ADC Awards
ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.
Category
Publication
Annual ID
ADC105_TYP031M
Skimpies – women who work as bartenders while wearing bikinis or lingerie – have been a big part of pub culture in Western Australia since the 1970s. Catering to a clientele of locals and itinerant mining industry workers, skimpies serve up entertainment, human connection and beverages in some of the most geographically isolated communities in Australia. Documented between 2021 and 2023 by photographer M Ellen Burns, she obtained full consent from these women and created space for them to share their own experiences. This book provides a glimpse of a world rarely visible to outsiders.
SKIMPIES has been consciously edited into two parts based on the idea of “day & night”. It begins with off duty studio portraits, emphasising the importance of the personal stories. Then it steps into the low-light-environment where skimpies are at work with outpouring energy. The high contrast lettering endorses the texture, tension and elasticity of lingerie and bikinis worn by the women. With the lettering being arranged vertically, the words mirror the portraitures, introducing the women’s by their skimpy names.
SKIMPIES has been consciously edited into two parts based on the idea of “day & night”. It begins with off duty studio portraits, emphasising the importance of the personal stories. Then it steps into the low-light-environment where skimpies are at work with outpouring energy. The high contrast lettering endorses the texture, tension and elasticity of lingerie and bikinis worn by the women. With the lettering being arranged vertically, the words mirror the portraitures, introducing the women’s by their skimpy names.
2026 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit Honor
Credits
Design Firm
Span
Creative Director
Wing Lau
Designer
Wing Lau
Photographer
M Ellen Burns
Writer
Georgie Mattingley
Author / Publisher
M Ellen Burns
Copy Editor
Carolyn Burns
Letterer
Wing Lau
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