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see the shortlist here

WINNERS SHOWCASE

Tom Banks, Editor Design Week

The Design Week Awards is always a good barometer for the year that’s been, and we can see from this year’s submissions that although there was a period of lockdown disruption last winter, design consultancies are in a more robust position than in recent years. The Spaces section, which encompasses Exhibition Design, Retail Interiors, Workplace Interiors, Hospitality Interiors, and Wayfinding and Environmental Graphics is testament to this. With customers and visitors able to return to public spaces, designers have been there to encourage them back. They’ve embraced this opportunity and consequently the standard has been very high in these categories. This year, we brought together nearly 50 judges to share their experience and expertise as part of a rigorous two-stage judging process, which saw them appraise work in specialist groups. I want to thank all of the judges who gave up their time and put so much effort and energy into the process. You can read about some of the judges here. We had a great mix of high-flying younger designers who have achieved a lot early on in their careers, alongside experienced design leaders who together made up a panel with specialist knowledge covering the whole industry. This year, the most contested prize, the Best of Show, went to Philips Paediatric Coaching, which is also our Interaction Design Winner. Philips designed a holistic service to help children navigate the experience of undergoing an MRI examination. It consists of a gamified AR-enabled app to help kids learn about what to expect before the procedure, a toy scanner to play with while they wait for their appointment at the hospital, and further audio-visual guidance which they receive when lying in the bore of an MRI scanner. Our judges praised the design for its vision and, specifically, its ability to connect with children and offer them a well thought through end-to-end service. In a rather neat twist of fate, it’s been a good year for scouting. Two separate judging groups adjudicated over our Identity Design categories. The Identity Design Launch category has been won by Squirrels, designed by Supple Studio, for Scouts. Squirrels is a new division of the Scouts for four- to five-year-olds. Its visual language and tone of voice charmed our judges who said it “elicits joy and wonder.” Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, the Girl Scouts of America rebrand by Collins incorporated patches and badges into a new identity system. Judges were impressed at how it encouraged girls to “empower themselves and be ambitious”. Every year we tweak our categories to make sure they reflect the breadth of work designers are engaged with today. New for this year is Sonic Identities, which has been won by The Sound of Singapore Airlines. Designed by DLMDD, it aims to stimulate all five senses and consists of a series of soundscapes that passengers come into contact with at different stages of their journey. Look out for the new Design Climate Action category, which shares its name with a Design Week series. The inaugural winner is The Dissolving Bottle by BBDO Guerrero, a shampoo bar which is shaped like a shampoo bottle, rather than a bar, so that people instinctively know what to do with it. Our judges thought it was “super creative and avoids plastic”. I’d like to thank all the winners, those who were highly commended and those who were shortlisted. You came a long way to make it through each of these stages. And thank you to everyone who entered this year. You can read about all of the winning projects in this Winners’ Showcase and find out who this year’s Rising Star is, as well as which two people from the industry we have inducted into the Hall of Fame. I wish you all well for the rest of 2022 and hope that despite cost-of-living pressures you’re set up for the challenges that lie ahead this year. Winners, look out for your trophies. They’ll be in the post soon. If you want to take a photo of you holding it aloft, tweet @design_week #DWAwards22 and we’ll share it with our Twitter community.

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