To be named Client of the Year is a high accolade, indeed. It demands not just a great piece of work in this year's Benchmarks, but a proven track record of commissioning and inspiring outstanding design - and being a decent organisation for designers to deal with.
It was a close run thing this year, with Jamie Oliver's culinary empire vying with UKTV for the final votes. In the end, the TV chef's team won, on the strength of two very different, but equally strong entries this year - the Jme branding by Pearlfisher and the Recipease food kits by Williams Murray Hamm, both for Jamie Oliver Enterprises.
The company's entrepreneurial stance, taking its cue from its founder, has resulted in design-led diversification into housewares and retail beyond the more predictable food brands. A design stable including top-notch branding teams like Pearlfisher, WMH, Sea Design and
Design Bridge - the latter two working with the client in its early days - suggests an enlightened appreciation of great design. UKTV scored a big hit with ?lads' channel Dave in the Benchmarks last year, winning an award for broadcast design group Red Bee Media and scoring runner up in Best of Show. This year it notched up an award for Red Dwarf: Back to Earth and saw Alibi and Blighty shortlisted, but the judges felt it didn't quite attain the bar set by Oliver and his colleagues. It has been consistent in the quality of the designs submitted, but all have been carried out by Red Bee Media, which the judges felt didn't show quite the diversity they were looking for.
Close contenders were the British Heart Foundation, which won outright Best of Show among campaigns this year, and Oxford Brookes University with its ingenious campus scheme winning the Property category and commendation for its bus service in Public Sector.