Awarding design

IDI DESIGN AWARDS:A strong brand is crucial for a company these days so the IDI awards recognise both the designers and the firms that commission them

BUSINESSES THAT reinvent themselves through design do better than those which concentrate on operations, such as production lines, according to research by IBM Global. While we often understand design to mean the creation of products - and the notion of how you can persuade someone to pay €229 for an Apple iPod when they could get a MP3 player for much less - in business terms, design can stretch right from a logo and web design, to the creation of uniforms.

That is reflected in the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) awards, now in its 10th year. It has categories running from interior design, logos, promotional literature, annual reports, websites and products.

If you offer clarity, beauty and ease of use in such areas then it could give you the edge.

"I deal with a lot of companies who are up against huge competition from lower-cost manufacturers and big multinationals with high volumes that can undercut smaller operations," says Seán McNulty of Creativity and Innovative Management and past president of the IDI. "Design helps find the best way to deliver the ideal solution to the customer."

While a major company may be able to offer supermarket shopping on a Sunday, for instance, a smaller company may offer a specific type of online service with a well designed user-friendly website, says McNulty.

The design element can be carried through to the branding on the delivery van, the uniform that the delivery person wears and how the products are dropped to the customer's door, he says.

"The whole experience is controlled by design; from graphic design, web design and fashion. It is important to communicate your message very clearly because people are offered so much and so they only scan things.

"Graphic design can deliver a company's message very clearly if you follow the right process," he says.

McNulty cites the case of a certain website crashing as customers tried to sign up for motorway toll passes as an example of poor design.

"That is not a good experience for a consumer. You want to makes it easy for a customer to buy from you. Design can take a company's business objective and combine it with user need," he says.

The IDI appoints an international jury to judge its awards to ensure that the work being done on this island can be compared to the best internationally. This is in line with the institute's remit to promote "high standards of design and design management".

Such standards mean that there will not be awards in every category. Instead, some work will be given the tag of "highly commended". Out of 250 entries, 74 have been shortlisted: "The judges have a strict evaluation of what is worthy of an award," says McNulty.

While evaluating design is, on many levels, a subjective pursuit, part of the judging process here looks at the objective that the client company had, the budget it set and how the solution created by the designer addressed these.

Such things can be measured nowadays, says McNulty. "When you create a new design it is no longer a question of saying: 'Oh isn't that nice, I hope it sells'. Now there is a matrix used to look at the return on design investment. It can assess your brand strength and how it has increased over a year," he says.

Architect Edwin Lutyens, designer of Dublin's memorial gardens, once said: "There will never be great architects or great architecture without great patrons" and the IDI recognises the value of the client in its awards.

The company who commissions the design gets a certificate as well as the designer, who is a member of the IDI.

So designers can be a very valuable part of a business, although some companies have achieved remarkable bargains: in 1971 a fledgling Nike paid a struggling design student $35 for its Swoosh logo - although they later employed her on other projects.