February 22, 2019 – JACKSON, MS - The logo designed for the educational curriculum for a new and original documentary, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, was awarded a Silver Addy by the American Advertising Federation, Jackson Chapter at an awards ceremony held at the Westin Jackson Hotel in February.The logo, a medallion with the image of Hamer as depicted on her life-size statue at the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Park and Garden in Ruleville, Miss., was designed by Kaiyla Barber McKenzie and Darren Schwindaman of Creative Distillery, a marketing firm in Jackson. They won in the Elements of Advertising, Visual, Logo Design Category.Medallion logo designed by Darren Schwindaman and Kaiyla Barber McKenzie of Creative Distillery."We hope the logo for the Fannie Lou Hamer's America documentary and curriculum signal to viewers the visceral power in Ms. Hamer's words and work,” said Schwindaman. “Any attention around this project today ultimately serves to draw more attention to the lessons we can learn today from Ms. Hamer's activism, and that's something we can all be proud of."
Darren Schwindaman and Kaiyla Barber McKenzie of Creative Distillery. (Photo courtesy of Creative Distillery)
The American Advertising Awards (ADDYS) is one of the industry's largest creative competitions, attracting nearly 35,000 professional and student entries each year through local club competitions. The mission of the awards is to recognize and reward the true spirit of creative excellence in all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world. On a local level, the annual award recognizes the most outstanding advertising professional in the metro Jackson area who have made noteworthy contributions to their company, the advertising industry and the community."We are excited and honored to have received an Addy in recognition of our work for Fannie Lou Hamer’s America,” said graphic designer, Barber. “The goal was to create a logo that emanates the same strength and resilience that Mrs. Hamer proudly embodied during her lifetime. This honor shows how much people resonate with her, and we are very proud to be awarded for this effort."Dr. Davis W. Houck, Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies at Florida State University, is a consultant and researcher on the film, and one of the Find Your Voice K-12 Civil Rights Curriculum Designers."The team at Fannie Lou Hamer's America is thrilled to be partnering with the very best advertising team in Mississippi, Creative Distillery," he said. "Their work in helping us bring to life Mrs. Hamer for a new generation of teachers and students has been vital from Day One. Congratulations on the Silver Addy; Mrs. Hamer would be so pleased!"
McKenzie and Schwindaman also designed a second logo, a flag with barbed-wire stripes, as the official brand of the entire project. Both logos were funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is a multimodal effort, based on the civil rights activist’s life, that includes a new and original documentary, a K-12 educational curriculum, an interactive website and central clearinghouse for Hamer-related materials and a driving tour. The project’s mission is to create a platform for Hamer’s voice in modern times while addressing and promoting conversations about racial equity.The project is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Freedom Singer Bill Perlman, Broadcast Journalist Tavis Smiley, McDonald’s/Retzer Resources, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA), the Women’s Foundation of Mississippi and the Phil Hardin Foundation.