Do design awards have any value? 

Well most of us are competitive and the idea of entering an award gives us a winning feeling, until that is you don’t! Then you just feel robbed of what could have been! I work in the creative industries and creative agencies are always entering awards. The chance of winning is seductive and offers countless opportunities to tell people “we’ve won an award”.

The problem is that most awards are entered by people who just want to win awards and the judging is done by people who just like sitting on committees! That means that some of the very best stuff is never seen in awards. Charles Ives once said ‘Awards are merely badges of mediocrity’. This was on the basis that awards are judged by what is known or what is in fashion. But originality can’t be fashionable because it’s not known yet!

James Horsham MBA FCIM
Director, Brand/68