Clarus and Cindy Allen Collaborate on Interactive 2020 Best of Year Award
As 2020 comes to a close, a year that challenged the design industry like never before, Interior Design left no detail unaccounted for when it came to celebrating the resilient spirit of the A&D community in its annual Best of Year Awards. Although the awards ceremony took place in a virtual format, Editor in Chief Cindy Allen made sure winners still received a physical token of recognition. Clarus, the leading manufacturer for innovative glass and dry-erase boards, leveraged their design expertise and cutting-edge technologies to create this year’s unique trophy, working closely with Allen.
Always eager to create a memorable award, Allen requested that the final design include an interactive element and a form that is, most of all, easy to ship. “Knowing how fragile glass is, we had to get creative,” shares Sierra Eichler, senior digital design specialist at Clarus. The final design features Interior Design’s trademarked Pantone shade of orange for its powder-coated base and embedded openings enabling each recipient to arrange five glass sheets, each with a different graphic, to their liking, creating a one-of-a-kind three-dimensional effect.
“It was an amazing experience designing this award with them,” Allen said about the collaboration with Clarus, which occurred over Zoom. And Clarus pulled out all the stops to ensure Allen’s vision came to life, even when the award prototype was nearly complete and she requested a last-minute illumination element. “Without missing a beat, this incredible Clarus team incorporated LED strips,” says Allen, noting that this ultimately enhanced the printed glass. No matter how a recipient arranges their award, the warm glow that emanates from it undoubtedly sheds light on a design luminary.
