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 PRC Above The Line Company Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC AIR – USA Airport Authority – HONG KONG SAR PRC Akademie Deutscher Genossenschaften E.V. – GERMANY ANTA Sports Products Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC Avila Creative, Inc. – USA Bank of China – HONG KONG SAR PRC Beijing Pengtu Culture & Art Communication Co., Ltd. – PRC BESO by LLYC – SPAIN BGA Publishing – USA Brainds Marken und Design GmbH – AUSTRIA Bright Visuals – SLOVENIA Burgess Strategic Marketing Services – USA California Water Services Group – USA CD Communications Group SDN BHD – MALAYSIA China Communications Services Corporation Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC China Telecom Corporation Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC China Unicom – HONG KONG SAR PRC CODE Red – GERMANY concept c media GmbH – GERMANY COPE Content Performance Group GmbH – AUSTRIA Cre8 (Greater China) Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Creative Creature Company Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Curran & Connors, Inc. – USA Daniel Kennedy Communications Services – USA Design Kommune – GERMANY DNA KOMUNIKA – INDONESIA EDICO Financial Press Services Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC Elegance Financial Communications Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC |
Equity Financial Press Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC Far East Consortium International Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC Fast Retailing Co., Limited – JAPAN FGI Design – USA Finar Kurumsal – TÜRKIYE Fulkrum Studio – USA Genesis Energy – NEW ZEALAND GENNEX Financial Media Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Global Reporting Services – AUSTRALIA Granato Creative Group – USA Great Thinks GmbH – GERMANY HeterMedia Services Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC HGB Hamburger Geschäftsberichte GmbH & Co. KG – GERMANY HNB Assurance – SRI LANKA Hong Kong Metropolitan University – HONG KONG SAR PRC Hong Kong Police Force – HONG KONG SAR PRC Hong Kong Tourism Board – HONG KONG SAR PRC Hyphen Group – SOUTH KOREA Hyundai Motor Group – SOUTH KOREA i.LINK Group Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Inbrax – CHILE Insight Creative – NEW ZEALAND iONE Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Jessica Qian – USA Journal International The Home of Content GmbH – GERMANY JUJU Studio – USA Jungheinrich – GERMANY Kanro Inc. – JAPAN KD1 Designagentur – GERMANY Kerry Properties – HONG KONG SAR PRC Killing Mario – SOUTH KOREA KMW – GERMANY KPR – SOUTH KOREA KW Communications – GERMANY Lin Young – MALAYSIA LLYC – SPAIN Lorraine Gregory Communications – USA M-1 Studios – USA M&M Consulting Ltd. – HONG KONG SAR PRC |
Mag & Me – GERMANY M Digital Partners Company Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Media Genesis – USA Mensalia GmbH – AUSTRIA Meta Fusion Pte. Ltd. – SINGAPORE Milenio 3 – MEXICO MM Partners – SOUTH KOREA Ngong Ping 360 – HONG KONG SAR PRC Nova Fusion – MALAYSIA NZ Post – NEW ZEALAND Ocean Park Corporation – HONG KONG SAR PRC Orange Financial Printing Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC PepperClub – GERMANY Profilwerkstatt – GERMANY PRATT Institute – USA Quaker Houghton – USA RBK Advertising & Design – USA REF Financial Press Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Reginald Pauffley – UNITED KINGDOM RE:think – MALAYSIA ringzwei – GERMANY Sakaguchi Corp. – JAPAN Sequel – USA Shian Inc. – JAPAN Six Group Services AG – SWITZERLAND Smart Media – SRI LANKA Solomon Financial Press – HONG KONG SAR PRC SS Digital Media – USA Stan Gellman Graphic Design Inc. – USA Studio 210, LLC – USA Symrise – GERMANY Tayburn – TÜRKIYE Territory – GERMANY The Hong Kong Society for the Aged – HONG KONG SAR PRC Toppan Nexus Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC United Therapeutics – USA Walker Publicity Consulting – USA Wynk Design, Inc. – USA X_Design – MEXICO Yellow Creative (HK) Limited – HONG KONG SAR PRC Zeev Zamir – USA |
