At the end of last year, I received an email from Communicate Magazine inviting me to join the judging panel for this year’s Transform Awards.
At first, I thought the email was junk so I disregarded it. I honestly thought they were asking for money to be part of the event… It wasn’t until filtering my emails during my Christmas holiday that I re-read the email several times. Thankfully I replied, as Transform Awards turned out to be a highlight of the year so far and an invaluable experience.
Transform awards are marketed as “Europe’s only dedicated celebration of rebranding, repositioning and brand transformation”. Being a yearly event (starting in 2010), the event has grown in size and popularity with entries from some of the countries leading brand design agencies.
Sadly I can’t talk about the judging process itself, as I signed a non-disclosure agreement, but I can say it was both time consuming and exciting, with part of the process at home, and part in London at the offices of the agency who design for apple… I was in my element!
The entries were very impressive, so there were some tough decisions to make…
The Transform Awards Event
I was really excited about the awards evening, which was held at The Brewery in Central London on 1st April. I rarely get the opportunity to get dressed up and mingle with people from the design industry so it was pretty big for me. I had no idea what to expect from it, but I was counting down the days.
The venue was very classy, with the room beautifully prepared for the evening. We ‘the judges’ had our own table, so it was great to get to know the others involved in the process, and finally discuss the entries. It was an eventful night of food, drink, music and announcements.
The awards were hosted and presented by Alastair Campbell.
Each attendee was given a program together with a table plan, beautifully designed in a chemistry theme based on the concept of ‘Creating Chemistry’. It’s really great to have been included in the program.
One of the most exciting things for me personally was seeing my logo up on the big screen. It’s the first times I have had the opportunity to be part of something like this, so even though small and tucked away at the bottom, it was a proud moment.
The Winning Entries
Two entries stood out from the crowd, each bringing home one of the two best-in-show awards as well as several category awards. They were the ITV rebrand, created in-house by ITV Creative, and The Clearing’s new look-and-feel for Eurostar.
It was an awesome moment to congratulate ITV on their success through twitter, and getting a ‘Woohoo!’ response.
There were a number of entry categories, however below I have highlighted only the categories relevant to logo design and visual identity. To see the full list of winners, visit the Transform Awards 2014 winners list.
Best implementation of a rebrand
- Gold – ITV
- Silver – Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
- Bronze – Lloyds Bank and Rufus Leonard
- Highly commended – Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Fishburn
- Highly commended – WorldPay Zinc and SomeOne
Best corporate rebrand to reflect changed mission/values/positioning
- Gold – Stanley and Lippincott
- Gold – Unify and McMillan
- Silver – The Royal Bank of Scotland and TileyWoodman Creative
- Bronze – 1st CENTRAL
- Highly commended – Iberia and Interbrand
Best corporate rebrand for a spinoff/new company
- Gold – Tesco Hudl and SomeOne
- Silver – Zoetis and Lippincott
- Bronze – Allegion and Lippincott
Best rebrand of a digital property
- Gold – Tenner for Young Enterprise and Bladonmore
- Silver – Green Park and Fishburn
- Bronze – Xplored for GardaWorld and Bladonmore
- Bronze- Unify and McMillan
- Highly commended – Peregrine Communications
Best visual identity from a charity/NGO/non-profit
- Gold – Tenner for Young Enterprise and Bladonmore
- Silver – CITB and Bell Integrated
- Bronze – English National Ballet and The Beautiful Meme
- Bronze – WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Conran Design Group
- Highly commended – Avenor College and Storience
Best visual identity from the consumer services sector
- Gold – Direct and Interbrand
- Silver – The Vitamin Shoppe and Lippincott
Best visual identity from the energy sector
- Gold – Energy Saving Trust and OPX
- Silver – AOG and Handsome
- Bronze – Atlantis and SomeOne
Best visual identity from the extraction sector
- Gold – Puma Energy and MerchantCantos
- Bronze – Man Oil Group and Rare Breed
Best visual identity from the financial services sector
- Gold – The Commercial Bank of Qatar and Industry
- Silver – First Direct and The Allotment
- Silver – WorldPay Zinc and SomeOne
- Bronze – Ixaris and Pepper
- Highly commended – Lloyds Bank and Rufus Leonard
Best visual identity from the healthcare sector
- Gold – Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Fishburn
- Silver – Actavis and Lippincott
- Bronze – GC Aesthetics and Truth Design
- Highly commended – Zoetis and Lippincott
Best visual identity from the industrial and basic material sector
- Gold – Oak Tyres and Detail
- Silver – Allegion and Lippincott
- Bronze – DS Smith and Unreal
Best visual identity from the professional services sector
- Gold – Schillings and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
- Silver – Edison and The Brand Consultancy
- Bronze – Ash Office Supplies and Attract
- Bronze – Coursiers.com and Brand Brothers
Best visual identity from the property sector
- Gold – Champions and Ideas FactorySilver – Al Wa’ab City and Unisono
- Bronze – Benham & Reeves and Ideas Factory
- Highly commended – Equity Housing Group and Studio North
Best visual identity from the public sector
- Gold – University of Warwick and IE Design Consultancy
- Silver – Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
- Silver – University of Birmingham and IE Design Consultancy
- Bronze – ŁÓDZKIE PROVINCE and BNA
Best visual identity from the retail sector
- Gold – Jacqson Diego Story Emporium and Pepper
- Silver – Stanley and Lippincott
- Bronze – Oxford Street and Goosebumps Brand Consultancy
Best visual identity from the technology, media & telecommunications sector
- Gold – ITV
- Silver – Tesco Hudl and SomeOne
- Bronze – PTC and Lippincott
- Highly commended – Murata and Living Group
- Highly commended – Unify and McMillan
Best visual identity from the tourism sector
- Gold – Eurostar and The Clearing
- Silver – Crystal Ski and SomeOne
- Silver – Generator and Bisqit
- Bronze – Hilton Hotels & Resorts and Ever After Brand
- Highly commended – Avianca and Lippincott
Best overall visual identity
- Eurostar and The Clearing
Grand Prix for excellence in rebranding
- ITV
The future of Transform Awards
This year the awards are expanding with new award ceremonies due to be held in the MENA (The Middle East and North Africa) region on June 2 and Asia-Pacific in November. Transform Awards is also going to have its own magazine, and I’m really excited to have one of my quotes included in its first issue.
Being part of a branding awards event was amazing for me, and I truly enjoyed the whole process. Luckily I have been told I will be invited to join them again next year, and I really hope to be involved in more projects like this in the future.