Award showcases Diamond’s inhouse design and decorating capabilities, including cold foiling and embossing.

ROCHESTER, NY – Diamond Packaging today announced it won a coveted Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) American Inhouse Design Award™ in the Self Promotion category for its 2023 “Surf’s Up” corporate calendar, a popular item given to customers and prospects. It showcases the type of decorative effects that can cost-effectively elevate Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies' brands.

“We're thrilled with this award from GDUSA,” said Dennis Bacchetta, Diamond's director of marketing. “This recognition, along with the fantastic feedback received from recipients, affirms that we hit all the right notes in keeping the spirit of summer alive all year long!"

GDUSA’s American Inhouse Design Awards™ is the original and premier showcase for outstanding work by inhouse creatives and their departments. Now in its 60th year, the competition reflects the many and varied ways in which inhouse designers advance the mission of and build value for their companies, institutions, brands, products, services and causes. It also serves as powerful testimony that the inhouse value proposition — creative professionals with a deep and intimate knowledge of the institutional identity, culture and objectives perfectly positioned to deliver effective, authentic and trustworthy communications — is alive and well.

Reflecting the size and importance of Inhouse designers and departments, more than 6,000 entries were received overall this year — and a highly selective Top 10% have been selected as winners and presented with
a Certificate of Excellence.

Diamond's 2023 calendar pays tribute to surfing, a cultural phenomenon that brings together fun, sun, sand, surfboards, "woodie" station wagons, Volkswagen buses, and surf music. The self-promotional piece communicates the company’s high-end branding and sustainability initiatives while imparting unusual depth and distinction through creative design, material selection, and specialty effects.

The graphic and structural design simulate the appearance and shape of a vintage wooden fish surfboard. The header features a 1966 Volkswagen Type 2 Bus set against crashing waves and the California sunset.

The calendars were converted utilizing Clearwater ReMagine 30% PCR paperboard, cold foiled, and offset printed with four color process inks, in-line with UV matte, UV gloss, and DiamondTexture specialty coatings.

Tightly registered coatings were used to enhance the design and highlight the individual calendar components. UV matte coating was used on the sky, small surfboard, and wooden fish surfboard. UV gloss coating was used on VW bus to add contrast. UV textured specialty coating was applied to the sand to create haptic feedback.

Cold foil delivers shimmering metallic effects on the VW bus and Surf's Up 2023 and Diamond Packaging text. A holographic "wave pattern" cold foil adds more realism to the water.

Multi-level embossing lends distinction and depth to the design. Many of the header components were embossed, including the VW bus, surfboard, and text. The woodgrain of the vintage fish surfboard backer components were also embossed to add more depth and realism.

The calendar pages were converted utilizing Domtar Cougar Smooth 80# Text paper and offset printed with four color process inks and UV matte coating. The watermarks of different surf scenes take you away to your favorite beach. The retro typeface evokes a vintage vibe and takes you back to the 1960s and early 1970s. The unique finish and subtle colors complete the presentation and beautifully complement the design concept.

The recyclable shipper was converted utilizing Clearwater Candesce SBS paperboard laminated to E-flute corrugated fiberboard, and offset printed with four color process inks, in-line with and aqueous gloss coating. It is artfully decorated with a scene of crashing waves.

The calendar header and backer components were designed utilizing recyclable paperboard and manufactured using 100% clean, renewable wind energy, in a Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWL) and Carbon Neutral (Scope 1 and Scope 2) facility.