Although unique medals are now designed for each and every sports event, sometimes quite innovative in form, so far no-one dared to break with the core ideology of associating ranks with specific materials. The gold-silver-bronze division has been around forever and seems to be staying forever, probably because the nature of these materials expresses well the value of one’s work. Gold is traditionally seen as the noblest material, an element that needs little or no maintenance and will stand the test of times, withstanding erosion and oxidation. Silver is somewhat less resistant and needs constant polishing in order to keep it shiny. Bronze, on the other hand, is an alloy cross and therefore holds the littlest value amongst the three. However, if we just look at the symbolic layer behind these awards, their meaning becomes questionable: who says that a lower score is of lesser value? Coming second or third, or tenth best, for that matter, is a great achievement, and there should be milder ways to express that someone couldn’t actually make to the first place.



Israeli Bakery Studio addressed exactly this problem with their collection of medals. Their project was introduced at the show Award Winner: Exhibition, where various artists and designers were asked to rethink the concept of prizes. Gilli Kuchik and Ran Amati came up with a total of 5 medal-set variants, leaving the material realm and playing around with shapes and forms to imply ranking. As the title 1/3 2/3 3/3 suggests, the designers took a mathematical-geometrical approach, starting from the traditional round shape.



For each set, they manipulated the medallion in a way that the material fills it up in accordance with the rank. As the difference between each medal here is definitely stronger visually, it is debatable whether this is a more agreeable way to award sports performance. Nevertheless, Bakery Studio’s venture is a refreshing project that championships organisers might should consider making use of.





Source: Domus