Awards Reflect Synthetic Paper's Capabilities

A panel of four judges has selected three designs for honours in Yupo Corporation America's fourth annual Wally Awards.

A panel of four judges has selected three designs for honours in Yupo Corporation America's fourth annual Wally Awards.

The winning entries were said by the judges to best illustrate creativity, originality and functionality in exploiting the attributes of Yupo synthetic paper.

The judges also nominated eight additional entries as semi-finalists in the designer's choice category.

The winner of the designer's choice award will be chosen by online voters and announced in March.

Martin Fiorillo, vice president of marketing and distribution sales at Yupo Corporation America, said: "It's incredible to see the range and quality of projects that come in each year.

Designers truly understand Yupo's unique attributes and are constantly pushing the boundaries with their creations." The three Wally Award winners were chosen from amongst numerous submissions ranging from brochures, labels and menus to posters, maps and watercolor paintings, said Yupo Corporation.

One of the three awards was given to Blueline Design for its Blueline Silkscreen self promotional piece.

To promote its capabilities to select prospective clients in the museum, design and architecture industries, the company used 3.5" x 11" Yupo Translucent sheets, printed on both sides with multiple types of silk screen inks allowing for various finishes.

Gate-folded to encompass an informational insert and enclosed in an A4 Baronial, the paper translucency is claimed to enable pertinent information available on the insert to pierce through.

The interplay amongst the finishes, colours and shapes, give a hint of what can be accomplished and yet it holds a mystery of what is really on the other side, said the award judges.

Yupo commented that in an industry that operates with increasingly advanced technology, using the old school technique of silkscreen printing on a modern and luxurious material can be rewarding for both the designer, printer and end-user.

Yupo added that its synthetic paper was chosen for its surface, which is said to be suitable for the screened inks and various finishes used in the piece.

Its translucency also allowed the employment of both surfaces in one side viewing.

Another award was presented to the architect and designer, Liming Rao, for his Drop Paper Bowl.

Conceptually, the bowl is intended to explore the relationship between paper as a material and as a vessel for liquid, said Yupo.

The smooth and organic form of the creation was inspired by the simplicity of droplets of rain on a flower petal.

The design takes on the challenge of allowing a paper product to hold water without using any other substances, said Yupo.

Since Yupo synthetic paper is claimed to be 100 per cent waterproof, it was a suitable material to meet the design and conceptual requirements of the project, added the company.

The third award was given to the Katalina Group for its Born Shoe catalogue.

The portfolio of imagery presented the Born Fall 2006 Footwear Collection and drew its inspiration from the design team's experiences shooting photography in Hood River and its surrounding area.

The team withstood nearly 30 consecutive days and nights of rain in the Pacific northwest of the USA.

To convey a sense of fog, rain and moss in the catalogue, the team chose to use Yupo Translucent synthetic paper, which the company said was an ideal material to showcase the handcrafted footwear, as its slightly grey tint and translucence are reminiscent of the design team's foggy journey, commented Yupo.

Winners of the 2006 Wally Awards receive a cash prize of US$1,000, in addition to a $500 gift certificate towards Punchstock photography and a customised Wally Award statue.

The winning entries are featured on the Yupo website.

The Wally Awards programme is open to all projects created on Yupo synthetic papers that have not been previously submitted.

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