Most reflective of the submitting firm
Architecture, engineering, and consulting firm Larson Design Group’s Channel Cards were clear winners for the Brand Identity category. “When you look at those cards and you look at their website, you instantly start to connect between their logo and their colors,” says Steve Bennett, Show Your Cards Contest panelist and Taylor Design Director of Design Technology.
“Our card strategy focuses on clarity and consistency in a clean and modern design by integrating corporate identity elements — such as our company logo — to clearly distinguish in-house assets and resources,” Larson Digital Practice Director Steven Rushmore says.
Serving the firm’s 18 offices nationwide, the winning Channel Cards were developed using professional design tools, through a collaborative effort between the firm’s Digital Practice and Marketing teams. “We tested a few variations before selecting our final design,” Steven says.
The expert panel appreciated the intricacies of Larson’s designs and their ability to instantly communicate brand identity, as well as the clean, simple, and elegant look the team achieved.
Most effective in helping others find what they need faster
Australian firm Hames Sharley’s Channel Cards have “everything you need to have in visual navigation,” says Paula Rama, Show Your Cards Contest panelist and /slantis BIM Lead. The simple and straightforward cards — serving across the firm’s architecture, interior design, urban design, planning, and landscape design disciplines — make content easy to find.
“We wanted the cards to convey a lot of information at a glance, including governance, content type and a visual cue for what is found within for instinctive browsing,” says Hames Sharley Associate and Senior Communications Designer Hannah Fredriksson. “If there are any problems or ideas for improvement, it's very transparent who to talk to about it, saving steps from digging for the information elsewhere or asking others.”
The expert panel appreciated the cards’ quick, engaging, clear, and concise iconography, as well as the team’s color and font selections. “It's very effective,” says Rob Snyder, Show Your Cards Contest panelist and AVAIL Customer Success Manager, noting the cards’ successful legibility.
The coolest, most exciting, and inspirational design
New to this year’s Show Your Cards Contest submissions was the use of AI in creating successful Channel Cards and Key Cards for AVAIL. U.S-based, multi-disciplined firm Richard L. Bowen & Associates married human creativity with strategic AI use to create Channel Cards that wowed the expert panel.
“Visually, the cards use a cohesive retro-futuristic poster style to make categories bold, memorable, and easy to scan at a glance, even at thumbnail size,” Bowen BIM Manager Jason Stipanovich says of the cards that were crafted using a combination of ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and traditional design tools. “The system is intentionally whimsical, highly legible, and scalable, allowing it to grow across all Revit categories while remaining unified as a set,” Jason adds.
The Show Your Cards Contest panel appreciated the simplicity of the icons selected and placement — “They're really easy to interpret,” Paula says — as well as the overall look and feel the Bowen team was able to achieve.
“I feel like there might be an episode of Flintstones behind one of these,” says Corey Rubadue, Show Your Cards Contest panelist and ArchVision CEO. “They're all creative.”
A runner-up for the Best Brand Identity category, architecture firm SMRT’s highly personalized Channel Cards employed shapes, colors, fonts, and project images to reflect the firm’s brand beautifully.
A strong contender for both the Best Visual Navigation and Most Creative categories, Cordogan Clark’s intricate Channel Card designs were crafted with the use of Microsoft Copilot and PowerPoint. Our panel appreciated the firm’s use of color coding that helps drive users’ eyes to the right place.
Likewise a strong contender for both the Best Visual Navigation and Most Creative categories, the interdisciplinary firm’s high-design-inspired Channel Cards were crafted using a mix of user-focused design thinking, content organization best practices, and AI-assisted tools. “I looked at how teams currently work, what they need most, and used AI to help keep things visually consistent,” says Wight & Company Director of Digital Design Alex Martinez.
In addition to Best Brand Identity, Larson Design Group also submitted an entry for Best Visual Navigation, which the panel found highly effective in its clean design and accessible imagery.
SHOW YOUR CARDS
Our expert panel discuss what they liked most about the winning firms’ organizational strategies and how you can amp up your firm’s AVAIL environment, too.
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