For a massive fifth year in a row Woods Creative Agency has been announced as a finalist in the Best New Zealand Design Awards.

The Mount Maungnui-based creative brand agency is a finalist in two categories for a paper dart display created for the Young Innovator Awards which was stationed at Bayfair during the school holidays.

Mount Maunganui's Woods Creative Agency has been announced as a finalist in two categories at this year's Best New Zealand Design Awards. Supplied Image.

Their display was judged one of the best in the country for ‘Environmental Graphics', as well as featuring in the newly created ‘Public Good' category.

Woods Creative director Reuben Woods says the agency wanted to create a display that would engage with children in a fun and interesting way to inspire the next generation of big thinkers and innovators.

'The act and the process of making a paper dart is a simple idea that transcends age and gender barriers,” says Reuben.

'You make a dart, if it doesn't fly you re-make it and come up with something else, and you continue that process until you create something that works. That quite simply is the process of innovation and coming up with an idea.”

Though they've been finalists in the Best New Zealand Design Awards for the past five years now, this is the first time Woods Creative has been nominated for its work on the Young Innovator Awards.

Reuben says their two nominations this year is hugely satisfying because the creative brand agency cofounded the Young Innovator Awards with Priority One seven years ago.

'To be rewarded for our work at a national level is really nice for my team because we put in so much time and effort into the Young Innovator Awards.

'The Young Innovator Awards truly is a group effort with Priority One and its Instep team which run the awards, and without their support and vision we wouldn't have had the chance to do the work in the first place.”

While it was stationed at Bayfair during the school, more than 2500 children visited the display over five days, resulting in a record number of entries to the Young Innovator Awards.

'It was exciting seeing that many children and their parents giving it a go, having fun with it and learning something worthwhile at the same time. It achieved our objective.

'The display's now going to be taken around schools in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato to help children develop their problem-solving skills which is brilliant,” says Reuben.

Established in the mid-1970's, the annual awards is an initiative of The Designers Institute of New Zealand and aims to showcase excellence in graphic, spatial, product and interactive design.

This year's awards are taking place at Auckland Viaduct Events Centre on October 14.