Judging Procedures
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
The ARC Awards Competition is unique in that each annual report is judged against itself, based on its success in communicating its company's story. Judging is based not on corporate profitability nor production, but on the values of creativity, clarity, effectiveness, and excellence as symbolized by the ARC Awards.
Some of the elements to be considered in the judging of the annual reports include: cover design, president's letter, interior design, clarity of written text, presentation of corporate information, expression of financial data, and how well the spirit of the organization is communicated.
JUDGING PROCESS
The ARC Awards are conducted as a “blind” judging.
(Nominating agency names are withheld from the judges.)
Each entry is evaluated three separate times during the preliminary rounds. The three sets of scores are then averaged into a single score for the individual entry. A certain minimum score must be achieved to qualify for an award. Only one Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honors Award will be given in each classification; however, if no entry scores high enough, no award will be given.
THE JUDGES
Judges come from around the globe to participate on the ARC jury panels. Preliminary judging is carried out independently by panels of judges representing leaders in the fields of investor relations, writing, design and photography. Final judging is made by presidents, CEOs and other senior executives of corporations, agencies, and design firms.
THE WINNERS
Annual reports scoring in the top 30 percent will be awarded Honors, Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates of outstanding achievement. All Gold Award winners become candidates for the Best of Category - Grand Awards. An ARC Award plaque will be presented to each of the Grand Award winners. The Best of Show trophy will be presented to the one top annual report that best exemplifies the spirit of the ARC Awards.
AWARDS CEREMONY
The ARC Awards will be presented during a Gala Celebration and Exhibition in
New York City. All winning annual reports will be on display. All winners will be called to the stage to receive their awards. For this year's date, please see the ARC Awards Calendar.
DISTINGUISHED FACULTIES OF INTERNATIONAL JUDGES
The distinguished panels of judges recognize the art of communications in a global economy and the science of the new technologies which enable the world-wide exchange of ideas and information. Members of the judging faculty will evaluate the entries based on the standards of international excellence through the measures of creativity and craft.
| 33 Visual – MEXICO A. Plus Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR Above The Line Company Limited – HONG KONG SAR Aimclear – USA AIR – USA Airport Authority – HONG KONG SAR ANTA Sports Products Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR Avila Creative, Inc. – USA Bank of China – HONG KONG SAR Beijing Pengtu Culture & Art Communication Co., Ltd. – PRC BGA Publishing – USA Bright Visuals – SLOVENIA Brooke Boen – USA Burgess Strategic Marketing Services – USA By J Design Group – SOUTH KOREA California Water Services Group – USA CD Communications Group SDN BHD – MALAYSIA Centerline Digital – USA China Communications Services Corporation Limited – HONG KONG SAR China Telecom Corporation Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR China Unicom – HONG KONG SAR COPE Content Performance Group GmbH – AUSTRIA Cre8 (Greater China) Limited – HONG KONG SAR Creative Creature Company Limited – HONG KONG SAR Curran & Connors, Inc. – USA Daniel Kennedy Communications Services – USA Design Kommune – GERMANY DNA KOMUNIKA – INDONESIA EDICO Financial Press Services Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR Elegance Financial Communications Limited – HONG KONG SAR Emagewise (Pvt) Ltd – SRI LANKA Equity Financial Press Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR Fanda – UAE Fast Retailing Co., Limited – JAPAN FGI Design – USA |
