Utilization of Design Award Winner Logos

If you win a decent design competition, you should be generally granted a right to use their award winning design logo or design award winners' logo, this article explains how to use these these logos to get the most out of your award winning project.

Winning a Design Award could be compared to obtaining a quality certificate for design. Therefore many design award organizations permit their winners to use a special logo which could be used during marketing campaigns to highlight the inherent design quality of the products and designs. This article discusses various ways the logos could be used so that the winners of the design awards could get the most out of their award winning status.

If you have an existing product, you are usually permitted to use the logo on the product. Studies show that customers prefer award winning designs to others given everything else constant; therefore it is a good choice to put your award winning design logo to your products.

It is a good idea to use the award winners logos during trade-fairs and events, many journalist state that they give more attention and allocate added time to award winners than non-winners; therefore it is a good idea to use the award logo at any events where press members would be present.

Catalogs: Winners' logos could be used in your catalogs to communicate the value added within your designs and products. Some awards provide a QR Code which could be linked to a page where you could see for yourself if your design is a winner or not.

Video Presentations: You could include the award winning designs logo to your video presentations, on screen presentations and all other presentations; this permits you to have an additional world or two regarding the design qualifications of your design.

Product Brochures: Including the award winning designs logo in your brochures is a strong way to underline the design quality of your work, especially if your product is a winner of a niche competition category which is judged by the experts in the field. This helps prospective buyers to make a preference towards your products.

Post Cards and Flyers: It is a great idea to include the winners logos in flyers and post-cards; especially if your products are a winner of a prestigious design award; this helps you to leverage the brand value of the award and use it for your own benefits.

Website and News Communications: Including the winners logo in your website is a great way to underline the design value content of your products, works and designs. It is always best to use the official logos provided to you in high-resolution format. These high-resolution official award winning design logos can be downloaded from the award website or could be included in the award kits.

The award logo could also be integrated to the product itself, as a part of the product or as a sticker applied to the product. Usually product packaging is a better choice as it is displayed while the customer makes the choice. Lower-right or upper-right corner is a good choice to place the award winner logo.

The award logo could also be used in the corporate presentation, or the personal cv of the designers, artists and architects. In addition to the logo, a mention should be made in any case. This also applies to any reference material for your projects.

The award logo should be included in all the press releases you make, especially if you are making photo/image press releases. Higher resolutions of the logo should be added to the press kits that should be distributed to the media.

For any kind of product advertisement, having the winners logo in the communication material is a clever choice as it adds further value to your product. Make sure that the logo is visible or explained; i.e. for instance state that your product has won the X Awards from Y Country in Z Category.

Some designers integrate the winners' logos to their business cards, and this is also okay if the design permits it; many quality certificate holders prefer to use these certificate logos on their name-cards due to the value proposition by the certificates, likewise award logos could also be integrated such way.

If you are going to have a product poster, remember to include the logo to your poster. Not just for your posters, but all of your high-resolution prints, handouts, and images should include the logo.

Newsletters and announcements: Make sure to announce your award status by a newsletter, and remember to include your award logo in the announcement. This way, you will be able to reach your existing user / customer base and communicate the value.

Embed into your own kits: Make sure to have the award logo included in your own press releases, press kits and other communicative packages, make it also available from your website.

Use the award winner logo at all communications; for example remember also to upload the logos to your social profile photo albums etc to reach a further audience.

Most design award logos indicate the year of awarding, so it is a good idea to apply yearly for your new and fresh designs, artworks and projects. Meanwhile it could be possible to take the year out of the label too, however, studies show that recent awards are more effective than previous ones; therefore if you recently won the awards, you could use the label with the winning year, and later on you could remove this label.

A' Design Award provides winners' logos to the winning designs free of charge. Make sure you attach these logos to your products. Different than other competitions' logos, A' Design Award Winner logos feature a QR-Code which the users can actually check the authenticity of your award. Download the logos from your Control Panel, under Post Competition, Winners' Logo section (available in many different types and dimensions, with or without the QR code).

Sum up: Depending on your preference, the winners logo could be placed on: 1. Product Itself (Integrated or as an easy to remove sticker.), 2. Product Packaging, 3. Product Flyer, 4. Product Catalog, 5. Website Page where the Product is Featured, 6. Tradefair Booth. (It is good idea to use the XXL version, together with Certificate), 7. Any Press Release that you would make about the product, 8. Product Poster, 9. Product / Company Presentations, 10. Product Ad on TV or Magazines, 11. Other Product Advertisements..

• Strong, J. (1996). Winning by Design - Architectural Competitions. Oxford: Butterworth Architecture. Nasar, J. L. (1999). Design by Competition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Prinz, F. (2011). Competition Architecture. Berlin: Braun Publishing. Spreiregen, P. D. (1979). Design Competitions. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Gardiner, H. G. (1977). The 1977 International Chair Design Competition. San Diego: American Institute of Architects.