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2022 DBA Design Effectiveness Award winners revealed
We’re delighted to have announced the 24 Bronze, Silver and Gold winners in the 2022 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, along with the coveted Grand Prix. The winners’ announcement was held live online on Thursday 30 June and celebrated the wide-ranging impact of design on businesses from across the world.
Congratulations to all of the winners.
Spanning work for global companies and government departments, to start-up challenger brands and charities, the winners prove the value of design in creating positive change.
Says DBA Chief Executive, Deborah Dawton: “The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards bring to life design’s ability to deliver competitive advantage for businesses, setting them apart in increasingly complex and crowded markets. And often, when designers are allowed to bring to the table their expertise and knowledge of the changes they see coming in society, such as the drive for a more sustainable world, their solutions for businesses stand to deliver an even better outcome, a better tomorrow for us all.”
24 client and agency partnerships were recognised with Gold, Silver and Bronze awards and the coveted Grand Prix Award went to a rebrand of Australian cordials business Billson’s, by Cowan, which resulted in growth from a base of $160,000 to a $7.6million business within 2.5 years.
Reinstated to its heyday, Billson’s staff numbers grew from two to 28, and the business is an integral part of the community once again, positively impacting on the local economy and employment. Find out more about Gold and Grand Prix winner, Billson’s rebrand.
Among the winners were:
Barnardo’s with Leap (Bronze): Helping young care leavers develop skills and confidence to live independently, LifeLabs’ online portal had 1,200 unique users in six months and was such a success, IKEA extended its support enabling national roll-out of the pilot project. Find out more about LifeLabs.
GlaxoSmithKline with DCA Design International (Bronze): Flipping open with a finger, palm or table edge, Voltaren’s new, easy-open cap is a revelation for those with hand pain and dexterity issues. 93% of test consumers agreed the bespoke cap is more intuitive and easier to open first time and sales grew 5.76% in Germany, 35% ahead of the market. Find out more about Voltaren’s easy-open cap.
Little Bellies with B&B studio (Gold): Value sales soared 262% within 3-years of the baby food business’ rebrand, which enabled it to extend its range from eight to 26 products and expand into North America, where it can be found in 6,000 stores. Find out more about Little Bellies’ rebrand.
Ministry of Justice with Design102 (Silver): Consisting of 20 short videos, social media assets and podcast adverts, the #ItStillMatters Campaign resonated with victims of sexual violence and abuse, encouraging them to seek help. It drove 50% of traffic to the campaign website, with 21% of site users clicking through to specialist support services. Find out more about the #ItStillMatters campaign.
Oxford Brewery with WPA Pinfold (Gold): Increasing sales 300% against pre-COVID levels, a transformational repositioning and striking new brand image helped save the brewery following the worst period for hospitality in living memory. The micro-brewer was able to move to the high-end of the market, raise prices, grow margins and secure its future survival. Find out more about Oxford Brewery’s rebrand.
Browse all of the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners and take a look at their winning case studies here.
Established in 1989, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise and celebrate the compelling influence of design on the success of a project or business. Crucially, the awards are evidence-based, with the impact of the design measured and verified.
The Awards are entered jointly by client and designer and winning projects have been rigorously judged by business leaders from organisations such as Aviva, Coca-Cola Company, Costa Coffee, Electrolux, Financial Times, Google, Huawei, Lloyds Banking Group, PwC, Reckitt, Sodexo, and Virgin Atlantic in three rounds of judging.
The Grand Prix award was selected by a special judging panel which included James Bruce, CEO, Buro Happold, Laura Citron, CEO, London & Partners, Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and COO, V&A, Helen Brocklebank, CEO, Walpole.
Says Chair of the Judges, Clive Grinyer: “It has been inspirational to see the continuing stories of design effectiveness in this year’s submissions. Companies from the largest to the smallest have used design as a strategic tool to strengthen their relationships with customers, engage them in the values of their brand and communicated their purpose to customers. In an increasingly competitive market in such challenging times, they have invested and reaped the measurable rewards of design. The DBA Design Effectiveness Award winners, across Bronze, Silver and Gold, can be assured they have achieved the highest level of evidence that their use of design has bought them success.”
2022 DBA Design Effectiveness Award Winners
| Award | Project | Agency | Client |
| Silver | Horlicks | Brandon | Aimia Foods |
| Gold | Billson’s Rebrand | Cowan | Billson’s |
| Grand Prix | Billson’s Rebrand | Cowan | Billson’s |
| Gold | Little Bellies Rebrand | B&B studio | Little Bellies |
| Bronze | Step into the NHS Rebranding and Website Redesign | Brand Ethos | Health Education England |
| Bronze | LifeLabs | Leap | Barnardo’s |
| Silver | Leitz IQ Autofeed Office Shredder Range | Oxford Product Design | ACCO |
| Silver | Midol Brand Restage | goDutch | Bayer Healthcare |
| Silver | Fred. Olsen Website Optimisation | ELSE | Fred. Olsen |
| Bronze | Raw Halo Rebrand | B&B studio | Raw Halo |
| Bronze | KP Nuts Rebrand | This Way Up | KP Snacks |
| Silver | M&Ms 3D Confectionery Advent Calendar | Path | Mars Wrigley |
| Silver | DRTY Drinks Branding | Pearlfisher | DRTY Drinks |
| Silver | McCain Street Fries | BrandOpus | McCain |
| Bronze | UpCircle Branding | Studio More Design | UpCircle by Optiat |
| Bronze | SO Organic | BrandMe | Sainsbury’s |
| Bronze | Meridian Rebrand | Bulletproof | 3V Natural Foods |
| Bronze | Tidal Rum | Lewis Moberly | Shorts Boy Distillery |
| Silver | Cinnamon Toast Crunch | Pearlfisher | General Mills |
| Silver | Westward Whiskey | Pearlfisher | Westward Whiskey |
| Silver | Old Gold Rebrand | Bulletproof | Mondelēz International – Australia |
| Bronze | My/Mochi Redesign | Bulletproof | My/Mochi Ice Cream Co. |
| Bronze | Voltaren Flip-top Easy Open Cap | DCA Design International | GlaxoSmithKline |
| Silver | #ItStillMatters Campaign | Design102 | Ministry of Justice |
| Gold | Oxford Brewery Rebrand | WPA Pinfold | Oxford Brewery |
More information on the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards and how to enter can be found here.
The deadline for entries into the 2023 awards is 4 November 2022.