Royal Canadian Mint wins best graphic design award for its 2012 gift sets

OTTAWA, Nov. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - The Royal Canadian Mint was recently awarded gold in the category of Graphic Design Miscellaneous for its 2012 "Celebration" Gift Sets by the Advertising & Design Club of Canada (ADCC).  Now in its 63^rd year, ADCC celebrates the exceptional work in advertising, graphic design, editorial design and interactive media to promote the highest professional standards and excellence in Canada's creative community.

"The Royal Canadian Mint is pleased to receive this prestigious Canadian design award and is very proud to have collaborated with renowned contemporary artists such as Gary Taxali and Matt Barnes to explore new design ideas which make our coins perennial stand outs," said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.

The Mint's 2012 Gift Sets include collector coins designed by Gary Taxali and packaged in the original artwork of photographer Matt Barnes. The collectibles in the 2012 Gift Sets are a collaboration between the artistic innovators whose combined talents gave the Mint's Birthday, Wedding, Baby, Canada Day, Holiday Gift Sets and Tooth Fairy Gift Card a vibrant new look for 2012.  Each gift set includes a set of uncirculated 2012-dated circulation coins, as well as space to insert a personalized message and an envelope with which to immediately post a personalized keepsake to a loved one. 

About Gary Taxali
Gary Taxali is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist - and one of Canada's foremost contemporary artists.  His portfolio includes work for clients such as Sony, Warner Brothers, Converse, Nintendo, Time magazine, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, and The New York Times.  Gary is a member of the Stamp Advisory Committee to Canada Post.  Well known to Canadian media, Gary created the cover art and inside illustrations for Aimee Mann's album @#%&*! Smilers to earn a 2009 Grammy Award Nomination for Best Art Package. He has also written and illustrated his own children's book (This is Silly!) (published by Scholastic) and released two monographs this past year entitled "I Love You, Ok?" (published by teNeues) and "Mono Taxali" (published by 27_9).  He has exhibited in many galleries in North America and Europe, including The Whitney Museum of American Art, Antonio Colombo Gallery, Steve Lazarides' Gallery, and The Andy Warhol Museum. His art slickly re-imagines 1930s pop art and iconography to evoke a nostalgic feel with a modern sensibility.  More information can be found at www.garytaxali.com.

About Matt Barnes
Canadian photographer Matt Barnes has spent two decades applying his vision as a strong storyteller to innovative branding campaigns. By his late teens, Matt was a fixture in the music business with over 500 album covers to his credit and work published regularly in Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone. His work expanded to lifestyle and advertising campaigns for the world's top brands and has also branched into creatively capturing stories in videos and shorts. He has worked with many award-winning agencies and maintains residences in Los Angeles and New York City to work on both coasts.  A sample of Matt's client list includes: A&M, Arista, Dell Computers, Dreamworks, EMI, Ford Motor Co, Fox Sports, Jack Daniels, MCA, MGM Grand, Miller Brewing Co, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Rolling Stone, Sony Music and Sony Playstation, Trump Dubai International Hotel & Tower, Verizon, Virgin and Warner Brothers.

About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown Corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. An ISO 9001-2008 certified company, the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca.

Images and details of the Mint's latest award nominees are available by visiting ftp://communications:[email protected] and www.mint.ca.

SOURCE: Royal Canadian Mint