Working with people to create designs, I sometimes connect with customers that do not seem to understand why our products are priced the way they are.  This tells me that some people do not understand the value of what we are offering.  Here’s a quick example to think about.  When you go  to a store and look for a calendar, you may be able to buy one for as little as one dollar.  The reason you can do this is because the manufacturer of that calendar has mass produced the product hoping to sell enough copies of the same thing to recover the cost of their investment, and make a profit from the work.  This principle is at work for many kinds of different products.  A person creates a single product line, then replicates sales to customers as many times as possible.  What makes our work special is that we provide a single unique custom product design for each of our customers.  You do not have to search forever through endless templates to plug your photos into, nor a generic calendar designed to add your photos.   With our digital matting, calendars, awards, plaques, greetings, and other designs, we start with your naked photos, then build the product we will sell to you from scratch.  In general, this is done for $3 per image, which is about the same price you pay to print a copy of your picture in a discount store.  We think that giving you a truly custom design may turn out to be crazy on our part, but for now, we are offering this exceptional value to give you a chance to see what a difference our service can make in giving you greater enjoyment from your digital pictures and the way you display them. 

Most of the postings on this site are made up from my own photos as a way to give you an idea of some product possibilities rather than providing a strict template for how your work will be completed.  As we move forward, we may find that our approach needs to change, and shift our focus toward mass sales of replicated designs.  So, what is so special about our work?  The answer is the truly unique approach we use in custom designs from your photos.  You are invited to give this special service a try.  I think you will be glad you did.

One of the most under utilized areas for business improvement lies in the way companies recognize the accomplishments of employees.  In fact, employee recognition is an important part of morale building, encouraging achievement, and building productivity among workers.  There are many ways to recognize employee contributions through salary increases, promotion, and programs, but these methods can be costly when compared to the good old-fashioned concept of sincere praise and presentation.

Many companies use prints of homemade recognition certificates signed by a director, supervisor, or company officer to acknowledge a superior project achievement, productivity, product development, years of service, and other occasions worthy of note.  Unfortunately, the quality of these moments is diminished by the lack of care given to creating the means of recognition, and the impact is lost after the award is presented.  Awards of this kind do not give an employee something to cherish for a job well done, because the inferior quality speaks volumes about how little regard the accomplishment has been given by the company.  A poorly designed recognition certificate is no better than writing “Thanks!” with a signature on a dirty napkin. Poorly designed recognition awards will most likely wind up meeting the same fate as a pile of dirty napkins. 

With the quality of an award being just as important as the content, one might question how a cost-effective alternative can be made available to meet the requirement to improve end results.  One solution I found on a number of different levels was in creating digital award products.  Digital certificates or awards provide the ability to raise the quality of the visual image, whether awarded electronically, or issued in print form.  Digital awards provide the benefit of making compositions look richer, last longer, and provide a higher value of image for employees to share with others in showing off their accomplishments. 

Since starting my digital award designs, the feedback I have received from recipients has been consistently positive.  One person told me the award I made for them was more impressive than the one she received from the company she worked for in recognition of 10 years service.  In another instance, I made a joke award for a friend of mine that she printed and put up in her cubical at work.  She reported that she still gets people coming by to congratulate her for receiving such a nice award. 

The point to all this is that there is a hidden gold mine of employee appreciation waiting for companies that take the time to pay attention to detail when it comes to praising employees.  This benefit does not require a high cost investment to achieve.  Good digital award designs can cost the same or less than those homemade PC certificates, but have an impact that gives an employee the impression that they have truly been noticed.

Digital Awards

Reward employees with something they will cherish.

If you are looking to recognize your employees, give them an award that they will long appreciate.  This post utilizes my calendar design in creating a sample employee of the month award.  I can work with company logos, variable text, and other aspects of design to make the award special.  I have been in contact with companies considering using a digital picture frame for posting and awarding recognition to their employees.  Electronic awards can also be useful in showing others an array of personal achievements.

Digital Award Calendars

Award calendars provide rich format for rewarding achievements.

