D&I Global Awards' Winners

We recognize that Human-Centered Design has impacted our organizations in so many ways, spurring significant and transformative effects in even the most siloed, large enterprises. In an effort to highlight these moments of Design Transformation, our 2020 Design & Innovation Awards winners highlight exceptional stories of design-led evolution.

Cultural Transformation

Design-led cultural transformation acknowledges an organization-wide mindset shift where empathy is at the forefront of all processes. This category features the larger implications of Human-Centered Design that changes the way employees work, collaborate and interact both with each other and with customers. Congratulations to Minnesota, The Minnetonka School District in partnership with Gopher Sport (Moving Minds) for their transformation, Minnetonka Middle School’s Human Centered Design!

Digital Transformation

Digital transformation involves much more than technology investments and UX upgrades. A digital-first mindset involves the reorganization of people, process, and thinking to develop meaningful digital experiences that interact with the existing product infrastructure and augment the value delivered to customers. This category highlights the movement to stay competitive through digital innovation alongside the pieces required to support and sustain this transformation. Congratulations to Catalyst Consulting Group with the City of Chicago for their transformation, CHI311, Chicago’s Modernized 311!

Brand Transformation

Customers do not interact with or view a brand as a singular touch point but rather an end-to-end ecosystem of experiences. Loyalty is driven through a deep and emotional brand engagement. This category examines the evolving nature of modern brands and how organizations craft the end-to-end brand experience to maximize customer lifetime value. Congratulations to Eaton for their transformation, Now Blue is Our Favorite Color!

Business Model Transformation

The most successful modern businesses foster an agile culture allowing for iterative business model reinvention to disrupt themselves. This culture of business model innovation requires a shift in the way the business functions at the very core. This category spotlights organizations who have taken a human-centered approach to transform their core business and solidify their sustainability in an ever-evolving ecosystem. Congratulations to Drawn Agency for their transformation, A New Type of Customer Experience via the Porter Platform!

Research Transformation

Moving from analytical to ethnographic research, balancing the moments of qualitative and quantitative data, and deciphering behavior and machine learning, the research landscape proves more complex than ever before. This category highlights organizations who have created a culture of empathy and understanding through a transformed, holistic and inclusive research approach. Congratulations to Freddie Mac Multifamily for their transformation, From Assumptions to Understanding - We Make Home Possible!

IBM's Enterprise Design Transformation

The modern enterprise strives to align multi-disciplinary teams around the real needs of their users. Understanding that all of the above categories are very much inter-related, this final award will evaluate the finalists of all categories and select an overall winner that best represents the holistic organizational movement powered by Design Thinking and Doing.  Successful organizational transformation requires progress across many of the above award categories; excelling at culture change, delivering impactful outcomes for users and employees, and the broad adoption of practices like user design research and design thinking. Congratulations to Eaton for their transformation, From Basic Beige to Electric Blue!