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It is the same thing that I encounter when talking to agencies who are continually successful in the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, and also in those that manage to recruit and retain the best staff. They have a process for everything.

Many an agency will champion their creative process and rightly so; it’s tried and tested and delivers great work for their clients. But away from creativity, shying away from ‘process’ is still a common trait. Is it because, as an industry, we are supposed to have a freewheeling, fly by the seat of our pants approach to life and somehow process – especially when applying it to our businesses – appears to go against this ethos?

For a small, lifestyle business this approach may work perfectly well. With low overheads a business could cope with the peaks and troughs of agency life. But it can take a toll on the agency lead. We have all seen people burn out.

So, the answer must be a process for everything? Well, yes and no. Having something written down as a guide for everyone to follow is essential, but crucially it needs to be simple and even more crucially it needs to be followed. I bet you already have a folder called ‘Processes’ hidden away on your server that hasn’t been visited for years.

When it comes to new business you need to decide who you are targeting, why you are targeting them and when and how you will go about doing it. Otherwise you adopt the ‘spray and pray’ approach that DBA Expert Natasha Ellard-Shoefield recently discussed in this article for the DBA; Natasha makes clear that a more considered, process-led approach from the outset, is key to developing long-term client relationships.

The business as a whole will benefit from everyone knowing what is expected of them and how they are meant to behave; once you’ve got your process, write it down and communicate it to the rest of the team to make sure they understand. 

The same principle on processes for new business can be carried throughout the business. How do you combat the problem of assessing the effectiveness of your work? Ask the right questions on KPIs and measurements at the start of the project and log the responses into your project timeline so you can assess your success after the project has finished. 

With recruitment and talent development decide what skills you want in your business and look for those. Consider asking a staff member to redact gender and ethnicity information from CVs prior to viewing so that you are not swayed by unconscious bias. It is a common trait to recruit in your own image rather than on talent. Put the processes in place that will help you get the right person for the job, rather than the best you can manage to find.

Be creative with your processes if that helps – but keep them simple. Fitting into a process will not stifle your creativity, it will allow it to flourish.

 

About: Adam Fennelow, Head of Services, DBA

The DBA exists to represent you and support your business. If you need a critical friend give me a call on 020 7251 9229. I am always happy to talk through business issues and help advise on further resources and support. 

adam@dba.org.uk

Image credits: 

Gery Wibowo | Unsplash

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Main Content

Entered jointly by client and designer, and rigorously judged by industry leaders in three rounds of judging, the Awards represent independent and authoritative recognition of the unambiguous value of design.

This year – we saw the impact of design across the spectrum. Hear more from Design Business Association Chief Executive Deborah Dawton

 

Design Effectiveness Awards from DBA Design Business Association on Vimeo.

We are delighted to announce the 2019 shortlist of 59 winning entries below. 

A third panel of judges, consisting of CEOs from FTSE100 and some of the UK’s leading brands, will meet in April to select the winner of the prestigious Grand Prix award. View the full list of judges here. Here’s more from Chairman of the judges, Clive Grinyer, on the awards themselves. 

The shortlisted entries will find out if they have won Gold, Silver or Bronze at the award ceremony and dinner at the Royal Horticultural Halls on the 12thof June.

Book your tickets for the 2019 Design Effectiveness Awards here and find out what a difference design makes.

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2019 | shortlist

Business Agency  Project title
Intel Corporation 2LK Design & Moving Brands Intel at Mobile World Congress 2018
Moredun Research Institute/Wormvax 4c Barbervax® Commercial Vaccine Production System
Shelter Scotland 999 Design Campaign Identity and Chatbot
Warner Edwards Distillery Biles Hendry Warner Edwards Gin
AB World Foods BrandOpus Blue Dragon
Allied Bakeries BrandOpus Allinson’s
Dairy Crest BrandOpus Clover
Molson Coors BrandOpus Carling
Gloucester Rugby Brond Gloucester Rugby Rebrand
Anadolu EFES Brown&co The Brand Collective Bomonti Beer
Quorn Foods Bulletproof Quorn Redesign
SlimFast UK Costen Creative SlimFast Advanced Vitality
One Stop Stores Cowan London One Stop
GlaxoSmithKline DCA Design International Sensodyne Daily Care Toothbrush
Fourth Wave Wines Denomination Elephant in the Room
Diageo Design Bridge Gordon’s Gin
Diageo Design Bridge Smirnoff Red White and Blue
Jacobs Douwe Egberts Design Bridge Kenco
Jacobs Douwe Egberts Design Bridge L’Or
Mondelez Design Bridge Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar
22 Street Lane Nursery Elmwood 22 Street Lane Nursery
AND Digital Elmwood AND Digital Identity
Craft Elmwood Craft Recruitment
Tesco Elmwood Wicked Kitchen
The London Oil Refining
Company
Elmwood Astonish 
Loterie Romande Else Loterie Romande Platform Redesign
I C Scandinavia Free The Birds Eleni & Chris Salon Signature Collection
Oettinger Davidoff AG Free The Birds Winston Churchill Cigars
The Govan Community Project Good The Govan Community Project
stem4 HMA Calm Harm
Freixenet Hunt Hanson Freixenet Prosecco
GlaxoSmithKline Interbrand Parodontax
Barwood Capital Kimpton Creative Barwood Capital Identity
Edrington Kinship Creative Naked Grouse Rebrand
Covestro Landor Covestro: New Brand
Newby Teas Lewis Moberly Newby Classic Tea Collection
General Mills LOVE Häagen-Dazs Redesign
Lloyds Banking Group M Worldwide Lloyds Bank Manchester
The Primal Pantry Midday Branding for The Primal Pantry
Pharmaceutical Press Modern Human British National Formulary (BNF) App Design
Inspire, Culture, Learning and Libraries New English Design Beeston Library
General Mills Pearlfisher Oui by Yoplait
Meatsnacks Group Pearlfisher Cruga Biltong
Pearlfisher Pearlfisher The Pearlfisher Garden
Zana Morris Pearlfisher The Clock Gym
EE  Quinine EE Showcase Store Design
Anglian Water Spring Anglian Water’s First Water Funfair
McVitie’s Cake Company Springetts McVitie’s Moments
Whitworths Springetts Whitworths
World of Zing Springetts World of Zing
Eve Sleep Studio Minerva Eve Mattress
Berrywood Primary School The Canopy Studio Green Heroes
Paxman Coolers The Engine Room Paxman Scalp Cooling System
Lloyds Banking Group The Honest Brand Halifax Flagship, Oxford Street
Severfield Thompson Brand Partners Severfield Rebrand
Thirsty Planet Thompson Brand Partners Harrogate Water Brands
Autistica William Joseph Autistica Website Redevelopment
Third Space Without Third Space Rebrand
Harvey’s Brewery  WPA Pinfold Harvey’s Rebrand

Print  mtadigital-logo-black                                                                                                      

 

 

For full information about the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, including winning case studies from 2018, please click here.

 

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