Joe Messina Mead Show Founder

The Mead Annual Report Show: Founded by Joe Messina 1956-1996 During its forty years, the Mead Show set the standard for excellence in Annual Report design. Originated and organized in 1956 by Joe Messina, the competition was highly regarded for both its fairness and the consistent quality of its winners. Entries were judged by experts in the field, all accomplished Annual Reports designers themselves, ensuring that all winners represented the best in the medium. As Mike Noble wrote in Graphis Annual Reports 5, the Mead Show attracted the most respected names in the industry, and winning the competition was considered the greatest honor for anyone working in Design. The rules were quite simple. To win, an Annual Report had to be intelligent, innovative, and stand out among the very best. Case in point: designer Robert Miles Runyan's 1959 Annual Report for Litton Industries, Inc., which revolutionized the corporate standard in its time. Sadly, the Mead Show was discontinued in 1996. In 2005, a team led by Michael Weymouth, one of the nation's leading Annual Report designers, approached Graphis to request that we carry on the Mead tradition. A group was organized, which consisted of Michael Weymouth, Dana Arnett, Jill Howry, Tom Laidlaw and Greg Samata, representing some of the best talent in the industry, collectively determined to honor the Mead legacy. Each year since then, Graphis and the Advisory Board have produced similar shows, inviting internationally respected AR designers to select the outstanding Annual Reports of the year. The original team continues to serve as advisors. Graphis is dedicated to preserving the Mead Annual Report Show legacy. In that spirit, we've compiled a list of the past Mead Show winners, which is displayed here. Unfortunately, we are missing winners' names from the years 1956-62, 1967 and 1970. Please contact us if you have any information on the winners from these years. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.