Azul Seven and Hennepin County Receive International Design Award

September 20, 2017, Minneapolis, MN –Minneapolis-based design firm, Azul Seven, today announced the receipt of an award from the Design Management Institute (DMI) for a series of projects they were hired to do for Hennepin County that bring innovation to the delivery of government services.

“We aim to create strategic value with every project we take on, so receiving this recognition is really gratifying,” said Azul Seven CEO, Lisa Helminiak.

Azul Seven was hired by Hennepin County in 2012 for a project to redesign the county’s website. By simplifying and consolidating technologies and organizational structure, Azul Seven helped Hennepin County realize a current annual savings of $750,000.

Following the success of that first design-led project, the county extended the contract for additional digital-government projects, but these gradually gave way to a broader, human-centered design initiative focusing on innovation, excellence and service across the county.

Hennepin County and Azul Seven will receive their award during the Design Value Awards Dinner Ceremony on Monday, September 25, 2017. The ceremony is part of the DMI: Design Leadership Conference being held in Minneapolis, September 24-26.

About DMI

DMI is an international organization that unites educators, researchers, designers and business leaders to facilitate organizational change and design-driven innovation. Each year DMI recognizes a selection of projects that exemplify the strategic value of design or design management practices. Past recipients of Design Value Awards include teams from Volvo, American Express, Philips and Kaiser Permanente, among others.