Awards are good, happy clients are better.

Awards are a funny thing. On June 10th the Farmboy team had a busy day. We had a few client meetings, the last of which was in Des Moines’ East Village (where parking is iffy at best), and it was HOT, but I digress.

From that balmy meeting we hopped on over to West End Architectural Salvage where things heated up even more for the ADAI (Art Directors Association of Iowa) 58th Annual Design Exhibition. Yeah, this exhibition has been around for nearly six decades and local design, advertising, publishing, and marketing agencies all submit their best work.

So how did Farmboy do?

Farmboy came out with 4 Awards of Excellence in identity, logo design, environmental graphics, and illustration. And we’re happy to report we took home a Best of Category in identity. Check below to see the award winning work.

Awards don’t mean much if the client isn’t happy. We can say for a fact that our work with Gilroy’s Kitchen + Pub + Patio was one of the most enjoyable and expansive projects to date, and I’d be lying if I said it was always smooth sailing. Helping a client to brand an entirely new business as well as flesh out interior design, apparel, identity systems, and even drink coasters is a large undertaking for any firm. There was a lot of careful research, concepts, and close collaboration (often) on-location with the client (after-hours on occassion)…

So did it feel awesome to be recognized for countless hours of hard work? You bet. Would we be bummed if we didn’t get a Best of Category trophy for the award shelf? Probably a little. However, even if we won nothing at all, walking into Gilroy’s during business hours and seeing customers buying the shirts and taking selfies with our murals to share on social media is an award in of itself. The client was thrilled with the end result and love sharing their brand with their customers.

And that dear friends is something you can’t put on the shelf.