Start with the Story

Why Every Great Deal Toy Begins with One Simple Question

At Polaris Custom Awards, we design custom deal toys, financial tombstones, and closing gifts that don’t just mark a transaction — they commemorate it.

We work with investment bankers, private equity teams, law firms, and commercial real estate advisors across industries and time zones. Some clients come to us with clear specs. Others just know they need “something nice.” Either way, we’ve learned one thing:

The best designs don’t start with specs.
They start with a story.

The First Question We Always Ask

Before we talk budget or quantity, we ask:

“Can you tell me a little about the deal?”

That simple prompt unlocks everything. It reveals the spirit, the strategy, and the people behind the transaction — which helps us design something that feels personal and right.

If the client says, “It’s a biotech deal — the company develops gene therapy,” we explore scientific themes, layered materials, and etched visuals tied to innovation.

If it’s a commercial real estate closing, and they share property photos? We might propose:

• A sleek acrylic block with a photo-printed backdrop

• A custom-cut Lucite shape based on the building

• A 3D model capturing the property’s scale and style
  

No matter the story, our goal is the same:

Translate it into a tangible symbol that’s worthy of the deal.

The Heart of the Matter

Of course we ask about quantity, timeline, and shipping — and we’ll provide a clear, all-in quote with no surprise costs. Being transparent with those details is essential, but those are logistics.

The heart of the piece comes from the story.

Because when the design is rooted in what the deal represents, it’s not just a deal toy — it’s a lasting reminder of a win that mattered.

Coming up in Part 2: “From Idea to Icon — Designing with Meaning”
We’ll walk through how Polaris helps clients shape vision into visuals and how this creative approach works for commemorating milestones in a broad range of industries, from pharma to real estate to private equity.