When the HOW team thinks of all the brilliant work that’s been entered in our competitions over the years—and all the talented people behind those projects—we can’t help but smile. Celebrating exemplary work is one of the best parts of our jobs. That’s why it’s so easy for us to go on all day about all the reasons you should enter our competitions, like the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards (which has a deadline of April 10!).

But we want you to hear from the design champions themselves. So we talked with the freelance designers, in-house teams, design firms and students behind some of last year’s winning entries.

Below, you’ll find their work, see their faces, and discover firsthand how entering the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards helped their businesses and graphic design careers.

Sonia Greteman, Greteman Group President/Creative Director:

Why did you enter the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards?

HOW provides a valued, vetted platform for creative excellence. Our agency only enters competitions that we find meaningful. Which is why we enter every year.

We study the work of the other winners. Their choices undoubtedly seep into and elevate our own creative problem solving. Why not learn from the best?

What do you see as the benefits of winning the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards?

We’re well past the days of simply wanting more Lucite or plaques. We care about critique from proven professionals whose opinions we trust. It helps us get better.

People like to work with winners. That goes for clients and staff. Winning serves as both new business and recruitment tools.

There’s a fun element, too. When we win, it provides another cause for celebration.

Has winning the HOW Promotion & Marketing Design Awards had any impact on your business or career?

Winning HOW awards has affected my career, our agency’s global reputation and our team of move-the-needle pros. A thumbs-up from HOW equates to a creative greenlight. We find it hugely motivating. Our clients find it validating, too.

Published at HOWDesign.com March 20th, 2017.