Judging at the D&AD Awards is an opportunity to see great work, be inspired by smart people and learn new stuff. And judging D&AD 2023’s digital design category recently was no exception. Even so, I was surprised by how, when it comes to brand and experience design, many businesses still use an outdated playbook.

My issue is the misplaced fixation that so many marketers and agencies still seem to have on so-called ‘big brand hero moments’ at the cost of something just as critical: the little intent-rich moments when a brand’s customer or employee turns to that brand to act on a need – such as to discover, to do, or to buy.

It seems we still have a legacy attention towards the big shiny things rather than the little things that you bump into or use every day. And the result is attention-grabbing sexy one-offs that all too often trump the useful and meaningful.