A Queenstown graphic designer, who beat the odds to win a gold medal in New Zealand’s showpiece printing industry awards at the first time of asking, says she wouldn’t have made it there if she had listened to the misguided advice of a misinformed printer.
Last year, Alyssandra Skerrett heard her name read out from the stage before an audience of around 700 guests the Pride In Print Awards Dinner at the Sky City Convention Centre in Auckland last year.
Alyssandre Skerrett ignored misinformed opinion to win at Pride In Print
Skerrett had wanted to enter Pride In Print for years. After carving a niche for herself with her hand-made and hand-drawn stationery for what was billed “The First Gay and Lesbian Wedding in New Zealand” ceremony in Rotorua, organised as part of a promotion with The Edge radio station, she received encouragement to give it a go from Fuji Xerox Southland representative Patrick Crosby.
However, through a friend, she met a printer who told her she would be wasting her time. He said she would be, “lucky to get past the initial round as the pieces that win have really big budgets.”
Skerrett says, “He explained the judges initially walk through and bin those pieces not up to entry standards. The next three levels of judging have fewer and fewer judges and more difficulty. The last round has complete secrecy until the names are called on the night.”
She offered to show him her entry but he showed no interest. She says, “He was sorry to burst my bubble as I would not get a placing of any sort as it is the big printers and advertisers.”
Sue Archibald, awards manager for Pride In Print
Skerrett stuck to her guns and entered the competition. She attended the Awards Dinner with her husband Warren just to see the spectacle. She says, “I explained to Warren I wasn’t getting anything. We went Wow with the visual show. I was inspired to see so many amazing pieces and I imagined all the work that must have gone into each piece. When my name was called, I was absolutely astonished and astounded. I was stunned and couldn’t believe it; my photo definitely reflects how stunned I was.”
Sue Archibald, manager of the Pride In Print Awards, says Skerrett’s success delivers a Tui’s “Yeah, right” response to the negative misinformation, which some people attribute to the country’s premier print event. It also gives an opportunity to highlight the fact that the Pride In Print Awards treat big and small entrants equally. She says, “I think what is good is that Alyssandra still pursued her dream. She did not let the negative comments get her down.”
Archiblad puts the record straight on the way the Awards treats each entry. She says, “No entries get binned on a walk through and there’s no such thing as the initial round. The judges look at and talk through each piece that is entered and judge it on its own merits, not comparing it with everybody else’s.
“The selection process gradually narrows down the choices to the best of the best. Judges are not told who the entry is from, so have no knowledge if the entrant is a big company or small. Alyssandra’s success shows that the small personal design company can compete with the best. That is the essence of Pride In Print.”
Archibald points out that small companies have taken out the last three Pride In Print supreme awards: Logick Print & Graphics, Arria Design Group, and GTO Printers. She says, “So it is definitely not just for big companies and advertisers to win big. Anyone can win if they are good enough.”
Skerrett hopes her story will encourage small companies who dream of winning big at Pride In Print. Large companies’ entries do no gain a passport for receiving top recognition from the judges. All receive equal treatment.
She concludes, “The Pride in Print Awards have reminded me to stay positive, be grateful, be inspired, and push ideas to something even better; something original and special.”
For further information, contact Sue Archibald on 021 663-881 and email sue@promoteltd.co.nz. To visit the Pride and Print Awards web site, click here