Finar Kurumsal – TÜRKIYE Fulkrum Studio – USA Genesis Energy – NEW ZEALAND GenNex Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR Granato Creative Group – USA Great Thinks GmbH – GERMANY HeterMedia Services Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR HGB Hamburger Geschäftsberichte GmbH & Co. KG – GERMANY HNB Assurance – SRI LANKA Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR Hong Kong Metropolitan University – HONG KONG SAR Hong Kong Police Force – HONG KONG SAR Hong Kong Tourism Board – HONG KONG SAR Hyphen Group – SOUTH KOREA Inbrax – CHILE Insight Creative – NEW ZEALAND iONE Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR Jessica Qian – USA Journal International The Home of Content GmbH – GERMANY JUJU Studio – USA Jungheinrich – GERMANY Kanro Inc. – JAPAN Kerry Properties – HONG KONG SAR Killing Mario – SOUTH KOREA KMW – GERMANY KPR – SOUTH KOREA Kreatif Fabrika – TÜRKIYE Lin Young – MALAYSIA LLYC – SPAIN Lorraine Gregory Communications – USA Miracle Digital Transformation Agency Limited – HONG KONG SAR M-1 Studios – USA M&M Consulting Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR Mag & Me – GERMANY Mark Joseph Photography – USA Media Genesis – USA Mensalia GmbH – AUSTRIA MetaFusion Pte. Ltd. – SINGAPORE Milenio 3 – MEXICO |
Mitragrafia (PT Mitra Gagasemha Kreasi) – INDONESIA MM Partners – SOUTH KOREA Nakama Media Publishing – GERMANY Nancy Burgess Strategic Marketing, Inc. – USA Ngong Ping 360 – HONG KONG SAR Nova Fusion – MALAYSIA NZ Post – NEW ZEALAND Ocean Park Corporation – HONG KONG SAR Orange Financial Printing Limited – HONG KONG SAR PepperClub – GERMANY Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad – MALAYSIA Quaker Houghton – USA RBK Advertising & Design – USA REF Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR Reginald Pauffley – UNITED KINGDOM RE:think – MALAYSIA Sakaguchi Corp. – JAPAN Sequel – USA Shian Inc. – JAPAN SiliconPlus Communications Pte Ltd – SINGAPORE Six Group Services AG – SWITZERLAND Smart Media – SRI LANKA SSDM – USA Stan Gellman Graphic Design Inc. – USA Studio 210, LLC – USA Sydinvest – DENMARK Symrise – GERMANY Tayburn – TÜRKIYE Territory – GERMANY The Hong Kong Society for the Aged – HONG KONG SAR Toppan Nexus Limited – HONG KONG SAR Ulled Asociados – SPAIN United Therapeutics – USA Virtus Asia – HONG KONG SAR Wynk Design, Inc. – USA X_Design – MEXICO Yellow Creative (HK) Limited – HONG KONG SAR Zeev Zamir – USA |
2025 PANEL OF JUDGES
The International ARC 2025 Awards are presented by the International Academy of Communications Arts & Sciences. The winners of the 39th anniversary competition were selected by panels of judges, totaling over 170 professionals, headed by senior members of the organizations listed below:
| 33 VISUAL Queretaro, MEXICO Rafael Monroy – Project Director A.PLUS FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Kay Pan – Art Director Evelyn Tang – Art Director Walter Yu – Head of Design ANTA SPORTS PRODUCTS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Emily Ng Yu Yi – ESG Associate Director BANK OF CHINA (HONG KONG) HONG KONG SAR PRC Angel Yip – Deputy General Manager BEIJING PENGTU CULTURE AND ART COMMUNICATIONS CO., LTD Beijing, CHINA Pang Wang – Founder & Artistic Director BGA PUBLISHING Brightwaters, NY Beau Gardner – President BURGESS STRATEGIC MARKETING SERVICES Troy, MI Sandra J. Burgess – Owner BY J DESIGN GROUP South Korea Yun-Jeong, Jeong – CEO CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP San Jose, CA Shannon Dean – Senior VP Customer Service & Chief Citizenship Officer CATALYST MEDIA FACTORY Detroit, MI Laura Oliveto – Special Projects CENTERLINE DIGITAL Troy, MI Jesse Younce – Creative Director CHINA UNICOM (HONG KONG) LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Michelle Lam – Senior Manager, Investor Relations Dept. (Company Secretary Dept.) Enrica Lee – Assistant Company Secretary CONSULTANT Houston, Texas Brooke Boen – Communications & Strategy Consultant CONSULTANT Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Lin Yong – Creative Director CRE8 (GREATER CHINA) LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Jefferson Chiu – Creative Director Iris Lam – Art Director Raul Law – Senior Designer Davy Li – Managing Director CURRAN & CONNORS Ronkonkoma, NY Jeff Brandi – Chief Creative Officer DNA KOMUNIKA East Jakarta, INDONESIA Faisal – Creative Director Meta Magdalena – Director EDICO FINANCIAL PRESS SERVICES LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Amy Donati – Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer Queenie Shek – Director, Creative & Graphic Department Ricky Tse – Director, Print Bind/Logistics Department ELEGANCE FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Aman Ho – Art Director EMAGEWISE (PVT) LTD Colombo, SRI LANKA Saruchi Dissanayake – Director/CEO Kiyaz Haniffa – Chief Operating Officer Michelle Marcelline – Head of Projects |
