Main Content
Design Effectiveness Awards: 365 Seminar wrap-up
What does it take to produce a winning Design Effectiveness Award entry? Last week we heard from design agencies and design commissioners who’ve worked together to achieve outstanding results.
There were Tweets aplenty from the DBA’s Design Effectiveness 365 seminar, check out our wrap-up of the event coverage.
Making your own success
Set-up every project as a potential DEA entry. So by the time you get your results, you’ll already have a rough entry #dbaDEA
Good entries tell a story #dbaDEA
Each DEA entry is judged on its own merit, you’re being measured on what you’ve written in your own case study #dbaDEA
Why context is key
Context is a key part of a design effectiveness awards entry. Without it the judges find it difficult to understand the measures #dbaDEA
Market context gives your case study the credibility and lets the results shine through #dbaDEA
Extrapolating design’s impact
What are the other influencing factors? Without clarity around this area you leave your case study open to interpretation #dbaDEA
Give yourself enough time to prove that it’s the design that’s driven your success, not other factors #dbaDEA
The judges
The #dbaDEA judges are a panel of business experts, they’re primed and ready to analyse your business case http://bit.ly/1UGx2y5
The industry you’re in isn’t an issue, a CMO in finance might judge a piece of industrial design work – it’s about the business case #dbaDEA
Judges want to see the agency/client partnership through a holistic approach to story telling in your case study #dbaDEA
Words of wisdom
Words of wisdom from Ian of creative agency @ThompsonBP @HarrogateSpring #dbaDEA
- Help your client understand what matters about this product.
- Be the voice of reason when they’re in the thick of it.
- Do the homework.
- Give them the confidence to be themselves.
- Encourage them to use their own creativity.
On creating successful #dbaDEA entries @theyardcreative says: designer led research adds great value to the end product
Advice from Paul of @allotmentbrand: “Focus and agree on hard measures of what success looks like right from the start” #dbaDEA
Parting shot
Effective design is for business survival, not just a pretty trophy #dbaDEA
What to measure?
Download this guide for: tips on evaluating data on design effectiveness. What statistics should you gather for different types of projects?
Effectiveness case studies
Read the case studies of previous DEA winners. These will illustrate design effectiveness through the project objectives, evaluate the outcome against those objectives, and demonstrate that design made a specific contribution to the project’s commercial success.
Hone your own case study, read the examples.