The reshaped ACE Awards have a new symbol: the puzzle piece. It’s more than just a new look for the awards as it represents the way great consulting works. We delve into the meaning behind the puzzle piece and talk to the specialists who have carefully crafted the trophies that our 2026 winners will take home.
This year’s ACE Awards have been reshaped to celebrate excellence across the breadth of consulting, and with that change comes a new symbol: the puzzle piece.
The idea behind it is simple.
“Consultants solve complex challenges, and rarely do that work alone,” says Hannah Bryce, ACE General Manager of Engagement. “Each person or team brings their own expertise, perspective and experience to the table. Those individual contributions matter, but it’s when they come together that the larger picture emerges.”
That makes the puzzle piece a fitting symbol for the ACE Awards. A single piece is distinctive and has its own place and purpose. Combined with others, it becomes part of something bigger.
“It also reflects four qualities at the heart of outstanding consulting: precision, collaboration, adaptability and integration.”
The idea has been carried right through to the physical award, with this year’s winners receiving a puzzle-shaped trophy handmade by Wellington creative production company Human Dynamo Workshop.
Crafted with specialist knowledge and precision manufacturing
The trophies are made from ceramic bisque, using a process that combines specialist ceramic knowledge with precision manufacturing. They are hollow slip-cast clay, which is dried and then fired in a kiln. Their bases are CNC-cut from a specialist tooling board chosen for its stability and machining qualities, before both parts are paint finished.
It is a repeatable process, but not a simple one.
Human Dynamo General Manager Max Uivel says specialist ceramicist Rob Uivel uses his knowledge of moulding and casting to create multi-part plaster moulds before casting the clay into them.
“It requires a great deal of skill to achieve successful and consistent results,” Max says.
One of the biggest challenges comes before the trophies even reach the kiln.
“Managing the drying process from the slip to the pre-fired stage is one of the trickiest parts of the process,” Max says. “The clay starts out soft and malleable and then needs to dry consistently to avoid any cracks opening up or warping of the form.”
It is a process where precision matters, which feels particularly appropriate for a trophy designed to recognise excellence in consulting.
Made by experienced hands at Human Dynamo Workshop
Human Dynamo Workshop works across a broad range of creative production, from large-scale art to props and set pieces for screen productions and industrial design. The workshop has been involved in The Lord of the Rings and Avatar productions, while Rob has also used his ceramic skills to make Player of the Match trophies for the Rugby Women’s World Cup.
For the ACE Awards, that craftsmanship has turned the puzzle piece from an idea into something tangible: an individual object representing an individual achievement, while also recognising that the best consulting happens as part of a much bigger picture.