Forum, Phi Kappa Phi’s award-winning quarterly magazine, recently took the top prize at a citywide competition that recognizes the highest standards of content and design.

STUN Design & Interactive, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based design firm that partners with Forum in designing each issue of the magazine, received the Professional Overall Best of Show Award during a recent competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge.

The award, presented during the federation’s Feb. 24 banquet, recognized STUN’s series of cover designs for Forum’s 2023 issues. Forum’s four issues last year dealt with the themes of spring, summer, fall, and winter respectively. To create a visual narrative that readers could follow throughout the year, STUN graphic designer Jenna Lloyd developed a sequence of covers that simulated paper cut-outs. The images were reprised during a year-end Forum story that allowed readers to revisit how the  passing year had unfolded. Some Forum readers had taken special pleasure in displaying the covers as a set. And some readers might have noticed that a bird of some sort appeared on each cover, offering another note of continuity as the seasons changed.

The cut-out concept “acts as a lens, offering a peek into each season,” STUN’s design team explained. “The goal was to create an immersive experience for the reader, showcasing the beauty and uniqueness of each season in a meaningful and artistic way.”

The Best of Show Award is meant “as a testament to the pinnacle of talent and creativity within the design industry,” the panel of judges noted in giving Forum’s covers the top honor. The judges pointed to the cover concepts in recognizing STUN as “an agency that has not only redefined the standards of visual storytelling but has also encapsulated the essence of academic excellence through their innovative designs. Their unwavering dedication to craftsmanship and ingenuity serves as an inspiration to us all.”  

In addition to Lloyd, those involved in developing and executing Forum’s 2023 covers included STUN CEO and creative director Chuck Sanchez, art director Kim Mackey, project manager Sarah Galli, and Forum editor Danny Heitman.

STUN’s top prize in the Baton Rouge competition now enables its Forum cover designs to compete in regional and possibly national competitions sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.

Both Forum and Phi Kappa Phi’s annual report have been recognized with national prizes for content and design, including numerous awards from Association Media & Publishing, which celebrates the best media content provided by nonprofit associations.

“We’re happy to partner with STUN in developing issues that are not only rich with content but beautiful to behold,” Heitman said. “We’re thrilled about STUN’s Best of Show Award for Forum’s 2023 covers, and we look forward to providing more surprises for our readers in the coming year.”

“We were all so excited about this amazing achievement,” Sanchez said. “I’m so proud of my team for creating four cohesive, beautiful, memorable covers. I am also grateful for the partnership with Phi Kappa Phi and the trust that they put in STUN.”

Forum’s previous issues, as well as its annual reports and Focus newsletters, are available online at phikappaphi.org/forum.