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DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2027: Entries Close 1 December

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DBA Design Effectiveness Awards entries close on 1 December 2026 at 17:00 GMT. Check current fees, joint approvals and the evidence your design case needs.

Last checked against official sources: 25 October 2026

* Dates and timings are subject to change, please check directly with the awards organisers.

Entries for the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2027 close on Tuesday 1 December 2026 at 17:00 GMT. The organiser explicitly rules out late entries and deadline extensions. Plan backwards from approval and upload, not just the day your draft will be finished.

Build the Case With Your Client

Entries are made jointly by the agency or in-house design team and the organisation commissioning the work. The programme welcomes entries worldwide and design in any context, provided you can demonstrate that design made a clear and significant contribution to the results.

Start with the original business, societal or environmental challenge, then show what changed and why. The organiser asks for proof of cause and effect, including an explanation of other factors that influenced performance. Pair measured results with useful qualitative evidence rather than relying on attractive images or assuming that growth must have come from design. Crafting Winning Awards Entries can help you structure that argument.

Projects may have launched at any time, but your entry must include some up-to-date evidence collected after 1 June 2024. Arrange access to the data and agreement on confidentiality before writing the final case.

Budget for the Current Fees

DBA members receive one free entry; additional entries cost £595 plus VAT. Non-member entries cost £1120 plus VAT. The £100 plus VAT early-payment discount ended on 23 October 2026 at 17:00 BST. Paying early was separate from submitting the case, so do not treat the expired discount date as the entry deadline. Entry fees are non-refundable.

Prepare Both Versions and Secure Approval

You must submit an anonymous judging version and a publication version. The anonymous report must not identify the design agency or in-house team; client names can appear. It must be an unlocked, portrait A4 PDF in English, using black text on white, font size 10. The limit is 9 pages and a maximum of 6 images; check the entry pack for the page allocation.

The publication version may use 12 A4 sides, unrestricted images and company names or logos. Otherwise it must match the anonymous entry apart from the expressly permitted changes. Follow the organiser's confidential-data labelling and redaction rules, and check the publication copy carefully: protecting that data is the entrant's responsibility.

Before submission, obtain approval from your principal or managing director, or equivalent, and an appropriate senior executive of the other party. Allow time for the required sign-off sheet and both parties' review. Submit the separate logos and project images in the prescribed formats too; the rules give 8 December 2026 as the deadline for sending the image files.

Keep the Results Calendar Separate

The shortlist is due in April 2027, with shortlisted entries guaranteed a Bronze, Silver or Gold award. The award level is announced in late June 2027 at The Design Effect. For now, focus on a clear, jointly approved case that demonstrates design's contribution and is ready before the submission cutoff.

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