Case Study
Gay Times Honours Awards: Evolving Creativity Through Bespoke Acrylic Awards
Client: The Gay Times
Event: The Gay Times Honours
Manufactured by: Midton, Scotland
The Brief
The Gay Times Honours celebrates individuals and organisations making an impact across culture, entertainment and the LGBTQ+ community.
For Midton, the challenge has been to create a distinctive award each year that reflects the changing creative theme of the event, while maintaining a strong and recognisable identity.
The result is an ongoing collaboration that demonstrates how a consistent award form can evolve year after year through materials, print, texture and acrylic manufacturing techniques.
A Consistent Identity,
Reimagined Each Year
At the heart of the Gay Times Honours award is its distinctive square form.
Rather than completely redesigning the award each year, this recognisable shape provides a consistent foundation. Our design and production teams then explore different materials, finishes and manufacturing processes to interpret each year’s theme.
This approach gives every edition its own personality while ensuring the awards remain unmistakably part of the Gay Times Honours collection.
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2021: Establishing the Design
The 2021 award established the foundations of the collection. Using Midton’s acrylic embedment expertise, we created a clean, contemporary piece demonstrating the visual impact of simplicity.
The square format became the consistent feature connecting future editions of the award.
2022: Future Queer
For 2022, the theme was Future Queer,
providing an opportunity to push the design in a more futuristic direction.
A neon-inspired interpretation of the established square format was developed, incorporating a textured panel that interacted with light to create a striking, radiant effect.
Sustainability also played a role in the design. The award incorporated Remade, Midton’s recycled acrylic material, combining contemporary aesthetics with a more environmentally conscious material choice.
The result was an award that retained the identity of previous years while presenting it in an entirely new way.
2023: Queertopia
The 2023 theme, Queertopia, brought another creative evolution.
This time, the focus shifted towards vibrant printed graphics, combining AI-generated artwork with Midton’s specialist acrylic printing and manufacturing capabilities.
The graphics were transformed from digital artwork into a physical object, creating a colourful and expressive award that captured the playful, imaginative character of the Queertopia theme.
Innovation Through Manufacturing
One of the strengths of the Gay Times Honours project is the opportunity to demonstrate how different processes can completely transform a familiar form.
Across the collection, Midton has explored techniques including acrylic embedment, specialist printing, textured surfaces and recycled materials.
By changing the manufacturing process rather than abandoning the established design language, each award feels fresh while remaining connected to the wider Gay Times Honours identity.
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Creating Awards With a Lasting Identity
The Gay Times Honours collaboration demonstrates what is possible when creative design and specialist manufacturing work together.
Rather than producing a conventional trophy, the awards have developed into a recognisable collection, evolving with the event while maintaining the visual identity established from the beginning.
For Midton, it is exactly the type of project we enjoy: taking a creative idea and using our experience in cast acrylic, embedment, printing and bespoke manufacturing to turn it into something distinctive and memorable.
Looking for Something Different for Your Next Awards?
From one-off statement pieces to complete award collections, Midton works with brands, organisations and events to design and manufacture bespoke acrylic awards.
Have an idea in mind? Get in touch with our team and discover what we can create together.
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