Group Judge's Pick

Title: Alphabeasties Products
Company: Werner Design Werks, Inc.
Category: Miscellaneous

Henrik Olsen:
The adorable concept, the typographic creativity, and the colorful craft demonstrated in the book Alphabeasties quickly catapulted this piece into the Best of Show category. Particularly memorable aspects of the book include the creative die-cuts, the fold-outs, the rich color, and the humorous small letter-icons on each of the pages. By bringing together the task of learning with a highly sophisticated typographic illustrations, the book becomes a wonderfully engaging way for children to learn on multiple levels. I am confident that this is a book that people will keep for a lifetime!

  While I loved every spread of the book, I must say that the fold-out ‘U- Unicorn’ pages took my breath away.

The accompanying typographic animal poster was also recognized to be a sharp idea in that it allows children to display the fun characters in their room and/or classroom.

Chuck Hermes:
The alphabet as a learning tool. Who would have thought?

The concept of using the diversity of letter forms to garner interest in typeography is clever. I was sold on a monkey built entirely of M’s. Couple that with stuffed animals, a brilliantly executed book (exquisite die cuts, playful color palette, and more fun that I could possibly imaging) and a poster, and we have a winner. My kids will love it. My wife will love it. And I already love it.

Arvi Raquel-Santos:
The design and approach was absolutely adorable. From the plush animals (which I’d love to have) to the alphabet flash cards, I thought that the design was succinct to the intent of the products — to teach children their ABCs.  I’m curious though to see how many typographers we’ll have in the future.

Frank Baseman:
It’s not every day that I get to vote for a project designed by one of my design heroes. But on this day it gives me great pleasure to extol the virtues of one Sharon Werner in the creation of her book “Alphabeasties,” along with the additional products like the stuffed animals, pillows and flash cards and floor puzzle.

Not only is this book a tour de force--exquisitely produced with such wonderful production values (the die-cuts are amazing in and of themselves), but it is done so in such an appropriately humorous way to introduce typographic principles to kids and adults to show them that typography is fun—that type can have a personality—which seems to be the main objective. I also completely love the entrepreneurial extension of the book to the additional pieces, the objects that so cleverly continue the design system. This is the kind of project I have admired from afar, long before I even stepped foot on Minnesota soil.

I remember seeing some part of this as the Call for Entries for the Type Directors Club and bringing it into my class to display the brilliance in thinking--the simplicity and beauty of--the silhouettes of the animals made out of the first letter of the animals. To then have the wherewithal to extend this initial concept to the book and beyond to the additional pieces seems like so much fun.

Again, it gives me great professional and personal pleasure to vote for this project—nay these projects—as Best of Show.