The majority of this year’s slight increase in entries appeared to be in trademarks—just under 1,600. That’s the most we’ve seen since the height of the dot-com era when every new Web concept needed an identity. We also registered increases in packaging, books, posters and catalogs. Annual reports, once the pinnacle of corporate communications, continue to decline in number. “Initially I was blown away by the sheer volume of entries,” said juror Christian Helms of Austin, Texas-based The Decoder Ring Design Concern. “I doubt the average reader grasps what 10,000 posters, logos and books actually looks like.” “I really liked some of the three-dimensional ideas,” added juror Terri Wolfe of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Wolfe Design, Ltd. “There was great thought involved to create something structural and dimensional. It often enhanced the idea.” “I was shocked, and I think moderately appalled, by the lavishly over-the-top production that was put into some of the brochures, particularly those for the housing market,” said juror Sarah Nelson Forss of St. Paul, Minnesota-based Werner Design Werks. “Designers have to do smart design from the ground up. It’s not just appearance that matters. Is it user-friendly? Is it economical? Is it ecological? Is it really a smart answer? Good design should be an integral part of the structure, not merely a coat of paint on the surface.”