To consider the quality of digital awards, look at the two examples included in the pictures below.

Sample Award #1.

Sample Award #2

One of the awards shown above was produced from a scanned copy of an actual award issued to John Dir in 1991.  The other sample award is a moderately simple award which reflects what can be created using digital techniques. Take a moment to decide which image appeals to you most, or which one you would most like to receive yourself in recognition for 5 years of service. 

If you picked the image with the white background as your favorite, then you will most likely be happy with a poor quality “rubber stamp” certificate.  If you chose the image with the most color, you may be starting to get the idea of what digitally matted awards can offer, and you will be thinking like all the rest of the people we polled. 

Looking closer at the two images, the scanned award also has a few other negatives that are not present in the digital offering.  Since John is the recipient of the award, it would probably be a good idea not to insult him with a microscopic inclusion of his name that is far smaller than the surrounding print.  After five years of hard work, it would be far more appropriate to present an award that provides the courtesy of using a uniform print font, and name accents that make the recipient feel like someone is actually offering appreciation for the services rendered.  Since both awards could be produced at the same cost, the attention to detail makes the improvements that much more important.  In fact, the digital rendering could be put together in a way that actually costs less than printing a large quantity of the “fill in the blank” paper based award format. 

As in this example, we can take scanned copies of lack luster awards and turn them into digital gems, or create awards from scratch.  Either way, you will get a product that is more than “good enough for government work.”

This week’s ideas on display show some interesting variations on matting and presentation techniques in the three screen wallpapers shown.  In this realm of digital designs, a wide scope of possibilities are available using a little imagination and some input from our friends.

The first image is a possible award offering for some of the many Toastmaster International Clubs which help speakers raise their listening and speaking skills.  Having looked into club activities, it seems that more could be done to enhance recognition as a nice incentive for keeping members engaged and motivated.  Historical issues with doing this have been the lack of funds necessary for providing such rewards.  Using digital awards provides a classy way to fill the gap in offering much needed encouragement.  We can provide awards, templates, and ideas that can be presented electronically or in print at very low cost.  If your club is looking for new ways to recognize member efforts,  send us an email.  We can design a program specifically for your needs. 

One sample of speaker recognition possible with virtual awards.

Spring has arrived, and with it, the season yields some nice photos that can be used for digital picture frame display, wallpapers, calendars and prints.  The next image is our favorite spring treatment for this week, taken in Overland Park, Kansas.

Subtle matting highlights punch up the richness of this early Spring shot

The final offering is a calendar wallpaper design for next month, with two seasonal photos to accent early season highlights.

Nothing like seasonal photos to make calendar pages dance with color.

Come back for more of our offerings and ideas in the weeks to come.  If you would like to use any of our images, just donate $3 per image used, or let us put together some ideas from your own photographic talents.  Send us an email with your comments or suggestions to:

jdir@bhotechnologists.com

We invite you to comment directly on our blog entries as well.  We moderate all article comments, so do not bother entering spam or non-relevant information as article comments.

The report for this week takes us to a number of different locations, using a variety of techniques.  The first offering is another comical award spoof which provides a potential solution that may cause a lot of computer screens to be smudged with fingerprints, even if the award itself does not solve any problems.  I know I have tried the reset button several times myself.

This award might be what we need.

My screen wallpaper, and matted photograph for the week is a familiar scene to people who live in Kansas City, Missouri.  Though this area is generally not a good place to visit, we got this shot without experiencing any of the problems reputed to be prevalent in the area. We liked the rusty sunset colors on this Fall day.

Sunset on the scout.

The calendar design for the week takes a page from April’s fare, with a photograph of a downtown church in Oklahoma City.  The page includes some events for the upcoming month. The colors in the design were drawn from the photograph in both the matting and calendar background.

April calendar page with graded accents

As always, if you would like to contribute to our work for the images you use by donating $3 per image, or would like us to produce images from your favorite photos for $3 per item, send us an email telling us about your needs, and we will be glad to help.  Don’t just print your photos, make them shine with beautiful digital matting designs from Matte Watch.

It seems that time flies when you are having fun, and this week has passed quickly.  Continuing with more favorites this week, we have another award, a photo wallpaper, and a calendar favorite to show you.

First, the award we had the most fun with this week was posted to one of the local television web sites to honor news personality, Loren Halifax.  The station posted the picture, and gave us a good chuckle.

This digital award speaks for itself.

Our next winning wallpaper is another nice fall selection that gives an idea how bold colors and textures can help dress up a photo with Mother Nature as the featured painter. This photo was taken during Fall on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, and was previously posted as a weather photo on another local television station.

Another way to enjoy fall colors.

The third item is a unique calendar page design, with a photo taken of a familiar pair of buildings on Metcalf in Overland Park.  We liked this “all metallic” digital design, and the way it is complimented by the reflecting image in the photograph. 

Matted photos inspire lots of great calendar ideas

If you like the work we present, give us a try for your own creative works.  Whether it is a calendar page, screen wallpaper, matted photo, or digital award, we can put together something interesting for you for just $3 a page.  Also let us know if you are interested in receiving any of the digital picture frame versions of any wallpapers we present.  Feel free to drop us an email if you have questions or want more information about something you have in mind.  If you want to use the things we post, donate $3 per item for the images you use, and download it from the site.  Thanks for stopping by, and tell a friend about us!

From the information received this month, there are a few items that are becoming popular with people giving us feedback on our work with digitally formatted images.  The idea of attention getting award compositions with a humorous twist continues to remain in the spotlight.  These award composites are visually interesting enough to draw people closer to read, and then provide a wry humor in the punch line.  Check out this screen wallpaper award that has circulated through several different locations.

Comedic awards look like the real thing, but offer the unexpected.

A second item favorite for the month is another photo and matte composition that was used as a screen wallpaper.  The picture is a nice combination of fall colors and textured highlights that compliment the photo.  This item would also work well in a digital picture frame if it were delivered in a purely matted photo format without the faux frame and wall background highlights.

Nice composition used as screen wallpaper, with interesting fall colors and textured highlights.

These items are just two in a wide variety of possibilities for what can come from the flexibility of digital creations.  As time progresses, we will continue to share items of interest with our audience, and invite you to participate by purchasing some of these low priced, high impact images for yourself. Working from your own basic photos and requests, we can deliver unmatched quality for the pricing we have to offer.  Can we help to bring some of your ideas to life?