Devoy was invited by 'think', the South African Graphik Design Council, under whose direction the format for the new Loeries Design section was devised, to act as the international judge on the two judging panels chaired by Nathan Reddy, of GRID in Johannesburg, and Jennie Ehlers, of King James - RSVP in Cape Town.
Veejay Archary, think chairperson, noted with some pride that think's desire to effect transformation in every aspect of the graphic design community was applied to the judges' panels as well, of which more than 40% were black and almost 50% female. "Overall a good step forward," he said.
"We were fortunate to have the assistance of Ms Devoy," said Archary. "As the creative director of the four-person group, The Chase, which has recently been named the third most creative studio in Britain by Design Week magazine, she is certainly at the top of her profession and she brought a fresh contemporary eye - and a very sharp one at that - to the task of selecting the nominees and the winners in the various design categories."
Devoy's judging schedule this year includes Art Directors Club New York, Art Directors Club Canada and Design Week Awards in the UK - as well as the Loeries in South Africa.
When asked to comment on her general impression of South African design, Devoy said that she observed a tendency towards self-deprecation amongst the persons with whom she had interacted - a situation for which she felt there was no justification whatsoever. "On the contrary," she said, "I found the graphic design here to be most definitely of an international standard."
Devoy, who is the recipient of two 'yellow pencils' for print graphics, also added, "The standard of entries was good across board and I was impressed by some great ideas and great execution that precisely hit the mark."
She noted with particular approval the fact that South African design tends to make, "The idea the hero, with a story to tell - not just pretty. This has not always been case in my experience elsewhere in the world," she confided. On a cautionary note however she said, "Not enough designers think in words." Devoy firmly believes that copy is important, intrinsic to concept and must not be treated as 'an afterthought'.
Archary points out that the 2004 Loeries' exercise has been an important step forward in think's on-going drive to increase recognition of the important place that graphic design plays in the South African marketing mix and the economy at large.
"Those who were fortunate enough to judge with Devoy will certainly have gained new insight and confidence from this highly experienced and accomplished visitor," says Archary.
Although he hopes the new design and promotional marketing section will draw much more than a 1000 entries in 2005, he was pleased with the 26% increase from last year.
Finalists for the prestigious awards will be announced shortly and the winners announced at the Loeries Festival at Sun City, 1 - 3 October 2004.
Fourth Estate Communications for think
