Award Base Options for Your Awards
Organizations looking for special, unique awards often wonder how they can create awards that are distinctive to their organization, recipient or event. Certainly the recognition award itself can accomplish this, and we pride ourselves on creating unique awards - both custom and predesigned - that stand apart from anything else on the market. However, an often overlooked aspect of the award that can help separate it from more commonplace options, as well as help tailor it to your branding objectives, is the base that the award is mounted on.
We offer a variety of base options for your recognition awards to help address this requirement. While all of our predesigned recognition awards have a standard base associated with them, we can often change these to meet specific customer requirements. On the custom award front, selecting the best base option is an integral part of the overall design process. Below is a brief primer on some of the base options that may be available for your specific project.
Award Base Sizes and Materials
Our awards are mounted on a variety of different base types, including marble, granite, crystal, acrylic and wood. We have many different standard shapes and sizes available, and, for most of the base materials, we can create custom shapes and size. We are happy to work with you to find the best base for your needs. As always, if you have questions, give us a call - we are here to help!
Marble Bases
Most of our bronze and pewter recognition awards come standard with black stone bases (shown shown to the left). Generally, these bases are made from black marble, but on occasion we may use black granite. Both of these base materials are virtually indistinguishable, and they both create a substantial, distinctive base choice for our unique awards. Most of our acrylic, aluminum, and crystal awards come with bases made out of the same material, and in some cases the base is part of the sculpture award itself.
Wood Bases
As an option, many of our recognition awards also support unique, custom wood bases. These wood bases are created from a variety of hardwoods, including walnut, mahogany, teak, and hickory, and can be constructed in a variety of different custom sizes. In addition, multi-tier bases can be created, and in some cases these can be crafted out of multiple hardwood types. An example of a wood base is shown to the left.
As another alternative, customers may choose an award base that is a combination of marble and wood. This is another unique way of creating a multi-tier base, and makes for very unique, eye-catching recognition awards.
Concrete Bases
For custom award projects, we can work with a variety of base materials, and are not restricted to marble, granite or wood. For example, we have designed bases out of steel to create a more "industrial" look, and out of concrete to match the brand of customers in the construction industry. We also use concrete bases as the standard base option for the safety awards that we offer. The concrete may also be dyed in nearly any color to accommodate your company logo color palette. As a final touch, our concrete bases can be epoxy-sealed to various levels of glossiness, ranging from a raw, natural look to super glossy.
Metal Bases
Metal bases, or machined metal bases, are a great option to keep the award design clean and modern. The metal base can be painted or anodized almost any color. Metal marking or direct printing onto the surface of the base is also an option, making metal bases a very flexible material for any custom project.
The project on the left used a custom-fabricated/machine-cut base, anodized with company logo colors and engraved with recipient information.
Base Size
Most of our predesigned recognition awards come with a standard base size, but they can usually support an optional, custom base size to meet the needs of a specific event or presentation. For example, a larger base size might be required for a perpetual award. The base for the perpetual award can contain one-time engraving information, such as the name of the award or presenting organization, and then provide enough space to add the names of award recipients as they receive the award. Additional recipients are generally added using engraved plates that are affixed to a designated area of the award.
Bases can also be single-tier or multi-tier. In some cases, as mentioned above, these different tiers may be comprised of different materials. For example, the upper tier base may be marble, and may contain one-time engraving, while the lower tier may be a hardwood base designed to hold many engraved plates for perpetual award winners.
We’re Here to Help!
As part of any new award project, we will help guide you through the base options that are available for your specific project, and recommend an approach that meets your objectives. We look forward to working with you!