A fun way to make use of a caricature is to have it put on a Tshirt.  This make a great gift, or even something cool to wear yourself.

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I was asked to write a few words about how caricatures can be used in business. This is for a client who has a franchise service in the area of business mentoring and development – that is they have franchisees who each have a client list with whom they work.

This client has had a number of caricatures created over the years and saw the opportunity to value add to their franchisees service in an unusual way. We were happy to provide them with a discount as they will in effect be doing marketing on our behalf.

The role of caricatures in business

One of the strongest desires that humans have is the need to be noticed and recognised.

This starts early, with children keen to show of a newly acquired skill or having overcome some fear with peals of “Look at ME!”

Our culture reinforces the need for recognition all through school – many households will have a secret stash of participation certificates for everything from running in a race at school to attending some event.

Modern workplace human resource management now recognises that recognition and reward are amongst the most powerful tools to maintaining a positive and loyal workforce.

In business, reward and recognition provide wonderful opportunities to connect with others, to build or reinforce relationships with staff and to show a little flair!

You may like to recommend to your clients that caricatures can be used for:

Staff Awards
Recognise staff with an Employee of the Month. Quarter or Year award. We have several businesses who have a caricature created (including one in their third year). A copy of the caricature is presented, framed, to the winner and a smaller copy joins the honour board in the workplace. After a number of awards this honour board generate a life of its own!

Retirement gifts
The great aspect of a caricature is that it can include aspects of a person’s history with the company plus aspects of their life in retirement (or wherever they are going!) So suggest to your clients that they break out of the mold and create a fun and highly personalised gift that says, yes we took notice of what you were doing!

Special Achievement
Has someone in the client business done something extraordinary? Why now suggest they commemorate it with a caricature that denotes the achievement!

Member of staff gets married
Caricatures as wedding gifts are becoming very popular. Giving a fun caricature is a great way of recognition and the company logo can be subtly included (where’s Wally!)

Use on websites
Often due to privacy issues staff photos cannot be used on websites. But a caricature can be used to provide an icon of staff.

Corporate gift
What better way can be found to commemorate a deal than with a caricature that denotes all that has been done to get the signatures on paper, or to mark the signing event. Never mind gimmicky products that people tend not to use – why not a great caricature that will look great in any workplace!

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On occasions a caricature is not the right thing, but a portrait is more ideal.

Here is a portrait by Zalo based on an old photo.

The flag is an addition.

I’d be really interested to hear your comments

I am regularly asked for ideas for caricature gifts. When it is for a couple or group, my suggestion is normally to depict some aspect that is common to each person, that each will be able to recognise and appreciate the not only the artwork, but also the thought of the gift giver. Some time the gift giver is in the image, as in this example.

This was the brief given to caricature artist George :

The three of us – husband Rob, Wife Laura and Puppy Lacy in a black and Silver Ranger Bass Boat fishing on a wooded lake. The lake has dead trees and stumps coming out of the water and on one of the trees, there is a snagged light green frog lure dangling from a branch. In the back ground a Bass has jumped out of the water. Laura is wearing a light blue turquoise halter style tankini. Rob is wearing denim shorts and a white three button polo shirt (no Pocket) and lacy has a pink collar with a light purple heart shaped tag that reads LACY. Lacy’s bottom teeth are usually showing over her lip. The whole scene I have described is something my husband and I do almost every day in the summer, so pardon me if I’m being so detailed.

And the result:

The customer ordered a framed print and this was the response on receipt:

Hey Matt!

I LOVE IT!! It looks great!! Please tell George he is THE BEST!!!!! I wish you could both see the smile on my face!!

It has been a pleasure working with you both!

Thanks so much!!!

Laura

If you would like to get a wonderful caricature anniversary gift, please visit caricature artist George’s page

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Here is a recent job completed by caricature artist Zalo.

The client’s brief was:

Please make it a caricature of the photos not a portrait. The plan is to make it fun! The women in the photo likes to bowl, plays volleyball and softball. The man in the photo likes to trap shoot and works in the oil fields. They are both from western Kansas, USA and love watching Kansas Jayhawk college basketball. The caricature is a gift for their 30th Wedding Anniversary.

Did they like it? Here’s what they said:

Thank you for the wonderful caricature. My parents will love it. Zalo did a great job of interpreting the overall concept that I wanted through two digital photos and a few descriptive sentences. I would recommend Zalo to anyone who is looking for a high quality caricature. The customer service was great and the turn-around time was unbelievable. You all exceeded my expectations by a long shot. I’ll try to forward a photo of my parents with their caricature if at all possible for your website. Thanks again for a job well done. – Andrea Legleiter

If you’d like to turn an ordinary photo into a special gift and get a caricature drawn by Zalo, please visit Zalo’s page on our website