Design Entries Fell 25% — Prestige Rose
As a journalist who still marks up media plans by hand, I keep returning to one point — Tougher criteria and fewer entries made Lions rarer and more meaningful.
I am less interested in keynote poetry than in the levers a brand can actually toggle before Friday’s budget meeting.
- Document process early
- Test recognition, not just aesthetics
- Reserve budget for real materials
| Signal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project | Why it mattered |
| Apple TV Rebrand | Design Grand Prix |
| WWDC iOS 27 | Everyday UI expectations |
| Entry volume | Fewer entries, higher prestige |
Pros
- Craft visibility builds trust
- Clear naming fixes discovery
- Sonic identity deepens recall
Cons
- Physical production costs more
- Making-of requires planning
- Global systems risk rigidity
I still talk to strategists who celebrate a launch week and then skip the autopsy. That is how budgets vanish. Schedule the review before the campaign starts, while everyone still agrees what success meant.
Source: Eslogan. Numbers and product claims above come from that reporting; interpretation is mine.