jury, which included Japanese optical-illusion artist Shigeo Fukuda, reviewed 3,094 entries from 26 countries before selecting two nonfiction titles as winners.

Nestro's intricately detailed biography of 100-year-old Swiss geologist Warda Bleser-Bircher, who is still alive today, scooped the $12,000 Grand Prix. Titled The Brave Pioneer, it comes in seven separate, vibrantly colored brochures, each filled with lively narrative and illustrations about her research, travels, and politics. The biography's surprising win is not a fluke, according to Red Dot President Peter Zec, but a sign that the design industry is rediscovering the value of a centuries-old medium."