2024 PRELIMINARY PANELS OF JUDGES
The International ARC 2024 Awards are presented by the International Academy of Communications Arts & Sciences. The winners of the 38th 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 – Photographer & Visual Storyteller A.PLUS FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Carson Chan – Art Director Siuvia Kwok – Art Director Walter Yu – Head of Design AIR Rockville, MD Luis Martinez – Graphic Designer Specialist Matt Mowczko – Graphic Design Specialist Lesa Rowe – Lead Senior Graphic Designer ANTA SPORTS PRODUCTS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Emily Ng Yu Yi – ESG Associate Director AVILA CREATIVE Chicago, IL John Avila – Principal/Owner BANK OF CHINA (HONG KONG) HONG KONG SAR PRC Angel Yip – Deputy General Manager BEIJING PENGTU CULTURE & ART COMMUNICATION CO. Beijing, CHINA Pang Wang – Founder & Artistic Director BGA PUBLISHING Brightwaters, NY Beau Gardner – President BRIGHT D.O.O. Ljubljana, SLOVENIA Julija Ćeru – Strategy Development Manager BURGESS STRATEGIC MARKETING SERVICES Troy, MI Sandra J. Burgess – Owner CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP San Jose, CA Shannon Dean – Senior VP Customer Service & Chief Citizenship Officer CHINA COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES CORPORATION LTD HONG KONG SAR PRC Joanna Lee – Executive Assistant to Company Secretary & Deputy CFO CHINA UNICOM (HONG KONG) LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Michelle Lam – Senior Manager, Company Secretary Department Enrica Lee – Assistant Company Secretary CONSULTANT Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Lin Yong – Creative Director CONTENT PERFORMANCE GROUP GMBH Wien, AUSTRIA Joanna Jagiello – Art Director Sonja Seidel – Art Director CRE8 (GREATER CHINA) LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Wayne Cheung – Head of Design Jefferson Chiu – Creative Director Iris Lam – Art Director Davy Li – Managing Director CURRAN & CONNORS Ronkonkoma, NY John Lantz – Senior Web Designer & UX Designer Brenda Mayo – Art Director Michael McMurray – Creative Director DANIEL KENNEDY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES NY, NY Daniel Kennedy – CEO Karin Kennedy – C-CEO DESIGNKOMMUNE Filderstadt, GERMANY Karin Schurr – Art Director DNA KOMUNIKA Jakarta, INDONESIA Meta Magdalena – Director Faisal Bayhakih Umar – Creative 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 EQUITY FINANCIAL PRESS LTD HONG KONG SAR PRC Harry Hui – Senior Designer June Kan – Senior Designer Anita Tang – Chief Design Officer FAST RETAILING LTD Tokyo, JAPAN Naota Tsuneoka FGI DESIGN New York, NY Trevor Paccione – Creative Director Susan Weiss – Senior Vice President GENESIS ENERGY Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Chris Mirams – GM Communications GRANATO CREATIVE GROUP Charlotte, NC Roy Granato – President GREAT THINKS Cologne, GERMANY Brigitte Lapper-Rohricht – CEO HETERMEDIA SERVICES LTD. HONG KONG Charles Ho – Design Manager Orling Or – Business Development Director HGB HAMBURGER GESCHÄFTSBERICHTE GMBH & CO. KG Hamburg, GERMANY Yannik Burtelt – Project Manager Olaf Kohnke – Managing Director Annika Kunkic – Project Manager Katharina Marx – Creative Director HNB ASSURANCE PLC Colombo, SRI LANKA Punsirini Perera – Chief Financial Officer INBRAX Santiago, CHILE Cristian Chavez – Creative Director Rod Gallardo Valdivieso – Art Director INDEPENDENT Los Angeles, CA