WINNER
Sheffield Hallam University (In-House Strategy, Re-Brand & Campaign)
by Sheffield Hallam University
Knowledge is one thing, but what you do with it is entirely different, so says the in-house design team at Sheffield Hallam University. This belief was at the core of the team’s recent brand strategy work, which saw them create a new design system around the “meeting point” between knowledge and the application of it.
The final result was a wide-reaching project that “brought new life” into the university brand. The work was based on a “fix and flex” approach, where fixed elements included one font family, core colour palette and templates, and flex elements included different photography styles, tone of voice and extended colour palettes.
All of this has helped support the university in its core income stream: undergraduate student recruitment. Responses to the work have been positive, and the team says it has more than succeeded in engaging with its target audience.
The judges said: As a body of work these are effective and dynamic publications.
The How Channel Experience
by Publicis Sapient
The beginning of the pandemic last year brought chaos for brands. In the dramatic shift to online life, brand messaging was more often lost than not according to digital content specialists Publicis Sapient. Needing a way to see above the crowds, the team got to work – quickly. Within 30 days, Publicis Sapient had developed The How Channel, a digital platform dedicated to its customers and how they could better their content for the ever-changing world around them.
The team played with different shows, formats and lengths – rather than striving for perfection from day one, the aim was to have multiple iterations of content, which could then be tested, experimented with and optimised for those in need. The platform in its earliest form was “loose and unregulated”, the team says. As it grew, it became more targeted and polished, benefiting from the team’s design work and research into content.
Design in the era of Covid – crossing from physical to digital
by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
It has been a busy few years for the in-house design team at Brian Cave Leighton Paisner – following the 2018 merger which created the law firm as it current exists today, the team has had to balance the mammoth task of rebranding with supporting all aspects of brand and design for the company’s 3,400 staff and 5,000 annual documents.
The challenge has been increased further by the need to have a fully digital approach, contrary to professional service history which has so often relied on print and in-person marketing. Steps taken included shifting to video creation for business pitches, and overhauling the company’s social media approach, pushing it away from “inconsistent” stock imagery and towards something more coherent and interactive.
News Design Team
by Sky Creative, for Sky News
As the Sky News Design team says: 2020 was something else. When the country locked down, the team’s work only became more necessary, with designers continuing to create up to 20 graphics a day for all platforms. The team quickly had to create a branded toolkit that could be used to educate the public on the coronavirus, which included everything from VR studios and impactful title sequences, to Snapchat tools. It was a “vital public service” the team was proud to offer, it says.
As the year continued, more challenges were presented. From the Black Lives Matter protests, to the landmark US election, the team continued to cover and support coverage of world-changing stories.
Best In-house Design Team
shortlisted
Best In-house Design Team