Aligning Award Design and Materials with Corporate Values and Meaning

As soon as an employee or other recipient receives an award, their brain begins processing it. Before they even read the engraved inscription, visual and tactile cues are being processed. They feel the award’s weight, see how it catches and reflects light, and subconsciously process the award’s texture. This is why aligning award design and materials with your corporate values is important.

Choosing corporate recognition awards sometimes comes down to logistics. You want to find the right size that fits a specific budget. But in today’s forward-thinking organizations, it’s important to view awards through a strategic lens. The materials you choose to honor an achievement should be a direct reflection of your corporate values and your organization.

When you align the award design with deeper meaning, it becomes more than a token of appreciation. It becomes a tangible representation of your culture. Let’s look at how award design and materials can communicate corporate values.

How Award Design and Materials Align With Corporate Values

1.     Optic Crystal: Clarity, Precision, and Flawless Execution

Optic crystal is lead-free and created under extreme pressure so that it’s free from distortions, flaws, or bubbles. It is the clearest award material you’ll find in the industry. Here’s how an optic crystal award aligns with culture:

• Symbolic meaning of optic crystal awards: Precision, transparency, and uncompromising excellence.
• Cultural alignment: Optic crystal is a perfect match for milestones that are based on accuracy and high performance. It matches a corporate culture that values integrity, clear communication, and flawless performance.
• Best suited for: Lifetime achievement recognition, executive leadership transitions, or major sales/financial milestones.

2.     Art Glass: Individuality, Innovation, and Fluid Growth

Art glass awards are defined by vibrant colors, fluid movement, and organic shapes. It varies from the structured lines of crystal awards. Each art glass award is individually crafted, so no two awards are exactly the same. Here is how an art glass award aligns with company culture:

• Art Glass symbolic meaning: Creativity, adaptation, unique perspective, and dynamic energy.
• Cultural alignment: Art glass awards align well with organizations that celebrate entrepreneurial spirit, out-of-the-box thinking, and disruption. It communicates to recipients that their specific contribution helped shape the company’s evolution.
• Best suited for: Creative departments, recognizing teams that navigate major pivots, breakthrough innovation awards, and diversity & inclusion initiatives.

3.     Mixed Media (Wood and Metal or Acrylic): Stability, Modernization, and Synergy

Mixed media awards include combining the natural warmth of premium wood with sleek metal or versatile acrylic to create striking contrasts. Mixed media awards align with company culture in many ways.

• Symbolic meaning of mixed media: Structural integrity, grounded longevity, and collaboration.
• Cultural alignment: Mixed media awards reflect a culture that respects its foundation, while it is also building toward the future. Joining two different elements symbolizes synergy and demonstrates how separate teams or ideas can work together to create something beautiful and strong.
• Best suited for: Cross-functional project completions, recognizing individuals who anchor the company’s culture, and team-building successes.

Making the Most of Shape and Weight

You want to consider more than award material. The heft and physical geometry of an award also carry deep psychological meanings. In fact, some research suggests that heavier objects are perceived as more important and valuable. This is known as the “tactile premium.”

How does this work, logistically?

• Geometric Shapes: Whether the award features pyramids, columns, or obelisks, the sharp, soaring lines communicate reaching the pinnacle of success, upward trajectory, and structure. Geometric awards are perfect for celebrating strategic growth and data-driven metrics.
• Organic Shapes: Awards featuring flames, waves, or stars create energy and symbolize personal growth, inspiration, and mentorship. They can be used to celebrate the human elements of your workforce, such as passion, leadership, and community impact.

Creating a Tangible Culture

An organization’s core values shouldn’t just be a line or two in an employee handbook or on a plaque in the boardroom. If you want them to really connect, they need to be breathed, celebrated, and alive.

The next time you are reviewing your recognition program or annual event, step away from the simple logistics of your awards. Look at the actual design and ask yourself if the physical piece actually looks or feels like the achievement you are celebrating.

Suburban Custom Awards Bridges the Gap

At Suburban Custom Awards, we specialize in bridging this gap. We provide decades of expertise and experience. We are dedicated to partnering with organizations to help them match award styles, types, and materials with the sentiment they want to convey. Our expert team also helps tailor messages and engravings to perfectly express your gratitude and celebrate recipients for their contributions. We ensure your corporate identity is felt the moment the award changes hands.

Give us a call today and let us help you reinforce your corporate values and culture at your next awards ceremony or event.