Silver Blade, which is worth gold
The image of the Bartók World Competition and Festival has been awarded the Silver Blade prize in the category Design Solutions/Image and Logo Design issued by the Association of Communication Agencies in Hungary for the 18th time this year.
Excerpts from the awarded image design
On 26 May, based on the decision of the crème de la crème of the Hungarian communication profession, the Silver Blade prize went to the image of the Bartók World Competition and Festival jointly created by the Liszt Academy and Allison Advertising. This time, however, the silver medal is worth gold, since no first prize could be granted. The image of the event, which is to be held in September, 2017, was made public on 6 December, 2016 by the Communications and Media Development Directorate of the Liszt Academy. This is the second time that the Bartók World Competition and Festival has been recognised, while for the renewed image (2013) of the Liszt Academy, the Silver Blade Prize has been the 18th national or international acknowledgment.
While creating the design of the Bartók World Competition and Festival, the purpose of the Liszt Academy was to place the event in the top league of the most prestigious international music contests „During the planning phase of the concept, the image and the communication strategy, we wished to interpret and present the relationship of the eponymous composer and the competition in a completely novel, profound and more distinct way than ever before. Our basic principle is that the image does not represent a kind of “packaging” but is the inherent part of the message, which is capable of marking the position of an upstart international contest. An international competition which has no worldwide echo regarding its impact, will remain only within national boundaries despite its internationality.” – as was pointed out by the former Communications Director of the Liszt Academy, Imre Szabó Stein, who was an active participant of the image design process. The imagery of the Bartók World Competition and Festival is deliberately simple and pure: its inspiration can be interpreted as the metaphor of Bartók’s oeuvre and represents the bridge-structure which is a favoured concept in his compositions.
The short film of the Bartók World Competition and Festival – awarded with the Silver Hugo of the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival in the category Individual Commercials in March – is also closely linked to the image of the event.