WIA2023 Judges’ Highlights from the Professional Shortlist
See some of the judges’ highlights from the WIA2023 Professional Shortlist, alongside their comments on what makes these projects sing!
Alexandria Hall: Ketamine Treatment, shortlisted in the Editorial Publishing Category, sponsored by Procreate
“Strong, but more importantly sensitive, execution that uses just the right amount of visual cliche to activate familiarity with the reader, and welcome them into an intimate experience. The balance of literal representation and surrealism is intriguing, and encourages further examination.”
Marell Moon: A Pansy, shortlisted in the Professional Exploration Category
“The use of colour and the simplicity of the image makes it very impactful so it speaks to me very directly. I think this person found the perfect metaphore for gender expansive pride.”
Carles G.O,D: Political Spam, shortlisted in the Professional Editorial Category, sponsored by Procreate
“Anyone who has received these kinds of emails from either party — so, all of us in America — can immediately identify with this circuitous path of half-truths and illogical pleas (and also the inability to escape the never-ending cycle). The detail here is so intricate; the flow of the elements so precise; This is one of those illustrations that you just want to spend some time with — and there are fewer and fewer of those with each passing day”
Tingyu Xu: Idealism, Seeding, Shortlisted for the New Talent Site Specific Category
“I like the thinking behind this project – the degree of interactivity – art as intervention. The illustrations are emotive and convey the frantic activity of urban living. The interventions are playful yet thought provoking – I like the way they are presented sometimes as pauses within the environment and other times as chaotic and subversive.”
Cinta Fosch: We are not friends, shortlisted in the Book Covers Publishing Category, sponsored by Rebelle
“The moment I saw this cover I felt something inside, is the perfect visual for a friendship breakup, breaking those memories. Love the decision to evoke the silkscreen technique and the color palette.”
Tommy Parker Campus safety – Campaign for Uber, Shortlisted for the Professional Advertising Category
“I thought this series of animated gif illustrations were a charming and atmospheric set of images that conveyed a feeling of safety and unmistakably had Uber at the heart of the work- creating effective pieces of advertising for the brand. The recognizable motifs of campus living, communicated the nuances of the subject”
Zhiqian Lin: The Dissapearing City, Shortlisted for the Professional Publishing Category, sponsored by Rebelle
“Ludic characters – extremely expressive, hasty, astonished, studious, or simply tired, in a sophisticated naivety, rendered in transparent details, against backgrounds which are simply suggested or carefully wrought in charming minutiae, often shrouded in mystery.”
