IBC Student Wins German Design Award 2018 for Excellent Communication Design

On February 9, 2018, our graduate Jia Cheng received a German Design Award 2018 for Excellent Communication Design from the honorable jury, which consists of recognized leading design experts from various disciplines.

The award ceremony took place in Frankfurt and was attended by Jia Cheng, some of his friends and family members as well as International Brand Communication Course Director Prof. Dr. Yonca Limon-Calisan.

Jia Cheng’s city branding project “Hello, HCH!”, which he created as part of the Brand Design seminar “Open Innovation & Digital Thinking” during the winter term 2017/18, managed to impress the judges by lending the brand „HafenCity Hamburg“ a new, innovative image with the help of visual and verbal design elements, as well as local audio and generative music elements. However, the key to the success of Jia Cheng’s concept was user participation. More specifically, visitors of HafenCity can use the “natural” urban sounds to be heard in the area for creating and sharing their own music. The result is a very dynamic and personal brand experience.

In the run up to the ceremony, several media featured different aspects of the concept, among them two of Germany’s leading design magazines, PAGE and NOVUM. Local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt also took interest and published a half-page article focusing on the question whether the logo contained in the concept is actually better than the original or not.

Jia Cheng’s project is a fine example of the great potential of interdisciplinary approaches in the field of branding – a cornerstone of Brand Academy’s teaching philosophy. Furthermore, it showcases the creative power set free during the ongoing cooperation program between Brand Academy and China Academy of Art. As part of that program, Jia Cheng spent one year of his studies in International Brand Communication in Hangzhou, the second year in Hamburg.

By now Jia Cheng works as Designer for the Hamburg-based brand consultancy Brandway. Needless to say, we are very proud of our graduate and trust that he will continue to accomplish great things!