This year’s most “effective” brand design for driving business growth

The Design Business Association’s annual awards for design effectiveness were announced last night, with 42 winners selected for the “tangible and measurable” effect they have had on business success. The top prize went to DIY brand Graft, branded by Huddersfield-based design studio The Engine Room, after it was proven to have increased sales revenue by 744%.

Among a myriad of design prizes, this award aims to prove design’s value to business with numerical evidence of its positive effects.

Polyseam, a UK manufacturer of own-brand products for DIY retailers, commissioned The Engine Room to come up with a brand strategy to turn around its declining sales, and an identity for a new product. Based on research it conducted, the agency’s strategy was to redesign the manufacturer’s entire range with a bold, colourful brand identity. This, it says, has resulted in a 22:1 revenue return on design investment.

“[Design] closes the gap between business risk and market success,” says Deborah Dawton, CEO of the DBA. “In these unpredictable times, the design sector should be confident in our ability to thrive in uncertainty… when it comes to our nation’s competitiveness, infusing design universally into business should be a priority in order to drive long-term growth and economic advantage for the UK.”