Twenty-four winning projects have made the shortlist, collectively illustrating the huge impact design continues to have across business and society - despite the challenges of the last two years.
Among the shortlisted winners are an online portal for the charity Barnado’s to support young people leaving local authority care, a campaign for the Ministry of Justice to raise awareness of support services for victims of sexual abuse and the story of how investing in design saved a brewery from closure during the coronavirus pandemic. As usual, all projects on the shortlist demonstrate and quantify the powerful impact that design has had on their respective fields.
Clive Grinyer, chairman of the judges and head of service design at RCA, commented, “As we approach the second anniversary of lockdown in the UK, it has been inspirational to see the continuing stories of design effectiveness in this year’s submissions. Companies from the largest to the smallest have used design as a strategic tool to strengthen their relationships with customers, engage them in the values of their brand and communicate their purpose to customers. In an increasingly competitive market in such challenging times, they have invested and reaped the measurable rewards of design.”
“It is encouraging to see the growing diversity of products and services that have entered the awards and proven to the expert jury that design made the difference, in charities, social enterprises and public sector projects. The awards continue to represent the growth of design across service and digital experiences as well as point of sale and brand communication,” Grinyer continued.
The judging panel consists of 39 experts from business, education, culture, design and consumer brands, including senior representatives from Aviva, Google, Huawei, the V&A and the Financial Times.
Shortlisted winners will find out if they have won gold, silver, bronze or the coveted ‘grand prix’ award at an online ceremony on 30 June 2022.
| Project name | Consultancy | Business |
| Little Bellies Rebrand | B&B Studio | Little Bellies |
| Raw Halo Rebrand | B&B Studio | Raw Halo |
| Step into the NHS Rebranding and Website Redesign | Brand Ethos | Health Education England |
| So Organic | BrandMe | Sainsbury's |
| Horlicks | Brandon | Aimia Foods |
| McCain Street Fries | BrandOpus | McCain |
| Meridian Rebrand | Bulletproof | 3V Natural Foods |
| Old Gold Rebrand | Bulletproof | Mondelēz International - Australia |
| My/Mochi Redesign | Bulletproof | My/Mochi Ice Cream Co. |
| Billson's Rebrand | Cowan | Billson's |
| Voltaren Flip-top Easy Open Cap | DCA Design International | GlaxoSmithKline |
| #ItStillMatters Campaign | Design102 | Ministry of Justice |
| Fred. Olsen Website Optimisation | ELSE | Fred. Olsen |
| Midol Brand Restage | goDutch | Bayer Healthcare |
| LifeLabs | Leap Media | Barnardo's |
| Tidal Rum | Lewis Moberly | Shorts Boy Distillery |
| Leitz IQ Autofeed Office Shredder Range | Oxford Product Design | ACCO |
| M&Ms 3D Confectionary Advent Calendar | Path | Mars Wrigley |
| DRTY Drinks Branding | Pearlfisher | DRTY Drinks |
| Cinnamon Toast Crunch | Pearlfisher | General Mills |
| Westward Whiskey | Pearlfisher | Westward Whiskey |
| UpCircle Branding | Studio More Design | UpCircle by Optiat |
| KP Nuts Rebrand | This Way Up | KP Snacks |
| Oxford Brewery Rebrand | WPA Pinfold Limited | Oxford Brewery |
