DBA Design Effectiveness Awards

The annual DBA Design Effectiveness Awards are both prestigious and authoritative, covering the broad spectrum of the design industry by measuring entries against their own design brief metrics and not against each other.

By integrating business aims and objectives from the start of the partnership, you set the stage for a transparent and accountable relationship between client and designer that provides the best creative and commercial environment for success. Award-winning case studies serve to demonstrate the excellent value for money and return on investment that a coherent, well-thought-out and professionally executed design strategy can achieve.

Find out more and read previous winning case studies at effectivedesign.org.uk

The deadline for entries this year will be 25 October 2019. Register your interest today to receive the entry pack when it is launched. 

The Paxman Scalp Cooling System was first developed 20 years ago by the family of Sue Paxman – a mother of four who experienced the trauma of losing her hair through cancer treatment. They found that the damage chemotherapy causes to the hair follicle could be alleviated by reducing the temperature of the head before, during and after the administration of the drugs.  They used their existing business knowledge about beer-cooling devices to create a new successful product.

They approached The Engine Room for a design strategy that would enable them to compete on a global scale.  The results of this partnership speak for themselves: Paxman now have their machines installed in 233 cancer centres in the US and they have overtaken the no.1 competitor within 3 years.

Global turnover has increased from £1.9m in 2015 to £3.5 in 2018.  Most importantly, awareness of scalp cooling has increased from an estimated 9% to 25%.

We’ve spoken to Kathryn Daniel, Head of Marketing at Paxman Coolers Ltd, Lesley Gulliver, Managing Director of The Engine Room, and Darren Evans, Design Director at The Engine Room to find out more about their very effective approach.

There were three objectives when you first met: to present a credible brand to investors, to present a more compelling brand than the main competitor in the US, and to increase market awareness of scalp cooling – how did you address those?

Lesley: “The work we did enabled Paxman to move towards all three of these objectives. At the heart of achieving all of them was what we learnt from spending time with the users of the system. All the case studies we met had different stories, but the overall message was the same. For all of them, being given the opportunity to keep their hair allowed them, as a cancer patient, to regain an element of control – when they’re going through a process that’s totally out of their control.”

“That insight was a real breakthrough because one of the main reasons clinician’s were not taking the system seriously was that they saw it as a vanity product.  The scalp cooling system had the look and feel of a haircare brand.  They weren’t thinking about the wider wellbeing angle. We had to make them realise the process of losing your hair has a massive psychological impact on patients, and preventing it can make a real difference to the overall treatment.”

Darren: “The new identity had to reflect the new clinical look we were going for – calm, ordered, methodical. This fed through to the typography, the language, and the images. Clinicians had to see the product as credible in a scientific field.  If they started to believe in it then the chances increased of them recommending it to their patients.”

“And setting them apart from the main competitor was quite simple once we’d got to the core message.  People assumed patients wanted to keep their hair to maintain dignity – and no other players in the market were saying anything different.  As soon as Paxman offered alternative language around the topic, it put them ahead because it tapped into what patients were really feeling and experiencing.  That design insight informed everything. Patients simply wanted to be able to choose who they told about their illness, and how strangers, colleagues, and their children viewed them. Keeping their hair allowed them to be in control of that choice.”

You distilled the message down to three Ps – Personal, Passion and Precision – tell us about how they made a difference to embedding effectiveness…

Darren: “To embed effectiveness we had to understand the culture of Paxman. ‘Personal’ came out of the family story and the personal service that the whole team offers. ‘Passion’ is evident throughout Paxman. They are 100% invested in the product and in the vision for the future.  Everyone is passionate about the purpose of the business and they simply will not stop until those needing cancer treatment are offered scalp cooling and it stops hair loss completely for all patients.  ‘Precision’ is focusing on the importance of changing the mindset of clinicians and making them realise that this isn’t a beauty product, it is backed by years of scientific research and results. Paxman have a high level of technical knowledge and manufacturing capability.”

How have clients altered their view of the product and the business as a result of working with The Engine Room?

