We are delighted to share the news that together with our clients at ACCO we have been announced the winners of the DBA Design Effectiveness Award 2022, for our work on the Leitz IQ Autofeed Office Shredder Range.

This award in particular means a great deal to us at OPD, because of its specific focus on the impact of design, and its celebration of the collaborative partnership. As the DBA puts it, the award process requires applicants to demonstrate "the highest level of evidence that their use of design has brought them success." The awards are rigorously judged by client-side business leaders across three rounds of judging, and "a win provides independent and authoritative recognition of the value of the work."

Document shredders are an essential tool for data security, but they are also generally unattractive, cumbersome, large, noisy, and take time to feed documents into. ACCO wanted to change all of this by launching a brand new range of high-end auto shredders under its premium European brand, Leitz.

Oxford Product Design was responsible for the industrial design, styling & brand embodiment and usability of the new range, while ensuring all components and mouldings would be manufacturable.

After launching the newly designed Leitz Autofeed range, the brand went from zero share in the auto-shredder market to a 16% share of the overall market. This contributed greatly to a 55% growth in sales across ACCO.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, our approach and its impact, read through our case study or our winning award entry.

ACCO’s Brands’ Vice President of Business Machines Product Marketing sums up the project, saying: "Simple, yet highly effective product design across all the machines has enabled highly cost effective and consistent manufacture, facilitating unparalleled speed to market and success."

Chairman of the Judges of the awards, Clive Grinyer explains, "The winners can be assured that they have achieved the highest level of evidence that their use of design has brought them success. We recognise and can reward their belief and investment in design and see it lead them out of these times into a future of new opportunities."

We’re really proud of this work and want to extend our congratulations and a huge thank you to the team at ACCO. We look forward to collaborating further in the future.

Up next

All news