How to communicate your business ethos to differentiate yourselves from competitors

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Design companies are uniquely placed to react positively to this kind of shifting landscape, and have led the way in demonstrating a more thoughtful and alternative way of running their businesses, instilling their brand ethos with things like a renewed focus on people, wellbeing, the environment, education, humanitarian efforts, or community-based initiatives.

Ripping-up the rulebook: Recognising freelance costs in a different way

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As more designers are looking at the freelance route for a perceived better, more independent lifestyle with more money, agencies need to recognise freelance costs in a different way. It’s time to rip-up the rulebook relating to Gross Income and its use as the main denominator.

Working mothers: Giving women the support they need

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Returning to work after having a baby can be a big adjustment for women. However, the disappointing stats around pay, promotions and confidence levels suggest there’s a long way to go in supporting women through this monumental phase in their lives.

New appointees to the DBA Board of Directors

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The Design Business Association is delighted to announce the appointment of Merle Hall, CEO of Kinneir Dufort, and Nir Wegrzyn, founding partner and CEO of BrandOpus to the DBA's Board of Directors.

Intelligent data gathering

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With the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards Call for Entries underway, DBA Head of Services Adam Fennelow shares brief details of two previous winning examples whose robust and effective gathering of customer and colleague insight to inform the design process, has produced some very impressive results.

2018 DBA Annual Survey Report & Annual General Meeting

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DBA members from across the country joined the 2018 Annual General Meeting to be the first in the design industry to learn of the results of the 2019 DBA Annual Survey Report, to approve the appointment of new Board Directors and to hear DBA Chief Executive, Deborah Dawton's plans for the DBA membership in 2019.

Twenty/Twenty Mentoring: ‘why wouldn’t you?’

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In this quick read, Jane Simmonds shares her thoughts on the rewarding experience of being a mentor on the DBA’s Twenty/Twenty programme.

Why is DBA Twenty/Twenty Mentoring the best investment you’ll make in your business?

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We caught up with Twenty/Twenty mentee, Ben Stanbury, founder of Bright Lights Creative to see what impacts the DBA’s mentoring programme has brought to both his business and Ben personally, and why he’s decided to sign-up again this year.

Sustainability means shifting from human-centred to ‘humanity-centred’ design

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Many of today’s products and consumption patterns are looking increasingly unsustainable and designers have an important responsibility in all this. The fact that the design of all this wasteful stuff dictates 80% of its impacts, it's right to ask whether the way we design today is fit-for a sustainable future?

What do you do if you want to grow without getting bigger?

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Wanting to stay small and nimble in size, yet not limit the ambitions of staff, DBA member 4c introduced an innovative model, which has grown the business on many levels.