thesynergist​ | COMMUNITY

AIHA Receives Two dotCOMM Awards
AIHA recently received two dotCOMM awards: one for its second IH Heroes comic “On the Fly” and another for AIHA's Annual Report, which appeared in the March 2018 issue of
The Synergist
. “On the Fly” is the latest in a series of IH Heroes comic books illustrated by Klaus Scherwinski, a self-taught artist who lives and works in Germany. The second installment in the IH Heroes series describes the exciting world of industrial hygiene to a broader audience. The storyline, which was developed by AIHA Marketing Manager Ben Rome and a team of AIHA members, follows characters Marcus and Stephen when they are called in to investigate a train derailment for a possible toxic gas leak. These IH Heroes show how industrial hygienists use technology and ingenuity to save the day. AIHA hopes that the IH Heroes comics will inspire future industrial hygienists to pursue the profession.  "While we gave Klaus the necessary guidance to make the comics work from the technical perspective of an IH professional, we also gave him lots of freedom artistically," said Rome. "It has been so exciting to see this idea come to fruition thanks to the collaborative efforts of our staff, volunteers, and designer." AIHA’s IH Heroes comics are available for download as PDFs from the AIHA
website
. PDF versions have been sized for viewing on monitors and larger screens, laptops and tablets, and smartphones.  AIHA’s new 2017 Annual Report was designed by Jim Myers, AIHA's senior manager of technology initiatives and production. More than a decade had passed since AIHA last produced an annual report. Sue Marchese, AIHA’s managing director of marketing and communications, explains that AIHA decided to bring back the concept of an annual report with a modern twist. “With the goal of increasing communication with the membership, we decided to … make it a concise ‘state of the association’ report, complete with a financial health snapshot and summary of the past year's successes and milestones,” Marchese said. “We focused the report design around AIHA's ongoing 'I Am IH' membership campaign theme. The callout boxes, real faces of our members, and vibrant colors are all aesthetics that grab your attention and make you feel like you are part of the IH Heroes' important work.” A
PDF
of AIHA’s 2017 Annual Report can be viewed online. The
dotCOMM Awards
is an international competition that honors excellence in web creativity and digital communication. dotCOMM entries come from corporate communication departments, public relations firms, digital shops, advertising agencies, and freelancers. Entrants include designers, developers, content producers, digital artists, video professionals, account supervisors, creative directors, and corporate executives. AIHA won three dotCOMM awards in 2017, including one platinum award for the inaugural edition of the IH Heroes comic series.