EQUITY FINANCIAL PRESS LTD HONG KONG SAR PRC Dr. Catherine Chan – Director Harry Hui – Senior Designer June Kan – Senior Designer Anita Tang – Chief Design Officer FANDA CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS LTD London, UNITED KINGDOM Farkhad Askarov – Head of Design Anna Karnova – Head of Online Reporting Andrey Kozhevnikov – CEO Guy Lane – Head of Content Mikhail Seleznev – Senior Reporting Consultant Yara Zabiello – Head of Reporting FAST RETAILING LTD Tokyo, JAPAN Naota Tsuneoka FGI DESIGN New York, NY Trevor Paccione – Creative Director Susan Weiss – Senior Vice President FINAR Istanbul, Turkey Nihan Yasa Sonmez – Project Director GENNEX FINANCIAL MEDIA LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Jay Lee – Business Development Director Laetitia Wong – Associate Creative Director Maxx Wong – Associate Creative Director GRANATO CREATIVE GROUP Charlotte, NC Roy Granato – President HETERMEDIA SERVICES LTD. HONG KONG Amy Lee – Business Development Manager Orling Or – Business Development Director Josephine Wong – Business Development Manager HNB ASSURANCE PLC Colombo, SRI LANKA Punsirini Perera – Chief Financial Officer HYPHEN GROUP South Korea Yang Jung A – Art Director Jeon Kyoungjoo – CEO & Chief Director Kim Young-il – Senior Director INBRAX Santiago, CHILE Cristian Chavez – Creative Director Rod Gallardo Valdivieso – Art Director INDEPENDENT Los Angeles, CA Jessica Qian – Art Director iONE FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Axel Kiang – Creative Director Terence Lau – Managing Director INSIGHT CREATIVE LIMITED Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Mike Tisdall – Founding Director KERRY PROPERTIES LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Michelle WK Lam – Senior Director, Sustainability Communications KMW.KOMMUNIKATION Hamburg, GERMANY Matthias Wolff – Managing & Creative Director LORRAINE GREGORY COMMUNICATIONS Edgewood, NY Deana Ambrosio – Managing Director Peter Spalding – Chief Growth Officer META FUSION PTE LTD SINGAPORE Darrelle Bay – Senior AA Director Francis Chua – Managing & Creative Director Dondi Ferry – Senior AA Director Nik Kiong – Senior AA Director Andrea Tay – Senior AA Director |
MITRAGRAFIA (PT. MITRA GAGASEMHA KREASI) Jakarta, INDONESIA Aisha Habir – CEO Rizki Ramadhani – Creative Director MM PARTNERS Seoul, SOUTH KOREA Yi, Jong-Kook – CEO, Chief Director NATIONAL AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Ljubljana, SLOVENIA Julija Ćeru NOVA FUSION SDN BHD Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Ng Jun Han – Senior Art Director Chiew Yow Hing – Senior Art Director Darren Lee – Senior Art Director Tang Lien – MD/CEO Michael Wong – Senior Art Director Kristen Yeo – Senior Art Director ORANGE FINANCIAL PRINTING LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Carbie Chan – Account Director PETRONIS CHEMICALS GROUP BERHAD Kuala Lumpur – MALAYSIA Norfaila Hassan – General Manager of Strategic Communications and Administration QUAKER HOUGHTON Conshohocken, PA Victoria K. Gehris – Assistant Corporate Secretary and Director, Legal Administration REF FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Shing Chan – Creative Director Alex Choi – Creative Director Leo Ho – Associate Art Director RETHINK SDN BHD Selangor, MALAYSIA Audrey Soon – Director of Operations Thinesh S. – Creative Head SAKAGUCHI COMPANY Tokyo, JAPAN Johnny Kwok Wah Law – Executive Director Kiichiro Sakaguchi – President SEQUEL STUDIOS New York, NY David Phan – Creative Director SHIAN INC. Tokyo, JAPAN SHIAN Design Team SHIAN Editorial Team SILICONPLUS COMMUNICATIONS PTE LTD SINGAPORE Glenn Marron – Head of Creative & Productions SMART MEDIA Colombo, SRI LANKA Ananda Jagoda – Chief Creative Officer STAN GELLMAN GRAPHIC DESIGN St. Louis, MO Claire Taussig – Designer Teresa Thompson – President Bryan Wakeland – Senior Designer Tayburn Istanbul, Turkey Ronaldo Manosa – Chairman TOPPAN NEXUS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Toni Chan – Art Director Derek Ma – Creative Director Iris Wong – Creative Director VIRTUS ASIA HONG KONG SAR PRC Jan Harling – CEO WACHOVIA SECURITIES New York, NY Zeev Zamir – Financial Advisor (Retired) X_DESIGN CDMX, MEXICO Pilar Munoz – CEO YELLOW CREATIVE (HK) LTD HONG KONG SAR PRC Wong Chun Hong – Executive Creative Director Rebecca So – Managing Partner Ellen Zee – Managing Partner |