
Each year, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
honors an exceptional young scientist in the field
of biomedical sciences with The Lurie Prize.
The Challenge
The annual Lurie Prize award ceremony is the FNIH‘s premier event. It brings together some of the foremost leaders in the field of biomedical sciences to honor a promising young scientist nominated by his or her peers. The award is made possible by a generous gift from FNIH board member and philanthropist, Ann Lurie, and the winner is chosen by a distinguished panel of jurors.
Because the award winner isn’t announced until the invitation is mailed, it needed to have a Wow! factor that would match the anticipation of the audience. The goal was to marry fun with sophistication—elegant but with a modern twist. This year, David M. Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D. was honored for his discovery of the mTOR pathway, which is a key regulator of cell growth and metabolism in response to nutrients.
The Solution
Honing in on “pathway” as a theme, we developed a simple, clean and crisp look and feel. A pathway is reflected in the accordion fold die cut of the invitation, turning the concept into a tangible work of art. The color palette combines a shocking red-orange with a warm gray and gold foil. The invitation mailed in a red-orange, semi-translucent envelope with a gold foil return address on the flap—super fun and unexpected, yet classically modern.
The theme was carried through with a die cut pathway on the program highlighting Dr. Sabatini and his accomplishments. The fabricator, Design Foundry, transformed the branding into a stage set, serving as the perfect backdrop for CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, the Master of Ceremonies. Other deliverables included a menu and bar signage. (Event photos courtesy of Freed Photography.)