Jessica Qian – Art Director INSIGHT CREATIVE LIMITED Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Mike Tisdall – Founding Director iONE FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Chan Tak Chzong (Riley) – Art Director Kiang Lim Chee (Axel) – Creative Director Tam Sim Fai (Terry) – Art Director JUNGHEINRICH AG Hamburg, GERMANY Sandra Siegele – Senior Communications Manager, Finance KANRO INC. Tokyo, Japan Kentaro Onoda – Senior Manager KERRY PROPERTIES LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Michelle Lam – Senior Director, Sustainability & Communications LORRAINE GREGORY COMMUNICATIONS Edgewood, NY Deana Ambrosio – Managing Director Peter Spalding – Chief Growth Officer M. Digital Partners Company Limited HONG KONG SAR PRC Anita Chan – Project Manager Jeff Hwa – Director Anson Wong – Business Development Manager M&M HONG KONG SAR PRC Mike Moulders – Brand & Design Consultant MEDIA GENESIS Troy, MI Antoine Dubeauclard – President |
META FUSION PTE LTD SINGAPORE Francis Chua – Managing & Creative Director Ian Toh – CEO MILENIO 3 GENERA Mexico City, MEXICO Galia Minguer – Graphic Designer Daniela Popp – CEO Daniela Sanchez – Sustainability Consultant MM PARTNERS Seoul, SOUTH KOREA Yi, Jong-Kook – Chief Director NOVA FUSION SDN BHD Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA Ng Jun Han – Senior Art Director Chiew Yow Hing – Senior Art Director Darren Lee – Senior Art Director Kristen Yeo – Senior Art Director NZ POST Wellington, NEW ZEALAND Tara Hayes – Corporate Communications Lead ORANGE FINANCIAL PRINTING LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Carbie Chan – Account Director PRATT INSTITUTE New York, NY Alisa Zamir – Professor, Graduate Communications RBK ADVERTISING + DESIGN NY, NY John Cowell – V.P. Creative Director REF FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Alex Choi – Creative Director Jerry Lam – Associate Creative Director Emmy Sin – Head of Design RETHINK SDN BHD Selangor, MALAYSIA Audrey Soon – Director of Operations S. Indran A/L M Subramaniam – Chief Executive Officer SAKAGUCHI COMPANY Tokyo, JAPAN Johnny Kwok Wah Law – Executive Director Kiichiro Sakaguchi – President SEQUEL NY, NY David Phan – Creative Director SHIAN INC. Tokyo, JAPAN Jeffrey Canaday – Writer/Editor SHIAN INC. Senior Creative Team SMART MEDIA Colombo, SRI LANKA Ananda Jagoda – Chief Creative Officer STAN GELLMAN GRAPHIC DESIGN St. Louis, MO Mary Muehlemann – Designer Teresa Thompson – Owner/Designer Bryan Wakeland – Senior Designer TOPPAN NEXUS LIMITED HONG KONG SAR PRC Sam Lam – Art Director Donald Tang – Senior Designer Iris Wong – Creative Director UNITED THERAPEUTICS Silver Spring, MD Bill Rock – Executive Creative Director Randy Scope – 2D-3D Design Manager WYNK DESIGN, INC Huntington, NY John Einemann – Creative Director & Partner Kim Ann Piccora – Creative Principal & Pounder YELLOW CREATIVE (HK) LTD HONG KONG SAR PRC Rebecca So – Managing Partner Ellen Zee – Managing Partner WACHOVIA SECURITIES NY, NY Zeev Zamir – Financial Advisor (Retired) |
2024 Final “Virtual” Judge Session
| John Avila Principal/Owner AVILA CREATIVE Chicago, IL Angel Yip Deputy General Manager BANK OF CHINA (HONG KONG) Hong Kong SAR PRC Pang Wang Founder & Artistic Director BEIJING PENGTU CULTURE & ART COMMUNICATION CO. Beijing, CHINA Julija Ćeru Strategy Development Manager BRIGHT D.O.O. Ljubljana, SLOVENIA Shannon Dean Senior VP Customer Service & Chief Citizenship Officer CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP San Jose, CA Michelle Lam Senior Manager, Company Secretarial Department CHINA UNICOM (HONG KONG) LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Enrica Lee Assistant Company Secretary CHINA UNICOM (HONG KONG) LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Lin