The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards will open for entries in late February 2025. The deadline will be 5pm BST, 11 July 2025.
The entry pack for 2025 will be available soon. Download last year’s entry pack for reference. You will also find a comprehensive list of metrics to consider and understand how to structure your case.
From now until launch in February 2025
Book your early scoping call to discuss a potential entry with a member of the DBA team. For further details please see section three on this page or contact [email protected].
Late February 2025
Entries open.
11 July 2025
Entries close.
Winning a DBA Design Effectiveness Award
The DBA Design Effectiveness Awards celebrate and prove how powerful partnerships between clients and designers can be. We jointly award both parties, and a win will:
Recognise
Rigorously judged by a senior panel of client level judges, a win provides independent, authoritative and unquestionable recognition of the impact of your work in the real world.
Evidence
These awards reward the significant value you can add to any business and demonstrate your ability to deliver effective design. Persuasively and powerfully demonstrate your ability to deliver competitive advantage through design, setting you apart and driving new business opportunities.
Prove
Powerfully articulate the case for design investment at board level, maintaining and growing budgets.
Position
Winners are included in a global PR campaign targeting business, consumer and design publications. Position your company or department as a design leader, increase exposure and prestige with clients, colleagues, suppliers and the media.
Motivate
Boost and motivate your team morale and attract the right people as you grow.
Align
Winning a DBA Design Effectiveness Award aligns you with an elite group of businesses whose capability to deliver results through design is irrefutably proven. Leverage a unique winner’s logo across your communications as the marque to demonstrate the tangible returns you’ve delivered and display a trophy proudly within your offices. Your work will be displayed on effectivedesign.org.uk and warc.com enabling you to globally profile your work in detail and demonstrate the scale of impact you’ve delivered.
Benefits of winning aside, entering these Awards will bring a discipline to your team that will enable you to continuously measure, track and prove the impact of your work to your clients. The DBA can support you (see page 08 of the entry pack) to develop the skills and techniques that will embed effectiveness practices and processes in your everyday work.