In our world, we are constantly exposed to—if not bombarded by—signs and images that aim to tell us something. Visual Communications is a field of design that aims to give shape and context to the dense landscape of signs and symbols around us.  We asked for "visual and graphic design, branding and identity projects for print, digital or physical environments," and received entries from logos and identity systems to infographics and advertising, among others. "Some of the visuals were very sleek and sophisticated approaches, and we also got projects which had very strong research orientation, developing methods and approaches much as one would think of in service design, using communication design to good effect in that way," says juror Teal Triggs. 

Astrid Stavro, Partner and Creative Director at Atlas, led the Visual Communication  jury team as Captain. She was joined by Matt Willey, Art Director, The New York Times Magazine, Pablo Juncadella, Founder at Mucho, Teal Triggs, Associate Dean of the School of Communication at the Royal College of Art, and Author and Illustrator Marion Deuchars. The team found a level of competence across the entries, but "in general it was hard to find things that stand out from the intermediate level," remarks Juncadella. In his view, the more successful entries were able to "take data and turn it into something poetic, something that has extra value." 

Across the board, the jurors were impressed by the student submissions. "A long time ago you could always really tell the difference between student work and professional work," explains Deuchars, "but now students have so much more access to great equipment an thinking that sometimes, actually, it's quite hard to tell the difference between student work and professional work." 

Say hello to the Winners, Runners-Up, and Notables of the 2015 Core77 Design Awards in the Visual Communication category.