It’s fascinating how certain themes emerge in the marketing world. One that has been impossible to ignore in recent years is the massive growth of the luxury sector which, if we believe everything we read, has been fuelled by ‘greedy bankers’ and ‘emerging global economies’ (China, India et al). While the rest of the economy went through a credit crunch, the richest in society got richer, their numbers grew and of course, brands followed.

The Design Business Association, the UK organization that measures and rates the effectiveness of design in a range of categories by using commercial data to evaluate the success, announced the winners of its annual Design Effectiveness Awards, which included projects by leading design agencies. The ceremony, which was held in London on February 16, brought together 450 industry leaders, who received 62 gold, silver and bronze trophies, awarded by the association this year in 12 categories.