Continuing in a tradition of awarding excellence in service, here is an award I presented to my favorite server at the local Applebee’s restaurant.  This picture shows what the award might look like in a digital picture frame.  Congratulations to our friend at Applebee’s. 

Digital Awards

The Matte Watch  weekly photo contest makes it easy to enter and win beautiful awards and other prizes based on visitor participation.  Why have a contest every week even when nobody enters?  I want the door open to everyone for a chance to win.  Competing for a prize may be an encouraging start for you to showcase your photographic talents, and have something to show for your effort.

For the rest of the year, weekly contests are open to all family friendly themes.  Free to enter, and free to win.  We will even showcase your winning photos on our site  for a time if you wish.  

Weekly Photo Contest

First, second, and third place digital prizes available each week of participation.

It is often said that good customer service is a thing of the past.  Though it does seem that people are more hurried and less interested in providing quality customer service experience these days, there are those who still possess a natural talent for pleasing others even when they may not be aware of these talents.  Business managers are not always able to train staff properly in the art of genuinely making customers feel comfortable, so when they get feedback from people directly, it is a golden opportunity to improve the way they do business.  As a consumer, one way to recognize and provide direct feedback is by offering individuals unexpected rewards like the award shown below.  For me, this has proven to be a nice gesture and a way to ensure continued effort to provide good service in the establishments where I have taken the time to respond.  These awards can be delivered electronically, or framed and awarded directly to those who deserve recognition.  These also make nice additions to the resume of your favorite people.

Digital Customer Service Award

Recognize good service with an award from Matte Watch.

In this selection, the perspective and smoky bubble lens effects give this photo a certain “other worldly” quality that I liked about it.  The multi purpose template design allows you to create various treatments of the picture, including calendar, inspiration, greeting card, or even an award design just by adding text and saving a copy.  For a closer look in higher resolution, click on the image.

Multi Purpose Template

Happy July 4th to all Americans who celebrate our independence.  I am creating this award design to demonstrate how my multi purpose templates can be used to create a vivid award for a deserving person.  Whether you make your award for a company or just a close friend, the results can bring a smile of appreciation to somebody who needs to be recognized.  Do you have someone in mind?

Digital Awards

With our matting designs, you can create your own awards.

Continuing in my desire to recognize memorable volkswalks sponsored by the American Volkssport Association, the next commemorative award highlights the Oklahoma City Capital Walk.  When I visited Oklahoma City, the walk included a visit to the Oklahoma City Memorial honoring those who died in the bombing that happened years back.  The area is a beautiful and quiet place which is worth seeing.  If you would like to know more about AVA activities, visit http://www.ava.org for more information about how to participate in these non-competitive activities.  Happy walking.

Volkswalk Award

Oklahoma City has interesting sights worth seeing.

One attractive aspect of American Volkssport Association sponsored events are the awards offered by clubs to encourage event participation.  These awards often take the form of patches, trinkets, pins, and other types of small reminders that add up quickly.  In fact, for those who love these awards as I do, the volume of patches and objects can soon add up to such a large quantity, it is hard to find ways to display them all.  Looking for ways to be rewarded and avoid the clutter, I came up with the idea of virtual awards like the ones I have been showcasing on this site.  The virtual awards allow walkers to earn the recognition, collect memories from many different event locations, and store hundreds of different award designs without taking up more space than a CD, sandisk, or flash drive can store.  There are also a large variety of ways these images can be displayed via prints, digital photo frames, computer screen wallpapers, slide-shows, screen savers, and image viewers.  It is like having all the benefits, and none of the wear and tear found with conventional awards.  Of course, this recognition still has to be earned in order to be legitimately received, but it is an ongoing way for walkers who love awards to keep getting recognition without the clutter. 

If you are a club leader or a walker who likes awards, but have no more room to store them, consider the virtual option to keep incentives alive, and have something inexpensive and memorable to offer your local achievers. 

The next award was designed to recognize another nice self-guided walk in Austin, Texas.  For more information about the AVA, visit http://www.ava.org and get started seeing what this wonderful activity has to offer.  To see a higher resolution version of the award, click on the image.

Fairview Park Austin Texas

All the recognition without the clutter. Check out the advantages of virtual awards.