Last Friday was the judging and awards ceremony for this year's Lohmann Prizes. The Prizes recognize excellence in undergraduate printing and design. We were very pleased to have received a large number of strong submissions this year.

After about an hour of discussion, our panel of judges (which included Jessica Helfand, co-founder of Design Observer and currently Senior Critic at the Yale School of Art; Richard Rose, letterpress printer and residential college seminar teacher; Mark Saba, lead designer at Yale ITS Photo + Design; Michael Morand, Director of State Communications, Strategy, and Special Projects; Jae Rossman, Special Collections Librarian at the Haas Arts Library; John Gambell, University Printer and Senior Critic at the School of Art; and me) decided on this year’s winners and honorable mentions.

First prize is shared by Peter Beck MC ’12 and Julia Lemle TC ’12. Their work is pictured below. Peter’s Cow book, whose pages, binding, and ink were all made from cow parts, impressed us with its attention to craft and wry sense of humor. Julia’s body of work stood out for its elegance, attention to detail, and high level of craft. The work she submitted included the fall and spring semesters' issues of the Yale Literary Magazine, two small hand-bound books, a graphic translation of a video clip into a timeline, and an essay on J.M. Coetzee that she wrote and typeset.

Honorable mentions went to Cindy Hwang BK ’15 for posters promoting the Haas Family Arts Library’s volvelle collection; Samantha Broussard-Wilson ES ’12 for her letterpress and linoleum-print book, Lakota Creation Myth; Rachel Perfecto SY ’15 for her letterpress piece, Pale Blue Dot; and Rachel Needle BR ’13 for her setting of Gay Talese’s 1966 article “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.”

Richard Rose, who teaches the Art of the Printed Book college seminar, engrossed the prizewinners’ certificates...

...while students and judges looked at the submissions, all of which were on view during our awards ceremony.

Finally, we paused for a picture with some of the students who attended the awards ceremony.

The prize was established in 1967 to honor the memory of Carl C. Lohmann, Yale College Class of 1910. A lifelong typophile, he was a founding member of the Honorable Company of College Printers. He served as secretary of the University from 1927 to 1953.

Be sure to check out the image gallery to see additional images of the winners' and honorable mentions' submissions -- a great cross-section of strong student work. Congratulations to this year's winners!