From the artic depths of Cotswold January snow to the dizzy heights of London February Show time, 2010 brings new sustainable and colourful award designs to be showcased at the Confex Show on 23-35th February, Stand R310.

In this newsletter we take a look at some recent events, including an insight into how to reward teenagers and the aspirations of the cruise line industry, and introduce you to new members of the team, here at Special EFX.

If you would like to find out more, drop us an email, give us a call on 01789 450005 or alternatively visit our website.

The London Olympic Games 2012 are gathering momentum, and the anticipation, of what will be the biggest and most prestigious sporting event the UK has ever hosted, is beginning to build.  Becoming an Olympic champion is the ultimate accolade: the reward for exceptional dedication and effort, and will undoubtedly provide the theme for many organisations' incentive and motivation schemes over the coming few years.  Recognising this, Special EFX is introducing the Podium Collection: its own unique collection of inspiring awards, designed to reflect the Olympic theme.

The EFX Podium awards comprise an imposing plinth, made from turned, sustainable wood, which bears one of three alternative symbols: a stylised flame, star or medallion, available in various finishes including gold, silver and bronze, with prices starting at £75 each.  Each award can be inscribed, and is available in three heights: 15cms, 20cms or 25cms.  For additional customisation, customers can replace the symbols with their own logo.

The travel industry knows how to party, and an important highlight of the year for independent travel agents is the UK Cruise Awards, organised by the Carnival UK.  Encompassing the leading brands in the cruise world of P&O, Cunard, Ocean Village and Princes Cruises, the awards are highly coveted.

Having established such as a successful event, Carnival UK knows it is imperative that the trophies themselves are perceived as suitably prestigious and worthy of putting on display in the winning travel agents, up and down the country.  Design and quality are therefore absolutely crucial, and so for the past five years the Events team has turned to Special EFX to custom make the awards.

This year an innovative technique was employed, which applies a clear acrylic layer to the polished aluminium plaque and encapsulates the graphics: the resulting quality is amazingly sharp.  The awards were also designed to be both free-standing and suitable for hanging on the wall, following feedback from travel agents.

Liz Scott, Event Manager at Carnival, appreciates the professional approach and personal service she receives from EFX: "We have a great working relationship with Melanie (Osborne) and her team and have always found they go the extra mile to give us exactly what we want". 

www.pocruises.com
www.cunard.com
www.princesscruises.com
www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk

When business is tough and budgets are tight, Special EFX understands that making every penny count is important.  The new laminated acrylic collection does exactly that.  Full colour, sharp graphics are the big attraction, but these awards are also substantial to hold too: all in all creating a great impression for typically under £80 for an A5 sized trophy.

Awards have never looked so colourful.  Made from acrylic and up to 30mm thick, there are no limits when it comes to customising the graphics.  All that is required is a high resolution, digital image - it is simple and so effective, and for an additional decorative feature the option of coloured backgrounds creates a chic profile too.

Liz (Pike) started work for Special EFX on a casual basis back in 2000 - packing giftware on the twilight shift in the run-up to Christmas.

At the time, she had recently graduated in graphic design and was contemplating how to fund her passion for attending live music gigs around the country on her motorbike.  Her Mum obviously had a vested interest when she mentioned that she regularly delivered industrial supplies to a company, EFX, near Stratford, which was heaving with work, and might need some help...

Patience is obviously one of Liz's virtues as she diligently worked in the despatch area until 2008, when she was asked to join the design studio as a trainee.  At last, the chance to apply her graphic design degree and use her creative skills!

Now a fully trained Designer, Liz loves the fact that each day is different.  With over ten thousand bespoke designs a year going through the design studio and all the inscription artwork for the off-the-peg awards, Liz is kept busy.  She is currently involved in designing awards, preparing customer approved artwork for the laser engraving department, ensuring the efficient processing of jobs through the studio and keeping a photographic library of each job completed.

Her most recent project was co-ordinating the Gramophone awards from initial drawings through to prototype, casting in bronze and printing the inscriptions - a job she found particularly satisfying as she saw it through from beginning to end.  And her favourite design? Well, the recent GRAFTAS, Green Awards for Terrific Achievers, gets her vote for its simple but striking design with delicate print detail.

The brief was simple, but daunting...it contained the word 'teenager' in it!   What will impress a teenage, would-be pop group, when they've just won a much coveted battle of the bands competition, performed live at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh and have one thousand screaming kids in the audience? 

And, just to pile on the pressure, the customer approached Special EFX because they had been so delighted with an award they had previously won themselves and wanted to use the same company.

Young Scot is a national youth and citizenship charity helping youngsters to make the most of their lives, and acclaimed throughout Scotland.  To mark the 20th anniversary of the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child and as part of Scotland's Homecoming celebrations, the charity co-sponsored The Sounds Right national band competition and hosted a huge party on 26 November 09.

The acrylic trophies for the winning band and runner-up were bold, tactile, robust and worthy of the effort the youngsters put into the competition.

And were Void, the winning band, impressed? Graeme Park, Communications Officer at Young Scot gave the thumbs up: "The presentation was brilliant - they were obviously bowled over with the trophy".

That's cool then!

www.youngscotsoundsright.org