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DBA Design Effectiveness Awards: Take a look inside the judging
Founded in 1989, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise impactful, wide-ranging examples of design that have had a tangible and measurable impact upon business and societal success.
The call for entries for the 2021 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards closed on 27 November 2020. Judging will take place between January and March 2021, with the Bronze, Silver and Gold award winners to be revealed at a ceremony in June.
Here we take a look at the people whose job it is to interrogate the entries and determine the Bronze, Silver and Gold winners. Nowhere is the quality and effectiveness of the design industry’s offer more evident than across the case studies recognised in the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards.
What makes a DBA Design Effectiveness Awards Judge?
Judges are CEOs and leading figures from across industry and have been carefully chosen for their business experience and acumen, as well as their understanding of how design can – and does – create change in business and society.
“I’ve always loved the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards because they show the impact of design in an unarguable and measurable way. They speak to the heart of organisations and show that whatever your objective is, design can transform the results you are reaching for,” Clive Grinyer, Chair of DBA Design Effectiveness Awards judging panel
The judging panel for the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2021 has been drawn together from an array of sectors. From global companies through to start-up challenger brands, their organisations understand how design can be used to create results.
Each judge brings a unique and critical insight into the rigorous judging process, measuring the strength of the entries on the merits of the case it makes for design effectiveness and the efficacy of the evidence used to prove how design created results.
This year’s panel features:
Cawston Press‘s Managing Director, Steve Kearns
eve sleep‘s CEO Cheryl Calverly
Harley Davidson‘s Chief Strategy Officer, Luke Mansfield;
PUMA‘s Head of Global Retail Design, Sigrid Brewka-Steeves;
Virgin Atlantic‘s VP Digital & Distribution, Siobhan Fitzpatrick;
Visa‘s Director of Design Strategy Andreas Roos; and
McLaren‘s Head of Design Dan Toon to name but a few.
Getting the seal of approval from our expert judging panel provides independent and authoritative recognition of the value of your work.
A win will demonstrate your ability to create competitive advantage through design and deliver a multitude of benefits to your business and team.
Behind the judging process
Past judges Jo Marshall, Executive Director, YPO, Phil Gowland, Commercial Director, Whitworths and Paul Fraser, Managing Director, 3V Natural Foods share the rigour surrounding the process below:
Throughout the process, judges won’t be looking at standards of aesthetics, or ‘good’ and ‘bad’ but at effectiveness measured in terms of commercial benefits for the client and the customer. Understand what the judges are looking for to help you create a case study that will steal the show.
At the first stage of judging, judges determine which entries will make it through to stage two, selecting the entries that make a case for design effectiveness against their stated business objectives.
During the second stage of judging, the strength of the entry and the significance of the results achieved by design are assessed by the panel. Again, entries are judged entirely on their own merits and are not compared to any other entry. It is fundamental for entries to contextualise their results within their wider commercial context in order for the judges to understand the scale of impact achieved by design and reward this appropriately with a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
The third stage of judging specifically considers the Grand Prix winner. The third panel of judges are all chief executives of highly successful companies. They select the winner of the Grand Prix from amongst the Gold awards.
Businesswoman and entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, shares her experience judging the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards Grand Prix:
DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2021 judging panel
| Name | Company |
| Paul Fraser Managing Director |
3V Natural Foods |
| Paul Edwards Head of Creative Design |
Airbus |
| Marc McNeill Customer Experience Director |
Auto Trader Group |
| Raj Kumar Group Brand & Reputation Director |
Aviva |
| Christopher Padain VP and Head of Design & Packaging |
Bayer Consumer Healthcare |
| Belinda Moore Marketing & Business Development Director |
Birketts LLP |
| Stacey Clark Chief Marketing Officer |
British Land |
| Steve Kearns Managing Director |
Cawston Press |
| Deb Caldow Global Brand, Sponsorship & Sustainability Director |
Costa Coffee |
| Sam Southey VP Creative |
Coty |
| Jeremy Lindley Global Design Director |
Diageo |
| Monica Dalla Riva Vice President Customer Experience and Design |
Deutsche Telekom |
| Pernilla Johansson Chief Design Officer |
Electrolux |
| Cheryl Calverly CEO |
eve sleep |
| Andrew Barraclough Vice President of Design |
GlaxoSmithKline |
| Luke Mansfield Chief Strategy Officer |
Harley Davidson |
| Andrea Newman Global Head of Brand |
HRH Prince Charles and the World Economic Forum |
| Hilary Pulver Head of Marketing Excellence |
Jacobs Douwe Egberts |
| Mark Palmer Co-Founder |
LA Brewery |
| Martin Dowson Head of DesignOps & EcoSystems |
Lloyds Banking Group |
| Richard Walzer Principal Designer EMEA |
Mars Wrigley |
| Dan Toon Head of Design |
McLaren |
|
Edward Simon |
Oettinger Davidoff AG |
| Tysonn Betts Design Vice President, Right Brain to the Business |
PG Ventures – Family Care |
| Karen Baxter Managing Director |
Pharmaceutical Press |
| Sigrid Brewka-Steeves Head of Global Retail Design |
PUMA |
| Jos Harrison Global Design Strategy Director |
RB |
| Olivia Salisbury Group VP of Digital |
T. Rowe Price |
| David Knibbs Director |
The Tofoo Company |
| Julie Dixon Head of Information, Design & Partnerships |
Transport for London (TfL) |
| Seiya Ohta VP User Experience |
Trustly |
| Claire Hooper Head of Brand |
Valeo Confectionery |
| Siobhan Fitzpatrick Chief Digital & Marketing Officer |
Virgin Atlantic |
| Andreas Roos Director of Design Strategy |
Visa |
| Katie Swift Global Brand Activation Director |
Walgreens Boots Alliance |
| Phil Gowland Commercial Director |
Whitworths |
Grand Prix 2021 judging panel
| Name | Company |
| Ivan Menezes Chief Executive Officer |
Diageo |
| James Cain OBE Chief Exectutive |
Harrogate Spring Water |
| Laura Citron CEO |
London & Partners |
| Deborah Meaden Businesswoman & Entrepreneur |
Meadenspeak |
| Tessa Clarke Co-Founder & CEO |
OLIO |
| Kjetil Bogstad CEO |
Polyseam |
| Dean Aragon CEO and Global VP Brand |
Shall Brands International AG |
| Mark Fairweather CEO |
Whitworths |
Find out more about the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards and how to enter: visit effectivedesign.org.uk and sign up for updates.
Image credits:
Clive Grinyer
David Travis, Unsplash