July 12, 2004

Ashland's Lightbourne wins pair of gold medals

Staff Reports

Lightbourne, Inc., an Ashland company that designs book covers, recently won two awards.

They were a gold winner in the 2004 Benjamin Franklin Awards and a bronze winner in the 2004 Summit Creative Awards competitions for its outstanding creative work for the book design of "Reflections in the Ice, " an autobiography of the life of Mexican-American Olympic Gold Medal winner Derek Parra, published by Podium Publishing.

The awards were given by those in the book design industry, said Bob Swingle, owner and designer for Lightbourne Inc., who designed the winning cover.

"Since the industry judges it, it means we have the respect of our peers," he said. "As a designer, it's important to know your designs stand up to industry standards."

Lightbourne, Inc., located on A Street, began in 1994.

They previously won a Benjamin Franklin Award in 1999.

Swingle said winning the awards are a great way to promote business.

"When they see the company has won an award, it validates to them that we can do the job and give them a cover that will sell," he said.

Both the Summit Awards and the Benjamin Franklin Awards are coveted accomplishments in publishing. Named in honor of America's most cherished publisher and printer, the Benjamin Franklin Award is considered one of the book industry's most prestigious honors. Sponsored by the Publishers Marketing Association, each year thousands of books are submitted for the awards, recognizing excellence in publishing and marketing in 54 categories.

A short list of over 150 books are selected by a panel of over 100 judges active in all phases of the book publishing industry. Finally they select the best of the best, naming three category finalists. Winners were announced at an award ceremony at Chicago 's downtown Marriott Hotel in June, coinciding with the start of the industry's top trade show and convention, Book Expo America.

The Summit Creative Awards, celebrating its 10th year, was created to recognize exceptional work by marketing creative firms including advertising agencies, video production companies, multimedia firms and other creative groups with annual billings of $15 million or less. It is the only opportunity such firms have to compete internationally. Entries in 17 creative categories are judged against a stringent set of standards.

Judges looked for innovative and creative concepts, strong executions and the ability to communicate and persuade. This year's competition received approximately 3, 000 entries from 20 countries. Winners were selected in categories that include print, broadcast, online advertising, multimedia, printed material, direct mail, sales promotion, political, corporate video, public service, best idea never produced and self-promotion.