Award for Information Design

Winner: Connor Rahn

Winning Project: Consuming Resolution

Award Sponsor: Pivot; School: University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC; Educator Support: Eric Lee

Consuming Resolution investigates how consumerism, technological progress and design shape people’s sense of value, necessity and obsolescence, focusing on how advances in photography and imaging technology influence expectations around quality and consumption. The project translates this research into a large-format (11×17) visual research book that pairs photography and comparative image analysis with written reflection, using photographs captured across generations of cameras to show shifting standards of image quality over time. 

Clear visual hierarchy, minimal but purposeful writing and sequential storytelling guide viewers through increasingly complex ideas without sacrificing depth, while a long-form printed receipt installation extends the metaphor of consumption, accumulation and excess into a tactile, physical experience. The intended audience is anyone caught up in contemporary consumer culture, or interested in technology, photography and design — particularly readers who don’t usually engage with academic or research-heavy material — reached through familiar objects, imagery and comparisons rather than specialist language.

Honourable Mentions

• The Food Insecurity Audit | a case for support by Dayna Loepp, Alberta University of the Arts, Calgary, AB
• Data Physicalization by Daniella Nunziato, OCAD University, Toronto, ON
• HARMONIC TRANSLATION - POSTER SERIES by Ethan Robin, OCAD University, Toronto, ON
• Working with Plants to Develop Film by Madison Schneider, OCAD University, Toronto, ON
• Effortless Effort by Alex Zabukovec, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC

Judges

• Athul Alexander Associate RGD, Infographic Designer at Visual Capitalist, Langley, BC
• Rina Alfonso RGD, Founder & Creative Director at Studio Aorta, Washington, DC
• Erin Grandmaison RGD, Sr. Graphic Designer at Bruce Power, Goderich, ON
• Michelle Hopgood RGD, Creative Director and Information Designer at Hopgood Creative, Toronto, ON
• Sam Laurier, Intermediate Designer at Pivot Design Group, Toronto, ON
• Karen Ng-Hem RGD, Founder/Creative Director at Karen Ng-Hem Inc., Calgary, AB