Yong Creative Director Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia TEAM: Jefferson Chiu, Iris Lam, Davy Li Creative Director, Art Director, Managing Director CRE8 (Greater China) LTD Hong Kong SAR PRC Jeff Brandi Chief Creative Officer CURRAN & CONNORS INC. Ronkonkoma, NY Faisal Bayhakih Umar Creative Director DNAKOMUNIKA Jakarta, Indonesia Meta Magdalena Director DNAKOMUNIKA Jakarta, Indonesia Amy Donati Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer EDICO FINANCIAL PRESS SERVICES LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Dr. Catherine Chan DBA Director EQUITY FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS Hong Kong SAR PRC Trevor Paccione Creative Director FGI DESIGN New York, NY Susan Weiss Senior Vice President FGI DESIGN New York, NY |
Chris Mirams GM Communications GENESIS ENERGY Auckland, New Zealand Jimmy Lam COO GENNEX FINANCIAL MEDIA LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Laetitia Wong Associate Creative Director GENNEX FINANCIAL MEDIA LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Maxx Wong Associate Creative Director GENNEX FINANCIAL MEDIA LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Roy Granato President GRANATO CREATIVE GROUP Charlotte, NC Orling Or Business Development Director HETERMEDIA SERVICES LTD. Hong Kong SAR PRC TEAM: Yannick Burtelt, Olaf Köhnke, Annika Kunkic, Kristina Röver Project Manager, Managing Director, Project Manager, Project Manager HGB HAMBURGER GESCHÄFTSBERICHTE GMBH & CO. KG Hamburg, Germany Punsirini Perera Chief Financial Officer HNB ASSURANCE PLC. Colombo, SRI LANKA TEAM: Jeon Kyoungjoo, Kim Young-il, Yang Jung Ah Chief Director & CEO, Senior Director, Art Director HYPHEN GROUP Seoul, South Korea Jessica Qian Art Director Los Angeles, CA Mike Tisdall Founding Director INSIGHT CREATIVE LIMITED Auckland, New Zealand Axel Kiang Creative Director iONE FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Terence Lau Managing Director iONE FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Sandra Siegele Senior Communications Manager, Finance JUNGHEINRICH Hamburg, Germany Kentaro Onoda Senior Manager KANRO, INC Tokyo, Japan Michelle Lam Senior Director – Sustainability & Communications KERRY PROPERTIES LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Peter Spalding Chief Growth Officer LORRAINE GREGORY COMMUNICATIONS Edgewood, NY |
TEAM: Darrelle Bay, Francis Chau, Dondi Ferry, Gary Goh, Nik Kiong, Edwin Otico, Ian Toh META FUSION PTE LTD Singapore Jong-Kook Yi Chief Director MM PARTNERS Seoul, South Korea Tang Lien Managing Director NOVA FUSION SDN BHD Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Alisa Zamir Professor, Graduate Communications PRATT INSTITUTE New York, NY John Cowell V.P. Creative Director RBK ADVERTISING + DESIGN New York, NY Shing Chan Creative Director REF FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Alex Choi, Creative Director REF FINANCIAL PRESS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Johnny Kwok Wah Law Executive Director SAKAGUCHI COMPANY Tokyo, Japan Kiichiro Sakaguchi President SAKAGUCHI COMPANY Tokyo, Japan David Phan Creative Director SEQUEL New York, NY Design & Editing Team SHIAN INC Tokyo, Japan Ananda Jagoda SMART MEDIA Colombo, Sri Lanka Teresa Thompson President STAN GELLMAN GRAPHIC DESIGN St. Louis, MO Derek Ma Creative Director TOPPAN NEXUS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Iris Wong Creative Director TOPPAN NEXUS LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC Zeev Zamir Financial Advisor (Retired) WACHOVIA SECURITIES New York, NY Pilar Munoz CEO X_DESIGN Mexico City, Mexico TEAM: Chun Hong Wong, Ellen Zee Executive Creative Director, Managing Partner YELLOW CREATIVE (HK) LIMITED Hong Kong SAR PRC |