DBA Roundup: Season’s Greetings
A roundup of industry expertise, exclusive resources, business support and tools for your design business.
Main Content
Designing a World for Everyone: 30 Years of Inclusive Design
The way we experience the world is largely through the design of the places, products, communications, services and systems we encounter every day.
Author: Jeremy Myerson | Pick up a copy.
Published by Lund Humphries (Hardback £35). Design Business Association members get 20% off (+free UK postage) – visit www.lundhumphries.com and use the DBA discount code at checkout to apply the discount. Offer valid until end 28 February 2022.
Click here to login in for discount code.
Sapiens: A brief history of humankind
With fans including Barack Obama, Sapiens explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going.
Author: Yuval Noah Harari | Pick up a copy.
Need some colour? Pick up a graphic novel version illustrated by David Vandermeulen here.
Myths of Branding: A Brand Is Just A Logo, and Other Popular Misconceptions
Explore the huge number of misguided, mistaken and blatantly false myths that are abound in the branding arena.
Author: Simon Bailey | Pick up a copy.
Company of One: Why staying small is the next big thing for business
Exploring the case for making your business better instead of bigger.
Author: Paul Jarvis | Pick up a copy here.
Unchartered – How to map the future together
Taking a look into the people and organisations that aren’t daunted by uncertainty.
Author: Margaret Heffernan | Browse here.
Self compassion
Offering a powerful solution for combating the current malaise of depression, anxiety and self criticism that comes with living in a pressured and competitive culture.
Author: Kristin Neff | Pick up a copy here.
Agencynomics
Tips to guide you through your agency growth journey and to help you tackle the challenges faced in scaling your business.
Authors: Spencer Gallager and Peter Hoole | Pick up a copy here.
Deep work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world
Exploring reasons to cultivate a deep work ethic and how to master the skill to achieve extraordinary results.
Author: Cal Newport | Take a closer look here.
Creative process design: A methodology for team ideation and co-creation
A book about simple and intuitive methodology that allows you to design any creative process you need.
Author: Alejandro Masferrer | Pick up a copy here.
Digital minimalism: Choosing a focused life in a noisy world
How to digitally de-clutter to feel less overwhelmed and more in control.
Author: Cal Newport | Pick up a copy here
Who moved my cheese: An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life
Learn how to anticipate, adapt to and enjoy change and be ready to change quickly whenever you need to.
Author: Dr Spencer Johnson | Pick up a copy here.
Go local
If you want to support local bookshops, order your next read through https://uk.bookshop.org.
Thames & Hudson lockdown promotion
Shop on Thames & Hudson’s website for other titles and enjoy 25% off until 12 February 2021. Choose from stunning books on art, architecture, fashion, photography, design and more.
Image credits:
Immo Wegmann | Unsplash
Chenyang Gao| Unsplash
Susan Yin | Unsplash
Ma Kl | Unsplash
Vitaliy Zamedyanskiy | Unsplash
Josep Martins | Unsplash
Aneta Pawlik | Unsplash
Erik Mclean | Unsplash
Dan Gold | Unsplash
Ed Robertson | Unsplash
A roundup of industry expertise, exclusive resources, business support and tools for your design business.
12-months of Forums: All wrapped up
The monthly DBA Member Forums are the heart and soul of the DBA. They epitomise the shared learning ethos of the organisation. Here are a few which particularly stood out in 2025, along with a snapshot of all the conversations this year.
DBA Member Forum | December Summary
In December's DBA Member Forum we asked an eclectic group of thinkers "What one experience this year will influence or change how you do business next year?"
New Chair of DBA Board of Directors
Nicola Tiffany, Managing Director at HMA has been appointed by the DBA Directors to Chair the DBA Board of Directors for a three year term.
A creative transformation story: Forepoint
Working with DBA Expert Ralph Ardill, Forepoint treated transformation as a creative act and the results speak for themselves. Here's how Forepoint achieved change.
DBA Twenty/Twenty Mentoring: the mentee’s perspective
Since its launch in 2011, the innovative programme has gone from strength-to-strength, with almost 600 participants from over 300 businesses and impactful results. But don’t just take our word for it.
DBA Members’ Forum | November Summary
In the DBA Members’ Forum we took a look behind the data in the latest DBA In Focus Report and discussed the trends and what they mean for us all working in design. It's a bumper summary this month, but this is a critical industry report that we are proud to deliver to DBA Members each year. It can genuinely transform the profitability of your business.
Strong relationships don’t just happen: how to become indispensable to clients
Strong client relationships don’t evolve by chance. They’re built, nurtured, and sustained through behaviours that consistently demonstrate value — the kind that make you indispensable.
DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2026 | Winners shortlist announced
We’re delighted to announce the shortlist of entries that will win a DBA Design Effectiveness Award in 2026. Congratulations to the agency and client partnerships who will be taking home Bronze, Silver or Gold awards at our live event in March.
AI and agency shortlists – a moment of opportunity
Have you asked ChatGPT to recommend a good design agency in your sector, location or skillset? Were you one of the agencies it recommended?