Kathryn: “We needed to up our game and reposition ourselves.  We knew we had an effective product, a brilliant team and our work was backed up with 20 years of scientific research and clinical trials – but we weren’t very good at shouting about how great we are.  The messaging The Engine Room gave us really helped.  They got under our skin and really understood what we were trying to communicate and the psychology behind it all. We had previously just concentrated on aesthetics alone, but they had a very strategic approach to design.”

“The fit of the cap is vital to achieving good results. The Engine Room helped us with putting together instructional videos for users so that they could practice fitting their own cap – giving them another element of control and removing the burden from the healthcare professionals to get that aspect right when they are so time-pressured.”

“They have also been really supportive of developing business training materials for healthcare professionals that they will engage with. Historically, the perceived complexity of this market generally was very off-putting. The documentation still conveys our passionate core messages but providers appreciate the clarity and simplicity of our literature now.”

How has the business shifted as a result of the design input?

Lesley: “Aside from looking very different, we see a very confident organisation in Paxman now.  Today you see them playing to an international stage, head and shoulders above the competition. Internally, the team has used the brand to drive change and have a really good vehicle to move forward, ensuring the communication of the three Ps gets effectively distributed as the team grows.”

“Paxman were always a really authentic and lovely team with a great product. Design just facilitated everyone else understanding how great they are.”

The Engine Room’s record at the Design Effectiveness Awards shows that you embed effectiveness into your processes – how much is effectiveness considered when you’re approaching a new project like Paxman’s?

Lesley: “It ranks right at the top of our priorities and starts right at the beginning of our processes with the initial conversation with our client. Impact is really important to us and it’s something we track closely. How can you invest in us if you have nothing to measure us by?”

Darren: “We take the client on a journey to demonstrate to them the value of design and measuring its success. Commitment from the client has to be there to achieve effectiveness. When it works, it really works.”

Looking to the future, what are the next steps for Paxman?

Kathryn: “Awareness is still our biggest hurdle.  Patients only have up to half an hour with their oncologist when they receive their diagnosis.  There is so much to speak about that and hair loss is never going to be top of that list. But if the patient doesn’t find out about scalp cooling in the very short window before they start treatment, the opportunity to help them might be lost. So we are working a lot on our social media and digital presence so if people search independently to find out more about hair loss they will engage with us.”

Lesley: “After Paxman’s rebrand, competitors have followed suit. This can only be taken as a compliment! But means we have to keep upping our game, alongside Paxman, and put more clear water between them.”

Darren: “We are looking at how we can strategically get them prepared for taking on new international markets and gear them up for further growth. Paxman are involved in every decision.  If we didn’t have this strong partnership the outcome wouldn’t be the same.  The key to The Engine Room’s success is down to building strong relationships. Through these we achieve long-term goals – we’re not looking for quick wins.”

Described by Design Week as an accolade that ‘recognises individuals within design who have made a significant contribution to the industry; have provided inspiration and incisive thinking; or who have simply created consistently brilliant work. It aims to acknowledge people who are still making a key contribution to design today.’

Deborah said, on accepting the award “Whatever I can do at the DBA to keep you at the top of your game, is my mission. So keep doing what you do, reach ever higher in your aspirations because that’s motivation for me and the amazing team at the DBA. Thank you Design Week for this award. I’m honoured and humbled by it.”

Here’s what Design Week had to say on Deborah’s inclusion in their Hall of Fame:

“Deborah Dawton has made a major contribution to the industry on two fronts. 

One part of her work involves helping designers and design consultancies establish best practice, so that they can become more effective and aware of their rights, and the other is concerned with raising the profile of design, showing how it can help shape businesses so that they can grow by unlocking commercial effectiveness when design is invested in them. 

She has done this on the domestic and global stage for more than 15 years in her current role and like Design Week, the DBA, the organisation that she spearheads, looks to represent the needs and interests of designers. 

A four-year stint at BEDA – the Bureau of European Design Associations – saw Dawton work from 2009 to 2013 promoting the value of design and the design economy to the European Union and its contribution to the European economy. 

