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Twist Creative Wins International Honor In Design. Twist is the only Ohio firm to win at the 365: AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Design) Annual Design Competition 30—two years in a row.

CLEVELAND (June 19, 2009) – Two years running, Twist Creative is the only Ohio firm to win at the 365: AIGA Annual Design Competition 30—the industry’s equivalent to the Academy Awards.

AIGA, or the American Institute of Graphic Design, is a professional association of design and designers, and 365 is the organization’s annual competition recognizing the best of the best in visual communication.

This is the second year in a row that Twist won for its work for the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF). “This is the pinnacle in the design field,” says Michael Ozan, president and creative director. “There’s no higher honor because it is recognition by our peers.”

Michael and his wife Connie, Twist’s design director, founded the business in 1997. Today, 13 designers sit on staff.

Announced this week by AIGA, Twist won for a poster promoting the 32nd annual festival (in 2008). A collaboration of Twist’s talent, the overall theme was “How will it change you?” Graphics revolved (literally) around a movie reel and hand lettering system.

The piece was among the 3,800 entries received this year in such categories as websites, animation and environmental graphics.

“It was one of 182 pieces selected from around the world,” says Connie.

AIGA received entries from as far away as Australia, Brazil and Croatia.

Winners in 365’s categories represented the best in branding, informing, entertaining, experiencing, promotion and packaging.

Twist took home a similar honor last year. AIGA recognized the firm’s illustrative style surrounding the 2007 film festival, titled “Confessions of a Film Buff”. Confessions ranged from a man admitting, “I like to say ‘Shhh’, it makes me feel powerful,” to a woman coming clean about being in love with an usher.
The poster promoting the movie roster featured funky silhouettes with an outpouring of these confessions in a quirky typeface.

In both 365 competitions, Twist’s win is in good company with internationally recognized names like Kate & Jack Spade, Martha Stewart and Pentagram Design.

The Ohio City design firm’s prized poster and the other 181 winning designs will be on display in September at the organization’s National Design Center in New York City, 164 Fifth Avenue.

From there, the exhibit will travel across the country to various AIGA chapters and student groups, and end up at the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum.

All will be featured in 365: AIGA Year In Design out later this year.

About Twist Creative:
Founded in 1997 by Michael and Connie Ozan, TWIST is a tactical design consultancy with a focus on brand creation and expression. The firm is best known for cutting edge, award winning creative was also recently named as a 2006 Weatherhead 100 upstart company. Capabilities include organization and product naming, advertising, graphic, environmental and interactive design. Since its founding, TWIST has won over 100 regional, local and national awards for design and creative excellence. Recognizing Twist’s achievements over the years: Cleveland and Regional ADDYs, AIGA, Print Magazine, How Magazine, Telly’s, BMA Tower Awards, and PIANKO.

About AIGA:
AIGA, the professional association for design, is the oldest and largest membership association for design professionals engaged in the discipline, practice and culture of designing. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force.

Founded in 1914, AIGA is the preeminent professional association for communication designers, broadly defined. In the past decade, designers have increasingly been involved in creating value for clients (whether public or business) through applying design thinking to complex problems, even when the outcomes may be more strategic, multidimensional and conceptual than what most would consider traditional communication design. AIGA now represents more than 22,000 designers of all disciplines through national activities and local programs developed by 64 chapters and 240 student groups.

AIGA supports the interests of professionals, educators and students who are engaged in the process of designing. The association is committed to stimulating thinking about design, demonstrating the value of design and empowering success for designers throughout the arc of their careers.