Editorial Standards
Our Methodology
How we review listings, run the awards, and produce research — transparently.
Directory Listings
All listings in the Design Fact Finder directory are manually reviewed by our editorial team before being published. We do not accept automatic or unmoderated listings from external aggregators.
Our review process checks: business legitimacy (Companies House registration or equivalent), genuine design capability (portfolio review), contact details, and service accuracy. We aim to complete reviews within 5–10 working days of submission.
Link Policy
- →Free editorial listings — carry standard followed outbound links after review.
- →Sponsored listings — clearly labelled "Sponsored". Outbound links use rel="sponsored".
- →Unreviewed user submissions — use rel="ugc" or rel="nofollow" until reviewed.
- →We do not sell "dofollow" links as a standalone product.
Awards Process
The Design Fact Finder Awards use an independent judging panel with no commercial relationship with entrants. Judges are selected for their expertise and are required to declare any conflicts of interest.
Judging criteria are published before entries open. The entry fee covers administrative costs only and has no influence on judging decisions. We publish full conflict of interest rules alongside the judging criteria.
Judging Standards
- →Judges must declare any relationship with entrants.
- →No judge may score an entry from a company they have worked with in the past 3 years.
- →All scores are aggregated and moderated before winners are finalised.
- →Entrants who are finalists or winners are not told of their status until public announcement.
Research Standards
All research articles on Design Fact Finder are original editorial content written by our team or commissioned authors. We do not republish press releases as editorial content.
Statistics and findings are cited with primary sources. Where we reference academic or industry research, we link to the original source. Research articles are dated and updated when new evidence emerges.
Independence & Disclaimer
Design Fact Finder is an independently operated website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Design Council, any government body, or any design industry association.
This site was inspired by the Design Council's original "Value of Design Factfinder" and continues the spirit of evidence-based design research independently. We have no commercial relationship with the Design Council.
Sponsored placements are clearly identified. We do not receive payment in exchange for editorial recommendations. Our ranking and editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial arrangements.
Questions about our methodology? Contact our editorial team.