The real task was trying to embed design within innovation across Europe. One marker of the success of this was €6m (£5m) of investment in design-driven programmes.

Dawton, who trained as a designer, spent 10 years in charge of her own design events business, from 1993 to 2003. It was here that she really cut her teeth, running events with and for the likes of D&AD (Design and Art Direction) and the Design Council and the Design Museum. 

Today, she knows the industry intimately and is truly an expert. If Design Week ever wants a comment on something important affecting designers, Dawton is always there with a thoughtful and well-considered comment.” 

For more details on the Design Week Awards and Deborah and Rama’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame head here.

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards

The annual DBA Design Effectiveness Awards are both prestigious and authoritative, covering the broad spectrum of the design industry by measuring entries against their own design brief metrics and not against each other.

By integrating business aims and objectives from the start of the partnership, you set the stage for a transparent and accountable relationship between client and designer that provides the best creative and commercial environment for success. Award-winning case studies serve to demonstrate the excellent value for money and return on investment that a coherent, well-thought-out and professionally executed design strategy can achieve.

Find out more and read previous winning case studies at effectivedesign.org.uk

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2021

The deadline for entries this year will be Friday 27 November 2020. Click here to find out more.

Minister for Investment, Graham Stuart, MP said, “The new strategy is about taking the phenomenal exporting success of our world leading creative sector and turbo-charging it further.”

The CITIB strategy can be read in full here.

Chief Executive of the Design Business Association, Deborah Dawton, sits on the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board (CITIB) representing the design sector. “Let’s showcase to the world, the breadth and depth of what we’re capable of creating and the impact that follows. We can change the fortunes of businesses of any size; we can change the behaviours of their customers; we can change the attitudes of society towards an issue.

“With the CITIB’s strategy set to boost creative industries goods and service exports by 50% by 2023, as an industry we should seize this opportunity to grow recognition globally of the difference design makes to the businesses and organisations who invest in it. The Creative Industries are the calling card for Britain abroad and the DBA is supporting DBA members, through our alignment and work with CITIB and DIT, to be a pivotal part of that and to grow members’ reach internationally.”

CITIB’s strategy has identified five key strategic markets that should be prioritised in the years ahead – China, USA, Europe, Middle East and Japan.

Currently DBA members can sign up via the DBA to be part of a major export mission to Hong Kong in December this year – email adam.fennelow@dba.org.uk for more information.

About CITIB

The CITIB was set up following the launch of the £150 million Creative Industries Sector Deal – part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

Its role is to develop and oversee delivery of an export strategy and explore, support and advise on high-value opportunities for Inward Investment and Foreign Direct Investment.

The industry-led initiative aims to stimulate trade in one of the UK’s most exciting sectors and continue a great British success story.

Members of CITIB include Adam Mansell, CEO of UK Fashion & Textile Association, British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush, Design Business Association CEO Deborah Dawton, Royal Institute of British Architects CEO Alan Vallance and British Film Institute CEO Amanda Nevill.

As a result of £1 million additional government funding CITIB members have already helped to promote the UK’s creative sector in 10 countries including China and the United States, generating a pipeline of more than £200 million of export opportunities. More than 250 UK companies have also been supported in developing their own export strategies.

The UK’s thriving Creative Industries are now worth over £100 billion to the UK economy and the Board will amplify this success around the world.

The first ever UK Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board (CITIB) strategy was published last week, pledging to boost creative industries goods and service exports by 50% by 2023.

Referencing the industry led strategy at the Createch conference as part of London Tech Week, Digital and Creative Industries Minister Margot James said, “The UK’s booming Creative Industries are a real success story, with the sector contributing more than £100 billion to the economy. We are delivering a Britain that works for everyone, and by sharing our skills and expertise with the rest of the world this strategy will give us the chance to deliver more growth opportunities in the years ahead.”

