Giving awards just for the sake of it should not be on the agenda

As Helen Charman points out (Letters, DW 19 November) British Design and Art Direction’s all-male awards jury shows how out of touch it is with design for the Internet.

Like almost all other awards, D&AD’s Call for Entries doesn’t indicate the criteria by which a submission will be judged. Other areas where most awards fall down is the lack of investigation into the background of the project, and not publishing the jury’s arguments for presenting an award. There is no point in giving awards for their own sake. Awards should serve to educate clients about good design and how to manage the design process, and they should deliver insights to other designers, journalists and the public from which they can learn.

We need more debate about our new design discipline. In the spirit of our American cousins in the Advance for Design Forum, Design Agenda is organising a series of show-and-tell events beginning in the New Year, leading up to a conference in April, which we hope will help develop the current discussion for the benefit of both designers and their clients.

Design Week readers wishing to get involved are welcome to contact us.

Nico Macdonald

Design Agenda

nico@design-agenda.org.uk