Local business owner wins awards for graphic design in recent

Darren Crays, owner of Designing Edge Graphics, 708 E. 10th St., won two American Advertising Federation (ADDY) awards during the organization's annual district design contest two months ago in Joplin.

During the event, Crays won two Silver ADDY awards; one for a color dust jacket designed for an autobiography of cowboy Bob Fudge republished by Diann and Raymond Tucker of Fort Scott, and another for a color sales brochure designed for Twister Trailer, a local business that manufactures custom aluminum horse trailers.

Three levels of ADDY awards are presented during the event; gold, silver and bronze, Crays said.

The ADDY awards contest features design work from professionals in the area that is judged by a select panel of people representing the design and advertising field.

Crays, who attended the event for the fourth year, said there were several hundred entries in the contest submitted by design professionals, businesses and firms in the four-state area. Crays said he submitted three items into the contest -- the two award-winning projects and a logo and other advertising materials for a Baptist church in Coffeyville, Kan.

Crays, a Fort Scott native, has owned and operated his design business since 2002. He graduated from Fort Scott Community College in 1988 and graduated from Labette Community College's commercial art program in 1990. At that time, he joined a Parsons, Kan.-based media advertising agency. In 1992, he began a 10-year stint working for Sekan Printing Company in Fort Scott.

It was then that Crays decided to pursue his life-long dream of operating his own design business.

"My last two years at Sekan, it started tugging on me pretty hard," he said. "I was not doing much design work there. I was more of a computer nerd, more of an IT guy. That's not the route I wanted to go."

The time it takes to complete a particular graphic design project varies, Crays said.

"From top to bottom, it takes possibly a month on a big piece," he said. "Smaller jobs are quicker."

Crays said his job requires him to complete several different responsibilities ranging from customer service to the actual design of a project. However, once a project is completed, Crays said all of his work becomes worthwhile.

"It's wide because I have to wear so many hats," he said. "From getting to create the artwork, working with people, and going through the process. And seeing that finished product they're really happy with, knowing that they'll be using the product to promote their business. It's pretty gratifying."

Crays provides design for all types of print media and advertising, and also offers other services including commercial photography, photo restoration, printing, business signs, and graphics for different types of vehicles and trailers.