And the Winners of the 2015 Design Awards Are ...

I’m a fan of the big picture. Literally.

I like large, powerful photographs that inspire laughter, sadness, curiosity, and awe. For me, telling a story that utilizes images almost as much as words is more likely to create a memorable impact.

But I’m also a fan of fairness and giving credit where credit is due. That’s why when I saw last year’s design awards issue I completely understood the logic behind running a photo of every winning project: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The judges had decided that each of those designs were worthy of an award, so shouldn’t they all be honored with a picture? Of course … in a perfect world.

Unfortunately, looking at last year’s issue, some of the photos were so small I couldn’t tell if the spot on the ceiling was a can light or a tiny fleck of icing from my cinnamon roll. The number of pages we were able to devote to the awards weren’t doing justice to the wonderful projects, nor were they helping our audience learn more about them.

So, this year—after giving it much thought—we decided to only publish photos of the projects that are receiving Platinum and Gold awards. It was a difficult choice, but when you see how great the package looks, we hope you’ll agree that we made the right call.

One thing I know you’ll agree with is that the honorees this year are stellar. And there’s something for everyone. So whether you like looking at old churches, gorgeous contemporary façades, or are interested in creative uses of reclaimed materials, these projects run the gamut.

Finally, the only people I can say worked even harder than us putting this issue together were the judges. I spent some time in the room as they pored over each project, and I came away with tremendous respect for their design acumen and commitment to the integrity of the judging process. You’ll find direct evidence of this in the “What the Judges Said” section that appears alongside the winners’ writeups.

Enjoy!