A distinguished panel of five judges has selected three designs for top honors in Yupo Corporation America’s fifth annual “Wally Awards.”  The three Wally Award winners were chosen from over 120 submissions of projects created on YUPO ranging from brochures, labels and menus to posters, maps and watercolor paintings. The winners include a menu cover, brochure, and guidebook which best showcased the unique attributes of YUPO^® synthetic paper and exemplified creativity, originality, and functionality. The winning entries are also featured on yca.yupo.com and wallyawards.com.

“The judges really had their work cut out for them this year,” says Martin Fiorillo, Vice President, Marketing and Distribution Sales, Yupo Corporation America. “We had twice the number of entries than we did last year and that many more outstanding designs.”

Winners of the 2007 Wally Awards will recieve a cash prize of US$1,000 and a customized Wally Award statue.

Menu Covers

One of the Wally Awards was given to Sandra Schler of AJ Images, Inc. for Series of Coordinated Menu Covers. The company’s client, a new, high-end restaurant, wanted to produce a series of individual menu covers for lunch, brunch, dinner, dessert, lounge, cocktails, and the check presentation folder. The designer was tasked with creating covers that were elegant yet substantial in weight and durable enough to withstand constant handling. 

YUPO synthetic paper cover stock (Grade FIG350) was chosen for its tear and stain resistant qualities, which make it perfect for a food and beverage environment. It’s smooth, bright white surface allowed the beautiful photography to stand out. The restaurant owners also have the flexibility to change the menus regularly without having to replace the entire piece. Interior cover die-cuts create a place hold for the printed menu which can be inserted and changed as quickly as it takes to print on a home printer.

Brochure

Another Wally Award was presented to Frank Aresta of Master Printing for Perry Street Development Brochure. The brochure was designed to capture the essence and modern design of a new residential condominium building in New York City’s trendy West Village. The building’s high-performance glass façade allows home owners to experience the varying degrees of daylight, while offering protection and privacy from the outside world.

YUPO translucent sheets were chosen for the brochure to imitate the building’s surreal structure and illustrate how it looks at different times of the day. Each page displays one image of a different room and the features offered. With images located in different corners of each page, the reader is naturally drawn to subsequent pages as the translucent gives a hint of what’s to come. The back cover comes together in a final full-page design with four images piercing through the translucent paper. The combination of high-quality images, absence of text and interplay with the translucent paper creates an originally stunning brochure. 

Guidebook

The third Wally Award was given to The Battery Conservancy for its Gardens of Remembrance: A Garden Guide. Designed and produced by The Battery Conservancy and Patricia Frank Sher of Frank Design, the guidebook features over 50 pages showcasing the brilliance of the Gardens of Remembrance, located at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, New York in Battery Park.

Over 240 striking images of the garden fill the guidebook, along with an illustrated index of the 113 plants located throughout the park, including information on moisture, sunlight and growing zones. Not only does the guide take readers on a visual tour of the park, it also provides useful information to help readers with their own garden creations. In addition, the book highlights the significance of perennials and native plant gardening and contains the original 18 hand-drawn garden plans by Piet Oudolf, the world-renowned naturalist Dutch architect commissioned to develop the horticultural Master Plan for the Battery’s landscape. 

To make certain the guidebook was as timeless as the park’s perennials, the Conservancy chose to create it using YUPO cover stock. YUPO enables the guidebook to be used in the garden, year after year, without fear of moisture or soil affecting it.

Interested in participating in the 2008 Wally Awards? Please review the entry information below and/or visit the official site at wallyawards.com.