Design by Toko and Designworks Australia big winners at the 2015 AGDA Design Awards

Design by Toko and Designworks Australia have taken out a coveted AGDA Judge’s Choice Award each at the 2015 AGDA Design Awards.

Design by Toko scored the AGDA Judge’s Choice Award for Graphic Design for Sydney Rides Festival for the City of Sydney plus five distinctions and Designworks Australia took home the AGDA Judge’s Choice Award for Design for its fun, playful – and highly successful – refreshed brand identity for AMF, part of the Ardent Leisure Group plus one distinction. 

Announced over the weekend, the AGDA (Australian Graphic Design Association) Design Awards recognised the most outstanding work produced in Australia during the past 12 months.

Toko by Design scored distinctions in Spacial Design | Wayfinding / Signage + Environmental Graphics for Centenary Square Parramatta; Packaging | Special Editions + Packaging

Pouring Colour for Juliet Taylor; Graphic Design | Miscellaneous

Ride Walk Campaign for the City of Sydney;

Graphic Design | Posters for Timeless Massimo Vignelli and Books | Front Cover for Celebrating 125 years PTW.

Designworks received its Distinction and Judge’s Choice awards for repositioning and brand refresh for AMF, in line with the company’s plans to revitalise the brand visual assets and increase appeal.

Using the concept of ‘Rediscover Funtopia’, Designworks developed a revitalised identity for AMF that communicated a broader, more contemporary entertainment experience with bowling at its heart. 

Says Stuart Watson on selecting the Designworks project for this award: “Love the work for AMF. Really stood out when judging. One of those jobs you wish you’d done.”

Says Kate Gillis, general marketing manager, AMF: “We have families, teens, young socials and league players that know and love AMF already, so it was important to create a refreshed position that appealed to a broader audience, whilst leveraging AMF’s strong heritage.

“What Designworks created was a careful balance of these needs, but also an incredibly strong, creative and playful brand that has worked on broadening our appeal and brought the concept of ‘Funtopia’ to life.”

Designworks’ creative director Clinton Duncan, said the brand refresh created something “completely different, yet still familiar to AMF’s loyal customer base”.

Continues Duncan: “In developing the revitalised AMF brand, we wanted to keep what people knew and loved about AMF but make it more relevant and engaging for today. To remind people that AMF is the place for good, old fashioned fun. That thought guided a reimagining of their brand organized around a simple yet joy-filled idea; Rediscover Funtopia.

“Working with AMF to re-imagine their brand presented our creative teams with an all too rare opportunity to let go, and embrace all the energy, joy and fun that each center offers. It’s not often you get to present an idea with a hot-dog air balloon in it and the client says yes.”

The Rediscover Funtopia positioning is now being utilized across a multitude of channels and platforms, expressed through an updated logo mark and colour palette – often used in eye-popping combinations. The key to the refreshed brand is a new suite of imagery in the form of 3D illustrations to create a series of playful, eye-catching dioramas depicting the world of fun available within every AMF centre.

Each element speaks to a part of the offer from the hero bowling landscape to the food, laser and arcade games.

The new brand elements have been developed in line with AMF’s overall revitalisation program, which includes building on the already successful arcade games area, improved food and beverage menus and new website and online booking facility.

In addition to its Judge’s Choice Award, Designworks was a finalist in three other categories for its AMF work.

AMF campaign