The organising committee of the 31st Annual Loerie Awards, South Africa’s premier brand communication awards which take place in Cape Town from 24 to 27 September, has appointed Jim Sutherland as the Communication Design Jury chairman.
Sutherland is co-founder of UK-based Hat-trick design and a five-times D&AD judge. This will be his first trip to South Africa.
Says Sutherland: “I am very interested to see if ideas are as universal as I hope. It will be fascinating to see and understand cultural and visual references because I love looking at and judging work. Having judged D&AD quite a few times, as well as other national competitions, I’m looking forward to seeing how the Loeries compare.’
In an increasingly global brand communication community, Sutherland has obviously been exposed to some South African talent already. “D&AD has obviously shown more international work in recent years, which has been great,’ he says. “The standard of South African work I’ve seen in annuals and magazines has been very high, and I think that this is an exciting time for design in particular, with amazing work being produced around the world and new companies springing up every year.’
A graduate of Norwich School of Art, Sutherland worked at The Partners for six years, spent seven years at HGV and then went on to co-found Hat-trick design in 2001. Hat-trick has a number of big-name clients, including the Natural History Museum, British Heart Foundation and Royal Mail, and is currently ranked number three in the Design Week creativity table in the UK.
With the clout of personal success and international judging experience behind him, Sutherland brings a wealth of insight to the role of Communication Design jury chairman.
The Loerie Awards Judging Week kicks off with the Judges Seminar on 13 July 2009, and continues until 17 July.
For more information, visit www.theloerieawards.co.za.
