SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has won a Red Dot ‘Best of the best’ award for its visual design. The Red Dot awards recognise leaders in the design field and this year attracted over 8,000 entries from 50 countries. The communications design awards mark their 25th year in 2017.
Lotte Duty Free said it was the first duty or tax free retailer to win a Red Dot award. It was selected for its proprietary fonts used in its marketing.
In October last year, Lotte Duty Free developed ‘MyLotte Sieve’, a company-specific typeface, to build a distinctive corporate brand image. ‘MyLotte body’, which was developed in Korean and English, is claimed to reflect the origins of origami and offers a fresh interpretation of Lotte Duty Free’s visual identity. The visuals aim to present the company as an “enterprising and global leader”.
Lotte Duty Free is applying ‘MyLotte Sieve’ to its web home page, advertisements, business cards and signage as it aims to strengthen the brand value of Lotte Duty Free Shop.
Lotte Duty Free President Jang Seon-wook said: “The Red Dot Design Awards have become more meaningful in recent months due to the company’s toughest times, including a sales decline. The most effective way to overcome this obstacle is to continue to innovate in the future as a result of our unwavering investment in strengthening our global competitiveness.”
Previously, Lotte Group and Lotte Shopping in 2012 and Lotte World Mall in 2016 were selected as Red Dot winners, but a ‘Best of the best’ award is a company first. In 2017, there were 749 winners but only 67 Best of the best awards. Five were honoured with ‘Grand Prix’ accolades.
The Red Dot Design Awards are recognised among the top three design awards in the world along with IF Design in Germany and IDEA Design in the USA.
The awards ceremony will be held in Berlin, Germany on 27 October. The organisers said that they received a record 8,051 entries in 18 categories this year.
Red Dot Award Founder and CEO Dr. Peter Zec said: “The diversity of the projects submitted is huge – in terms of content, type, source and target market. This broad field of participants brings with it a large responsibility. The jury’s decision must take consideration of the technical and country-specific features, which makes an international panel of experts vital for the credibility and reliability of the Red Dot Award.”
Judging was conducted by 24 judges from 11 countries. The assessment was based on various criteria including design quality, aesthetics, implementation, recognisability and chosen medium.
