Adding Value to Data Business Through Design: QUICK’s Award Project Challenge.

In service development and the launch of new businesses, incorporating external perspectives and diverse expertise can open up breakthroughs—revealing challenges and ideas that are often difficult to identify from within an organization alone.

This case introduces a concrete example of that process through the design award project “QUICK Data Design Challenge 2023,” which explored value creation at the intersection of data and design. By connecting with creators both inside and outside the organization, the project became a catalyst for discovering new ideas and directions.

*This article is a re-edited version based on the original case study, “Adding Value to Data Business Through Design: QUICK’s Award Project Challenge,” originally published by Loftwork Inc.

“QUICK Data Design Challenge 2023” set out to explore new ways of expressing data.

After an open call spanning approximately two months, one Grand Prize winner, three Runner-up Prize winners, and one Special Prize winner were selected from a diverse pool of 176 submissions.

Here, we present a range of original and innovative outputs born at the intersection of data and design.

https://awrd.com/award/quick_data_design_challenge_2023/result

• A newly established design team, created to drive value creation through data and design, planned a design award with the goals of strengthening both internal and external branding and building networks with creators.
• By setting open-ended themes and appointing a cross-disciplinary panel of judges, the initiative attracted a diverse range of creators while also providing an opportunity to deeply reconsider the potential of data-driven design.
• The award served as a catalyst for emerging new activities within the organization, helping the team take its first steps as a design organization.

With the aim of “making society visible through data,” QUICK Corp., a provider of financial and economic information services, has built a strong reputation for delivering fast and accurate data. In response to societal change, the company established a new design team and is exploring new possibilities for creating added value through the use of data.

Positioning itself as a company that explores the potential of data utilization from a design perspective, QUICK partnered with Loftwork to launch its first design award, “QUICK Data Design Challenge 2023.” The initiative was designed to strengthen branding both internally and externally, while also building networks with creators and other co-creation partners to accelerate future business development.

Written by: Rumi Yoshizawa
Edited by: Yutaro Gokan, Ryoko Iwasaki (Loftwork.com Editorial Team)

As a platform that connects creativity and ideas with projects around the world, AWRD reached out to a wide range of creators across disciplines and backgrounds. In addition to an open theme, the call for entries included a designated challenge using datasets preselected by the organizing team. This approach created an accessible environment in which even those unfamiliar with working with data could participate by starting from their own strengths or areas of interest.

The judging panel brought together diverse perspectives, including Kinya Tagawa, CEO, Design Engineer, and Director at Takram; copywriter and creative director Mariko Ogata; and the globally active art unit exonemo. This multidisciplinary jury structure enabled works to be evaluated from multiple angles. Discussions during the judging sessions also led to a reexamination of approaches to data-driven design, deepening the design team’s own thinking in the process.

Despite being the first initiative of its kind for the company, the award received 176 submissions over approximately two months. One Grand Prize winner, three Runner-up Prize winners, and one QUICK Special Prize winner were selected. The QUICK Special Prize was chosen through a company-wide employee vote, helping to raise awareness of the design team’s activities internally while also fostering greater engagement with and understanding of design across the organization.

Building on the connections formed through the award, QUICK’s design team has also begun exploratory activities focused on community building with designers and creators. These efforts are expected to contribute to the development of future businesses in the data × design domain.

As improvements in AI accuracy and rapid societal change make data an increasingly familiar presence that shapes our daily lives and ways of thinking, the need to consider how data is communicated continues to grow. This award can be seen as a new response to that emerging societal demand. Through “QUICK Data Design Challenge 2023,” QUICK has taken its first step toward further growth as a design-driven organization.

Main Visual

Award-Winning Works

Grand Prize

Strawberry Sample Book

Runner-up Prize

VALUES MAP – Discovering Your City Through Values –

Gender Differences in Social Roles in Japan: A Comparison with OECD Countries

Ocean Pandæmonium -The Noisy Plasticscape-

QUICK Special Prize

SPEED CONVERSION

Members’ Voices

Like the QUICK design award project introduced here, AWRD provides a platform for co-creation where companies and organizations can generate new ideas and connect with potential partners.

We invite you to explore similar initiatives and discover how AWRD can be used in your own projects.

View other new business and co-creation project case studies
Browse the full list of AWRD case studies

Explore co-creation and design opportunities with AWRD
Learn more about AWRD services and how to use them