If you are looking to create a custom award for your organization or event the first thing you have to ask yourself is how custom do you really want your award to be? “Customizing” your award could mean adding a few unique elements to an existing design, or it could mean designing an entirely new award from the ground up.
Here are three ways you can customize your award designs:
Use an Existing Design with Custom Engravings
Any pre-designed award can be customized with a personalized engraving on a marble base, using a silver or gold filling. The engraving may include the event name, the name of the recipient, the name of the award, the name and logo of the presenting organization, the presentation date, and so on. If you want to include a colored company logo (or have a lot of extra text to fit), it’s also possible to have a sublimated plate attached to the base of your awards.
Use an Existing Award but Add Custom Elements
Some pre-designed awards offer the ability to incorporate a few custom elements. For instance, our “Gratitude” award is designed to be a impressionistic human figure holding an object. The standard objects used are hearts, stars, and a child. However, it’s simple enough to create an object that is customized to the needs and brand of the presenter, like a hammer for a construction company, a cross for a Christian organization, or a music note for an awards show. These custom elements can also have engravings added to them for an even more unique design.
In addition our Value Awards provide the opportunity to customize a crystal shape or create a custom medallion on your choice of a wooden pillar.
Create a Completely Custom Design
If your organization wants a totally different and unique awards design, then instead of tweaking individual elements to make something new, it might be worth designing an award from scratch. The first step is to have an artist develop rough design sketches of your custom award. Do you want an award that is more fluid or something with hard edges? Does the award need to look like something (or someone) in particular, like a football, or can the design be a little more interpretative, like our “Reborn” award? Will you want color added to the design? How large does it need to be? What material would you prefer it be made out of (as this influences the best design choices)? All of these little design questions and more have to be hammered out on paper long before you actually try to create the award.
Luckily, at Bennett Awards, we will take a highly consultative approach to helping you with your awards. We create your custom awards using our unique combination of handcrafted artisanship, cutting-edge design technology, and state-of-the art production methodologies from 3-D printing to machining with plating or anodizing.
For the traditional handcrafted approach, once a final design is approved, then an initial model is developed in either clay or wax. Small changes to the model can be made to ensure the final award looks just as you envisioned it. Once the model is finalized, a mold is created and the final awards are produced using this mold.
Time also needs to be considered as a factor when you are looking to create a customized award. If you need multiple awards on a tight turnaround it’s probably better to stick with a pre-designed award and customize bits and pieces to reflect your organization and the recipients. If you want to create something no one has ever seen before and have the time to do so a completely unique custom award is definitely an option!