Engraving: Not An Afterthought for Custom Awards
“We treat the engraving as a key element of the award.”
When commissioning a new custom award, the vast majority of our clients focus on the sculptural component of the award (including traditional cast sculptures, fabricated sculptures, and crystal/acrylic sculptures).
While the sculpture associated with the award is most often the “centerpiece” of the award, our account managers stress the importance of taking a holistic approach to the award design.
We treat the award engraving as a key element of the award as well. The approaches one can take with an award’s engraving can enhance and extend the following:
Creativity
Impact
Personalization
Design efficacy
If done thoughtfully, the engraving becomes, in effect, not an adjunct to the award, but a seamless part of the design “canvas” used to achieve the award’s desired effect.
Custom Award Engraving Example 1:
One example of this is the custom awards we created for the Wounded Warrior Project’s Carry Forward Awards.
These awards recognize passionate individuals who go above and beyond in their support for our nation’s wounded veterans in their communities, and embody the mission of WWP: to honor and empower wounded warriors. While the sculpture associated with these awards is impressive and appropriate to the communication and design objective (a sculpted backpack), the engraved bases of these awards also have a huge impact on their design:
Each side of the award’s base includes engravings symbolic to the Carry Forward Program.
The front of the base features the program logo, recipient name, and presentation year.
The back of the base features the WWP logo and credo statement: “Patriotism. Passion. Pride. I carry forward the mission to honor and empower wounded warriors.”
Each side of the base features word-art engravings arranged in a block of the WWP core values, including Honor, Duty, Commitment, Service, Country, Integrity, and Courage.
Custom Award Engraving Example 2:
In another example, one of our client’s made the engraving a focal point throughout a simple award. When words are the most important component of a tangible piece, engraving on a wood pillar can be a beautiful option.
Our client designed a “Brick of Love” for his wife, which stated the different promises he wanted to make to her throughout their life together.
The engraving on wood does not typically need a fill, which creates a unique look.
Our graphic design team can help to make sure the engraving is balanced and uses a font type that matches the theme of the piece and shows off the words.
As you start the design process of creating a new custom award, we would love to work with you to help make the engraving component of your award an integral and meaningful part of the design!