Neenah Paper, an innovative leader in the creation and manufacturing of premium, specialty and sustainable papers, is proud to announce the winners of the 2012 Neenah UnShow, a design competition supported by HOW Magazine that celebrates all forms of expression in uncoated paper .

The contest, open to work printed on any brand of uncoated paper, recognized winners in eight categories, including invitations/cards, annual report/sustainability report, brochures, identity, packaging/label, posters, miscellaneous and student work as well as one “Best of Show” grand-prize winner. Following is a list of the top 2012 award winners by category, their respective companies and artwork titles:

Each category winner received $500 cash and their work will be published in HOW Magazine. In addition, Andrew Effendy, the Best of Show winner, received $1,000 and a pass to the HOW Design Conference, which takes place June 21-25 in Boston.

“We created Neenah UnShow to reward designers and printers that truly recognize the value of quality imagery in the uncoated print communications process,” said Thomas Wright, senior director of advertising and promotion for Neenah Paper. “All of the 2012 winners are so talented and Andrew Effendy’s poster is a prime example of the creativity we hoped to recognize through this contest.”

Effendy’s poster, In Caffeine We Trust, resulted from a request from his ad director to create a coffee-themed Christmas present they could give to their clients. “After seeing how many talented designers and printers entered the contest, I didn’t think my chances of winning were that good,” said Effendy. “I was absolutely stoked to earn the Best of Show award, especially for this project that I worked so hard to conceptualize and design.”

Neenah invited the design community at large to vote on the UnShow submissions to narrow down the field. Designers from across the world voted online at http://www.howdesign.com/design-competitions/neenah-unshow-competition/ for the top 25 entries in each category. Those pieces were then submitted to a select judging panel that picked the top two winners for each category. The 2012 judging panel included Justin Ahrens, principal and creative director at Rule29; Joshua C. Chen, founder, principal and creative director of Chen Design Associates; and Pum Lefebure, co-founder and creative director of Design Army.

For more information on this year’s winners or to learn how to enter the 2013 Neenah UnShow contest, visit http://www.neenahpaper.com/InspiredDesign/PaperworksContest.