The colorful design on the Harford County Public Library’s Traveling Library vehicles won an American Inhouse Design Award™. Here are the details provided by the library system:
Harford County Public Library Wins Third American Inhouse Design Award™
Honor from Graphic Design USA is for the graphic design of the Traveling Library vans
Belcamp, Md., September 27, 2023 — Harford County Public Library received an American Inhouse Design Award™ from New York City-based Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) for the design of the graphics on its Traveling Library outreach vehicles. It is the third time the Library has received an honor from GDUSA since 2018.
The award was presented to Leslie Greenly Smith, the Library’s marketing and communications director and the project’s creative director, and to Stephanie Detorie Young, a Library graphic designer who is also the project’s lead graphic designer. More than 6,000 entries were received, and a highly selective top 10 percent were selected as winners. The showcase of winners can be found at https://gdusa.com/competitions/inhouse-design/2023-awards.
Featured at community outreach events, the HCPL Traveling Library fleet of three vans “pop up” at locations throughout the county. They bring the joy of the Library beyond its walls to hard-to-reach populations and introduce to all the magic of the Library.
“The marketing and communications team at Harford County Public Library always does excellent work, and we are so pleased to see this national recognition for what they do each and every day to further the mission of Harford County Public Library,” said Mary Hastler, CEO of Harford County Public Library. “We are fortunate to have such a creative and talented team.”
Now in its 60th year, GDUSA sponsors design competitions that spotlight areas of excellence and opportunity for creative professionals. The awards, also celebrating 60 years this year, were created to recognize and spotlight the value that inhouse creative teams bring to their organizations.
The awards program reflects the depth and breadth of the inhouse experience, honoring top projects in 24 categories ranging from print and collateral to branding and packaging, advertising and sales promotion, annual and corporate reports, direct mail and direct response, publications and newsletters, broadcast and video, infographics and information design to internet and interactive design. This year’s competition included an especially topical category, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in graphic communications.
The awards competition was sponsored by Robert Half Talent Solutions.
Harford County Public Library operates 11 branches located throughout Harford County offering access to ideas that inform, entertain and inspire. Last year the Library interacted with its residents more than 12 million times – borrowing free materials, visiting branches and the website, using free WiFi, and attending classes and events. In 2023 Harford County Public Library received Graphic Design USA’s American Inhouse Design Award™ for graphic excellence, the third time in five years. For more information, visit HCPLonline.org.