Houston—February 13, 2008—Coming out atop more than 1,000 entries, Origin took “Best in Show” print piece at the American Advertising Federation, Houston’s 2008 ADDY Awards for the MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc. Annual Report.

Origin also won another 22 Awards at the event, including seven Gold and three Silver medals, bringing the total number of awards from industry peers and national journals for work in 2007 to 47.  All seven of Origin’s Gold medal recipients will move on to compete in the regional contest against five other states for the chance to advance to the national ADDY awards competition.

“Receiving the ADDY for Best in Show rounds off an outstanding year for Origin. In each of our creative pursuits, we strive for excellence. To have our work esteemed by our peers confirms these efforts are truly accomplishments to be proud of,” said Jim Mousner, Origin Principal and Creative Director.  

For its work in 2007, Origin, a Houston-based strategic branding and creative firm, won 47 awards for projects ranging from annual reports to advertising, to fleet graphics for a commercial airline. Origin earned honors from the following competitions, which presented the agency with these awards:

• American Advertising Federation, Houston ADDY Awards: Gold for ION (2), MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc., San Jose Clinic, Origin (2) and Signature Printing; Silver for ION, University of Houston Graphics Alumni Partnership, Origin; Citation of Excellence for ExpressJet Airlines (3), Trico Marine Services, Inc., Grey Wolf Inc., University of Houston Architecture Alumni Association (3), The Urban Land Institute of Houston (2), and Origin (2)
• Graphis, the International Journal of Visual Communication’s Design Awards: Gold for ExpressJet fleet graphics, logo and stationery, and an additional Gold for the CVAR logo.
• ARC Awards for outstanding achievement in annual reports: Two Gold for MetroCorp Bancshares Illustration and Trico Marine Services Overall, three Silver for MetroCorp Bancshares Interior Grey Wolf Interior, and Grey Wolf Overall and one Honors for MetroCorp Bancshares Cover
• Business Marketing Association Lantern Awards: Nine Excellence awards for Our Other Premium Connections Ad, MetroCorp Bancshares, Annual Report, Trico Marine Annual Report, Grey Wolf, Inc. Annual Report, Origin Vendor Appreciation Event, Origin Double Vision Invitation, GAP Launch Party Invitation, Origin Annual Report First Aid Kit, Origin AEC Capabilities Brochure
• Art Directors Club of Houston: One Silver for San Jose Clinic Annual Report and four Bronze awards for Grey Wolf Annual Report, Blueprint Ball Promotion, Origin Vendor Appreciation Promotion, and ULI Call For Entries
• STEP Inside Design Annual: The top 100 designs from the STEP Design 100 competition, one Finalist in the poster competition for the Origin Hatch Show Invitation