WAVE Creative Communications Agency has won a prestigious Silver medal in the Graphic- Business Communications category at the Best Design Awards in Auckland on Saturday Night.

The award, for the Port of Tauranga Annual Report 2017, put the Mount Maunganui agency alongside the top designers in the country.

WAVE Managing Director Glenn Dougal says while the agency has been a finalist several times in the recent years, it was the first time they had won a Silver medal at the national industry design awards.

'It's something to be super proud of, for sure,” he says. 'Our team worked incredibly hard to create a report that really highlighted the strong alignment between the Port's activities and our local community.”

He says senior graphic designer Mike Plunkett was a key part of the win.

'While this is a win the whole team can celebrate, it's one that Mike should be particularly proud of,” says Glenn.

One of the main elements of the design was its simple and visually intriguing story told through a series of half pages throughout the report, using top-down images, one from the earth and one from the air.

'The visual intrigue of industrial and natural environments coming together created a unique graphic story-telling narrative which, we think, clinched us the win,” says Glenn.

Port of Tauranga CEO Mark Cairns says he is really delighted about WAVE's win.

'As clients, we see this win as confirmation of the great work we've long known WAVE creates. It's great to see a local team continuing to raise the bar for Tauranga, and being leaders in their field. This is obviously a value the Port of Tauranga shares.”

To see the design of the Port of Tauranga Annual Report for 2017 click here: