4 Things to Consider When Designing a Custom Award

If you want to gift your recipients with something that is both meaningful AND beautiful you definitely should consider going the custom design route with your awards. Custom designs can embody the spirit of your organization as well as the recipient in a way that a mass-produced award simply cannot. Instead of settling for “good enough,” why not get the perfect award for your next event?

But creating a custom award is going to require a lot more input than just picking something out of a catalog. Here are 4 things to consider when designing your custom award:

1. Do you want an artistic design or literal interpretation?

What does “leadership” look like? How can you embody “success” or “perseverance” or “generosity” in a custom award design? When trying to capture a particular feeling or characteristic in your award design sometimes a more artistic approach is necessary simply because there is no “right” way to showcase that skill/emotion/characteristic. On the flip side, a literal design for your custom award works well when you can tie your organization to a particular shape. For instance, a football shape is the perfect, literal design for a fantasy football league. You’ll have to decide if you want a more artistic design for your custom award or will you stick with a literal interpretation.

2. What material do you want your custom award to be made from?

Many custom sculpture awards are cast out of either bronze or pewter. But if you decide on crystal for your award you have the unique ability to engrave 2D shapes on the outside or even 3D shapes on the inside of your custom award. Crystal awards also tend to be less costly and have a faster turnaround time so if you working on a deadline and a budget an award created in crystal might be the best bet for your organization. If you want to steer away from the stand alone award you could also go with a medallion or a plaque. Yet another alternative is a fabricated award made out of custom-cut metal.

3. How quickly do you need this award to be produced?

Depending on when your event is you might be limited in how intricate your design can be, as well as the material used to make it. Creating a custom sculpture award in bronze or pewter involves a detailed casting process that is very lengthy and labor-intensive. If you were only presenting one award the time frame shouldn’t be an issue, but if you wanted a dozen copies of that award you need to make sure you give the artisans enough time to create each copy individually.

4. Is this award about your organization or the recipient?

It’s entirely possible to design an award based around your company logo. For instance, the Monopoly World Championships award is modeled after the iconic Monopoly man. There is no way anyone could look at that award and not immediately think of the classic board game. Is that what you want your award to do? Or do you want your award to be more about the recipients themselves? The Elle Women in Hollywood award, for instance, doesn’t scream ELLE Magazine but it does emulate the grace and figure of a Hollywood star actress.

These are just four things you have to keep in mind when designing your custom award. When you’re working with a team of expert artisans the sky really is the limit, and sometimes the hardest part is actually corralling all of your ideas into one final product!