Annette King, Chair of the Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board said, “The UK is a world leader in the Creative Industries thanks to both the wealth of talent we have here, and that we attract from across the globe. By continuing to build on the success of our small businesses this strategy begins a new stage in our industry’s relationship with Government, where we work together to drive the success of our vibrant and exciting industry.”

The Strategy was published alongside the Creative Industries Council’s (CIC) top 50 Createch companies ‘ones to watch’ report.

Over 60% of users have used the ‘Calm Harm’ app more than once and 93% report a reduction in the urge to self harm after completing one of its exercises. It’s been downloaded around a million times across the world in more than 170 countries.

Free to use and designed to be discreet and anonymous, the app offers young people options such as distraction techniques or breathing techniques to help them overcome the urge to self harm.

Sixteen year old India says Calm Harm has made a huge difference to her. “When I have an uncomfortable situation, or start to get panicked, or have an urge, I will get my phone, I will choose an activity from it like ‘express’ or ‘distract’ or ‘comfort’, and I’ll have a go at it, and if it doesn’t work the first time, I’ll have another go and pick a different activity, and then I’ll log it in my journal and write down how I was feeling and what triggered it, so that the next time, I can go look at it.” You can hear more from India in the DBA film here. 

Dr Nihara Krause is founder and CEO of stem4, the charity behind the app. “Self harm is a major issue at the moment. It’s a behaviour young people use to communicate something – most often communicate distress – and we do need to provide some sort of tool to manage that, because our traditional services are very stretched. As a result, the threshold for acceptance for treatment is very high, and providing a digital tool that young people can use that is validated and follows scientific principles, is actually something that is very beneficial.

“The collaboration with HMA has made a huge difference to the effectiveness and distribution of the app. They worked with young people to get an idea of what would be appealing to young people. Because the app is so user friendly, it has been downloaded across the world in about 171 countries, and we have currently just under a million downloads. When we first released the app we had 24,000 downloads, and promotion of the app has primarily been by young people, through social media in particular.’

Nicola Tiffany is from HMA “Calm Harm is an amazing project to work on and the difference the app and stem4’s work in general is making to people’s lives is just incredible. Winning a Gold DBA award and getting recognition for the part that design played in its success is extremely rewarding and I am so proud of the HMA team for delivering such a fantastic project.”

Judging

Founder and CEO of London and Partners, Laura Citron is one of the FTSE 100 judges from the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2019.

“Unfortunately, self harm among young people is a really serious issue and I think I and the rest of the judges were really impressed by the way this team had used design to make something really effective and had involved young people in the creation of the design, that was clearly very powerful, and that they had achieved so much on such a small budget. Hugely impressive.”

“For this demographic, for teenagers, we know they are linked to their phones like umbilical cords and it’s quite normal for them to go to their phones, or to their friends through their phones, or to services, for everyday things like shopping or socialising, but also to get help about very personal sensitive issues. And the team who designed this were really sensitive to that and to the fact that people wanted to be anonymous – in the way that they designed, in the way that it collected digital information, and in the way that they designed a logo, that it wasn’t immediately obvious what it is – they had really understood how vulnerable young people use services on their phone.”

“In this case we can see that it’s design that’s having a really big impact on how powerful this app can be. This is a hugely important issue and we know that there are many many young people who can’t access face to face counselling services for whatever reason, so to be able to have an app that’s free to use that can help them to resist the urge to self harm is incredibly important.”

Design Business Association

The Design Business Association (DBA) is the world’s most vocal champion of the role of effective design in the creation of business growth. The most important way of communicating the value of design is by measuring its true effectiveness.

The annual DBA Design Effectiveness Awards are both prestigious and authoritative, covering the broad spectrum of the design industry by measuring entries against their own design brief metrics and not against each other.

By integrating business aims and objectives from the start of the partnership, you set the stage for a transparent and accountable relationship between client and designer that provides the best creative and commercial environment for success. Award-winning case studies serve to demonstrate the excellent value for money and return on investment that a coherent, well-thought-out and professionally executed design strategy can achieve.

DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2021

The deadline for entries this year will be Friday 27 November 2020. Click here to find out more.