This question doesn’t relate to fee levels or the ongoing debate over whether there should be better guidelines governing the whole free pitching debate. More specifically, it is about the value of design in business and how well we are communicating the return on investment and the design effectiveness message. Personally, I think that we are not yet banging the drum hard enough.
The 2009 Design Effectiveness Awards has just taken place in London. Now in its 20th year, the UK’s annual DEAs is regarded – by both consultanices and clients alike – as one of the most competitive and coveted industry awards. It is, in fact, the only award scheme that uses commercial data as a key judging criteria and sets the gold standard for commercial success within the design industry.
The DBA (Design Business Association) plans to launch a similar awards scheme in the US but we believe that it is also the responsibility of each and every one us in this industry to be committed to raising awareness of the value of creativity for businesses and brands. Now — more than ever before — placing value on design can be seen as an investment in a healthy brand and business future. It is design which is the single most tangible interface between anything man made and with people who use it.
Therefore, in a commercial context, how well it is designed — in both the function and aesthetic — will affect the bottom line and business fortunes. Regardless of whether there is an awards scheme to verify, we need to start tracking progress over time with open-minded clients and then communicate it. As an industry we all have a responsibility and vested interest in presenting the case of design effectiveness and demonstrating its real value to our clients – and to the wider business world.
Simply put, good design sells. And this is my call to action to tell the design effectiveness story; a story that is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Creativity does not have to be at the cost of commercially effective design – good design is both.