As you sit on your couch on September 16^th eating your popcorn and admiring the designs adorning your favorite celebrity, stop for a moment and think about the designers that aren't being acknowledged on the red carpet.

Those who created the pieces that surround the event in the form of invitations, tickets, posters, programs, and yes, the envelope. 

The Design Plot: Brand Consistency
Scott Buford, Art Director, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences reinvents the look of the Emmys each year, and this year's 59^th Primetime Emmy Awards is no exception. 

Buford, a former Disney designer, pushed beyond the creation of the alluring graphics of the award show and set new goals this year:  Create brand consistency across all media including print and motion graphics, and work with all the show partners to make the event as green as it can be.

Designing the visual branding for each year's show starts more than a year in advance, and involves hundreds of people.  The collaboration between all the related departments decided on the focus for this year's theme:  to convey the feeling from the performer's point of view.

"We wanted to capture the emotion of the event, the elegance surrounding the statue, the feeling of excitement of looking out onto the stage from the performer's perspective," said Buford. 

The final core visual is a dramatic departure from previous years featuring an elegant close up of the Emmy statuette with emotive, evening colors to suggest the lighting in the Shrine Auditorium.

"It is truly regal in feeling," says Buford. "I've previewed the materials with many people, and the feedback has been very positive." I asked them if they notice something different. Most do not. I point out there's no "gold."  We didn't need it. The graphics are all about light and how it affects the mood of the room during the show. This graphic really gives it a different feeling."

The Environmental Ensemble Cast
Having achieved a consistent image across all media, Buford focused on this year's second goal: a strong environmental story.

"I can't share everything we're doing - you will have to watch the show for that. But I can tell you that with over 45 different printed pieces to produce (invitations, letterhead, tickets, envelopes and dozens of other materials) and more than one million printed pieces, it was important for us to really think out of the box, about how we used materials and what materials we used."

For the first time in Emmy history, Buford sought a corporate sustainability partner and found one with Mohawk Fine Papers.

"I am proud to say that all of the 59^th Emmy materials that were produced on a mix of Mohawk's carbon neutral papers. Special runs of Mohawk Options 100% postconsumer FSC certified waste fiber papers, were made carbon neutral.

By making these environmental choices, the 59^th Primetime Emmy Awards saved the equivalent of:

• 130 trees
• 55,000 gallons of wastewater
• 6,000 lbs of solid waste
• 19,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions
• Or, not driving 7500 miles in a passenger car

In addition, all materials were printed by California-based Ventura Printing, which is an FSC-certified printer, so all of the final pieces are FSC approved. Ventura printed all materials with linseed oil-based inks on a waterless printing system that eliminates ozone-destroying, volatile organic compounds from the process.  This saved 505,155 BTUs of energy from being consumed and 261 pounds of air emissions from being generated.

FOX, the Television Academy and the telecast producers have set ambitious green goals, including the use of recyclable materials and recycling whenever possible; using hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles for transportation; and replacing production golf carts with bicycles.

The goals set also include reducing power requirements and utilizing alternative and eco-friendly energy sources - including solar power - for red carpet arrivals, production and Primetime Emmy events.

Plus, the production aims to use locally grown and/or organic foods for press and event guests; and incorporate green themes into the televised broadcast.

"When you are doing all of this work, you don't think about it too much.  And then you see someone like Jeremy Piven win an Emmy (Ari Gold in HBO's Entourage ('Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series 2006') and then you realize how important this is to so many people.  And the hard work is all worth it."

The 59^th Primetime Emmys will air on September 16 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EST) on FOX and will originate from the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

For more information on Mohawk's environmental papers, visit www.mohawkpaper.com/carbonneutral.

9/5/07