Art Processors scooped the 2023 Australian Good Design Awards tonight, winning Best in Class, two Gold and one Winner trophy in the Architectural and Digital Design categories.
The powerful and confronting visitor experience we created for Pentridge Prison Tours was awarded Best in Class over four other Gold finalists in the Architectural Design - Installation Design category.
From the Sails: Light Years, the stunning film and sound experience we created to launch the Sydney Opera House's 50th year celebrations, was also recognised in the Architectural Design - Installation Design category, winning a Gold Tick.
The cutting-edge audio experience we created for the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK, won a Winner accolade in the Digital Design - Apps and Software category.
“We are incredibly proud to be recognised at the Good Design Awards” said Mark Nihill, CEO of Art Processors.
“All three of the winning projects underline that Art Processors is not only at the leading edge of experience design, but we continue to push the boundaries, redefining visitor experiences for world-leading cultural destinations.”
The Australian Good Design Awards is the country's oldest and most prestigious international awards for design and innovation. This year, there were over 900 entries, judged by more than 70 Australian and international jurors, including designers, engineers, architects and thought leaders.
"To be recognised with an Australian Good Design Award tells the world this project not only represents design excellence, but it also surpasses the criteria for design innovation and design impact. The Good Design Award is an independent endorsement of professional design quality," said Dr. Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia and Chair of the Australian Good Design Awards.
Thank you and congratulations to all our partners and collaborators for From the Sails: Light Years, Pentridge Prison Tours, and the Bob Dylan Center.
Learn more about our winning projects below.
Pentridge Prison Tours
Good Design Award Best in Class, Architectural Design - Installation Design category
In partnership with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and Shayher Group we led the creative transformation of Pentridge Prison to produce a series of immersive tour experiences, combining an exploration into the history of the site with powerful and sometimes unsettling first-hand accounts from those who spent their days there—whether as inmates, prison officers, or clerics.
This project integrated our end-to-end capabilities in exhibition design, location-aware audio and creative technology, and was built upon a foundation of exhaustive research and nuanced storytelling demanded by the complex nature of the subject matter. The visitor journey is spread across the prison's old B Division, H Division, rock-breaking yards, and former Warders' Residence.
The Good Design Awards Jury commented: "An immersive, historical and authentic project that captures a raw part of Victoria's past. Not only does it provoke visitors to question the nature of brutal incarceration, it also harnesses the stories surrounding Wurundjeri Land to ensure its narratives are not lost in the experience. We commend the multimedia design of the project, using audio, video, photography and physical recreations to really draw visitors into the depths of the prison, and believe the project vividly portrays the murkiness of Pentridge's complex history."
Read more: Interpreting the past through powerful and confronting storytelling
Sydney Opera House, From the Sails: Light Year
Good Design Award Gold Winner, Architectural Design - Installation Design category
From the Sails: Light Years, was an original film artwork projected onto the Sydney Opera House's western sails to kick off the iconic landmark's 50th year celebrations. Created by Sam Doust, our Group Director of Creative Services, the 17-minute film traversed the building's history and legacy as a performance venue, public building and World Heritage-listed masterpiece.
Not only did this project give us an extraordinary canvas to work with but it also challenged our team to invent a seamless way for anyone to sync live with the film’s soundtrack from wherever they stood in and around Sydney Harbour, achieving the dual function of projection art and cinema.
The Good Design Awards Jury commented: "This film overcomes challenges of synchronisation through the inclusion of innovative technology - a creative approach that successfully delivers the accompanying audio program. The Jury commends the design team for an impactful and rich outcome. "
Read more: From the Sails: Light Years.
Bob Dylan Center - Immersive Audio Experience
Good Design Award Winner, Digital Design - Apps and Software category
For the new Bob Dylan Center, Art Processors created an audio experience that seamlessly envelops visitors in the songs and times of the influential musician. We developed two of our base technologies to enable this: Simply tapping a device to a beacon helps visitors remain eyes-up when choosing content, while our audio-visual synchronization technology plays video and audio in perfect sync to create an immersive experience.
The Good Design Awards Jury commented: "The use of hands-free action and near-zero sound latency elevates the Bob Dylan Centre's Immersive Audio Experience to new heights of quality digital integration. Additionally, we feel the desaturated blue monotonal UI perfectly complements the feel of this project—congratulations."
Read more: Amplifying Bob Dylan's musical legacy with synced and seamless tech