Design awards: what do they stand for?

Everyone has their opinion about entering and competing for design awards.
Personally, I’ve been tempted to enter in A’ Design Award but always felt like the judges would give me a hard time. However, I know that the fact I haven’t won an award has nothing to do with being a good professional or meeting project’s goals, it simply means that by weighing the pros and cons, the latter were heavier in my book and I decided not to apply. Yet.

In detail, these are the factors I consider when searching and submitting applications to design awards.

Cons

Entry fee
Submission fees can be very expensive, especially for a small business/entry-level professional (like myself).
Though different categories (student, studio, and agency are common) vary in expenses, it takes some consideration to be sure that the investment will produce a good return (even if we don’t win).

Extra costs
Other than the cost to enter the competition, most award ceremonies will also require extra expenses. Traveling, media publicity, paying for the physical version of the award, using the institution logo to promote work and publications with the winning projects are so the bonuses that require additional money.

Time-consuming
Besides the money put into potentially winning an award, there’s also the time factor.
For effectively applying, a couple of documents will be required and possibly there will be multiple rounds until the final ceremony/results.
So it requires effort and dedication to pull everything together within the deadlines.

Egocentric without real context
Design awards can be misleading in the sense that you have a project praised by the industry that doesn’t necessarily translate into the real world. Ideally, all of the competitions should account for the original problem and the end-result to evaluate the real significance of the design project in context. However, that’s not always the case and some projects might not have been so successful to respond to the original brief.

Pros

Recognition
Getting an award is a process that generates peer/industry recognition. This means that it validates the quality of the team or designer behind that project and seal it as an example of good work. As a result, more opportunities for collaboration and networking can come from recognition.

Attention retainer/ good publicity
With recognition usually follows good publicity, which translates into marketing material that reaches a higher level of potential clients or high-level employees. This can be a decisive factor for bringing in a higher income.

Skill development
We already know that applying to an award competition will require additional work. But this can also become an asset. Writing concisely and explaining the project thoroughly will force us to communicate better and put words into the design process. Though many designers struggle to write case studies and to communicate with clients, it’s a much-needed skill that can be improved and developed in this context.

Confidence booster
Receiving an award feels like reinforcement of the work and effort that goes into being a designer. It makes everyone involved feel good about the project, including clients. It’s another way to demonstrate quality and professionalism and get a well-deserved pat on the back by industry geniuses.

Conclusion

When deciding if a design competition is worth applying consider the reason why you’re doing it. Are you doing it to brag about it and have something to put on a shelve or is it a way to show how proud you are of that project? What is the outcome you expect from it and is it worth it (time and money-wise)?