iPod-based award judging, only in the week of the awardsWhile local and global award shows alike get their share of compliments, they also receive criticism - buckets and buckets full, mainly on the judging process. That's why I've made this year's Loerie Awards' judging process as transparent as possible, with insight from one of this year's international jury chairmen... Remember how I flew to Durban a few months back with the Loeries team, to attend the Town Hall meeting in the Elangeni Hotel? That's how long the team's been ready for this year's Loeries judging process, even though judging will only take place during Loeries Creative Week, from 10 to 16 August. Durban beachfront © Hongqi Zhang – 123RF.com In fact, so important is the judging process that our Loeries Durban preview festivities kicked off with a meeting at the Durban ICC in March, so that we could test their Wi-Fi for the iPod-based Loeries judging. Yes, it's all electronic. Wi-Fi testing and an early Loeries judging tasterWi-Fi strength is obviously affected by network and weather, but that doesn't mean the Loeries team hasn't already done all they can months in advance to ensure coverage is as stable and consistent as possible in every room of the ICC. The team had hauled their own routers along for the trip, especially to plug them in and upload, download and ping speed tests and determine exactly how many Telkom routers were required in each judging room. Note I mentioned we were doing this testing far in advance of the actual judging process? That's because the Loerie Awards judging only takes place from Monday to Thursday of Loeries Creative Week, when most attendees are already in the city, so all the work is still fresh in the judges' minds when it comes to the award nights. I got a taste of what it's like to be a Loeries judge, too, even if it was just by submitting one category's test scores on an iPod. This technologically-focused aspect is important because as with any awards show, Human says the bulk of the criticism they receive is around the judging process - usually by those not in the know. To make it more accurate, this form of '123 on a screen' judging doesn't even show the agency responsible for the work, and there's no human intervention, with instantaneous ballot counting, making it what Human laughingly described as "not almost fool proof, it is fool proof!" While walking around the Durban ICC, Human also pointed out that the main auditorium section can have its boundary walls broken down or rebuilt as and how the actual event requires, making it as large or intimate as required. That's handy, especially as the 2015 Loeries judging will take place during Loeries Creative Week, as mentioned above. Who are these people, judging our creativity?Click here for a reminder of this year's Loeries Communication Design judging panel. In addition to Ji Lee, Creative Director of Facebook Creative Shop in New York, who is heading up the Communication Design judging panel as chairman this year, international judges include Chuck Porter of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, heading up this year's TV, Film and Radio panel; as well as Chris Clarke of DigitasLBi International, heading up the Digital panel; and Thim Wagner of Jung Von Matt, for the Print Communication panel. I caught up with Wagner to find out what he's most looking forward to and his thoughts on the Loeries judging process to come...
Thim Wagner Wagner: When I received the invitation, I thought: "Oh my God - I will not do it, I have no idea about the South African jury." But later on, I thought: "Wow, this is really cool - this will be an experience for life". I don't know that much about the African communication industry, the culture and their makers. I have only a neighbour, who is from Africa and he is a lawyer - a really great guy. He told me that I have to do it! And because I'm a curious person, I'm really looking forward to do this task. Plus, of course it is a special honour to be called the jury chairman.
Wagner: I started my career as an art director in a small German hot shop agency called BMZ, which was very famous in the 1980s. After that, I worked for half a year on a '3D-drop' from shampoo packaging. Gradually, all the good creatives left the agency and I decided to change to Jung von Matt. |