Winners of Indigo Design Awards 2022 announced at special event in Istanbul

Defying the conventions of other design awards, which position themselves as the peak of excellence, the Indigo Design Awards empower creatives by saying that when they get involved, they elevate the accolade. "We are the prism through which your vision, innovation, and prodigy shine through," it claims. "We are Indigo, and we exist to encourage and promote your creativity."

This year's winners were hand-selected by a panel of 56 judges. Seven projects were eventually chosen from 74 shortlisted candidates, although it was no easy feat. The high calibre of work meant that the jurors were highly impressed, resulting in a difficult selection process.

Eventually, though, the triumphant work was selected, and the Indigo Design Awards 2022 saw work from the United States, Holland, India, Austria, Germany, and Turkey receive recognition. Each of them received the prestigious trophy at an in-person awards ceremony held in Istanbul, which marked the first such gathering after the event took a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

As well as enjoying each other's company and basking in the glory of their triumph, the winners in attendance at the Indigo Design Awards 2022 ceremony had the pleasure of hearing a speech by the local art director, design researcher, and Istanbul Tech University lecturer Onur Yilmaz, who also designed the event's beautiful trophies. As well as talking about the current design atmosphere in Istanbul, he also broached the effects of communication design on global issues.

But what about the work itself? Who won and why? Let's take a look at the seven winners from each of the main categories, starting with the visual identity of the FILMAR 2020 festival as created by WePlayDesign. For those not in the know, FILMAR en América Latina is the most important festival dedicated to Latin American cinema and cultures, and surprisingly enough, it takes place in Switzerland.

Taking its inspiration from the Mayan language, the identity of the FILMAR 2020 festival is concerned with "transmitting knowledge and information". And it's done that by using bold shapes and unmissable colours to get its message across. "The glyphs represent hands that refer to actions closely linked to cinema such as framing, shooting or even composition."

As for Digital Design of the Year 2022, that went to noformat, inc and its work for the Asian Legacy Library. This global non-profit organisation provides a combination of technology, scholarship, and partnership used to locate, digitally preserve, and safeguard the priceless cultural wisdom literature. Essentially it uses the digital library as an access point for scholars, translators and authors, who can use it as a reference to keep these teaching traditions alive.

The result of over 30 years of hard work, this project documents some of the rarest cultural wisdom literature in the world. By partnering with preservationists, the non-profit has located, scanned, inputted, and catalogued the priceless texts to create a database that is accessible to everyone – no matter where they are.

Meanwhile, the Mobile Design went to Work & Co's app for Gatorade. Titled Gx, the app and Sweat Patch hones in on the brand's commitment to athletic innovation by focusing on the value of hydration and recovery. By using an intelligence engine and personalised health and fitness data, it can produce actionable insights and training suggestions.

"Ultimately, our goal is to bring the advanced science and services we provide elite athletes to anyone looking to improve their performance," said Gatorade executive Brett O'Brien.

Elsewhere, the Design for Social Change of the Year 2022 prize went to Boston Consulting Group for their work for BCG Nexus. "We were asked to design four large-format murals that would serve as centrepieces throughout several floors of a regional corporate hub," says the creative team. "The collection of murals needed to authentically reflect elements of community and diversity that are meaningful to Nexus."

Branding of the Year was scooped up by Socrates Communications for their work for Blackstone (Revantage). This project tells the compelling story of shipping containers via a bright and colourful palette and a mixture of iconography, photography, and collage to articulate a playful and unique lifestyle destination. The bold new repositioning and updated identity seek to evangelise the new Crossrail Place amenity and connections hub.

Gregory St.Fleur-Dubois clinched Freelancer of the Year thanks to their series of images for Black History Month 2021. This series was created not just as a design challenge but to bring awareness during February to black people and black accomplishments throughout history and the present. The goal was to elevate and educate through design.

Last but not least is the Emotional Gamut project by the Maryland Institute College of Art which scooped Discovery of the Year. The project presents visual analogies for the seven primary emotions, each having a palette of colours, unique shapes and typography. The project comes together as a visual system that helps express how different emotions overlap and makes our emotional experiences rich and layered.

For the full list of winners and to find out even more about their projects, you can find the full list of Indigo Design Award 2022 entrants here, along with the shortlisted projects.

Want to be in the running for an Indigo Design Award in 2023? Then you'll be pleased to know the Indigo Award 2023 is now open for submission. You need to enter your work by 30 September 2022 and can find all the details you need on the Indigo Design Award website.