D&AD New Blood Award winners announced for 2018

New Blood Festival. Image supplied.

The winners impressed the judges with their creative thinking and practical skills and tonight received one of the industry’s most prestigious creative accolades: a New Blood Pencil. Handpicked by some of the industry’s leading lights from thousands of entries from across 54 countries, the winners represent the best of emerging talent from around the globe.

194 Pencils have been awarded in total, with one Black Pencil, four White Pencils and 29 Yellow Pencils among the coveted accolades. Judges also awarded Best Stand at the New Blood Festival and selected 39 graduates from 1,000 exhibiting students for its ‘One to Watch’ award.

Winning entries ranged from the playful – giving a nod to the fun that youth culture can add to advertising – to tackling important current issues such as homelessness, environmental impact, access to education, unsolicited imagery and feminism. Entries spanned across the full spectrum of design disciplines from digital design, illustration and graphics to intricately crafted animation, pointing to a rich culture for future commercial creativity.

Powerful, emotive and relevant

One Black Pencil was awarded this year, to #DearMrHousingMinister in response to the Nationwide and Shelter brief. Naomi Taylor from the School of Communication Arts 2.0 impressed the judges with her work, which was described as ‘a powerful, emotive and relevant piece grounded in humanity and hardship’. The judges further commented that her ‘spine-chillingly apt account of the housing crisis’ should be the level that future professional D&AD entries should be measured against. Naomi will certainly be one to watch.

Tim Lindsay, CEO of D&AD commented: “#DearMrHousingMinister offers a fresh perspective to an old problem and is a worthy winner for this year’s awards. It embodies what a New Blood Pencil is all about. It also speaks to the important role of creative thinking as a powerful tool for change. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Looking at the quality of work, I’m confident that the future of our industry is in capable hands.”

New Blood Shift 2018 campaign is launched by D&AD

12 Jun 2018

With more than 126,000 brief downloads to 116 countries, 2018 was a record year for the programme.

The full Pencil statistics are as follows:

• 1 Black Pencil
• 4 White Pencils
• 29 Yellow Pencils
• 40 Graphite Pencils
• 120 Wood Pencils

Foot-in-the-door
The New Blood Awards are a platform for students and other new creatives to showcase their talents on real briefs, set by real clients. Brand representatives and industry experts decide what work wins a coveted New Blood Pencil, and the bar every year is extremely high.

Entry to the awards is open to anyone in full or part-time education, recent graduates who finished their course within the past two years and anyone 23 or under.

All Pencil winners were eligible to apply for the New Blood Academy 2018 with WPP, where 50 graduates attend a two-week creative bootcamp. The Academy provides an opportunity to learn from the best in the business, with attendees working alongside WPP agencies on a live brief in order to secure a foot-in-the-door with a series of paid placements up for grabs. This year students will be working alongside creative luminaries as well as working on a live brief in their final week.

Meet the Class of 2018 here.

Winning work

The Black Pencil Winner
Nationwide and Shelter – #DearMrHousingMinister
Winner: Naomi Taylor
College: School of Communications 2.0

The White Pencil Winners
Digital McKinsey - Bolo. Banking for the Illiterate
Winners: Deepika Desai, Donghoon Lee and Philip Tabah
College: Miami Ad School San Francisco

Digital McKinsey - YETU
Winners: Megan Egan and Jonothan Hunt
College: School of Communication Arts 2.0

Dropbox Paper - The Dirty
Winners: Manon Drielsma, Hou Fong (Brian) Lo, Lizzie Smith and Olivia Mullins
College: University of Technology, Sydney

New Blood Side Hustle with Adobe - Made By Refugee
Winner: Jillian Young
College: Miami Ad School New York

A Selection of Yellow Pencil Winners
Adidas - Pure Sweat
Winners: Johanna Davis, Elin Hjelte, Ellen Marklund and Nicholas Sjöberg
College: Berghs School Of Communication

Burger King - It’s Not the Same Without the Flame
Winners: John Dillon, Nick Landon, Sydney Lindsey and Sydney Lippman
College: The Creative Circus

giffgaff - #giffconsent
Winners: Elise Smidt, Jennifer Dewar and Karina Bonnin
College: Edinburgh Napier University

New Blood Side Hustle with Adobe - Bot Ad School
Winner: Sam Cable
College: NA

The Beano - Beryl The Third
Winner: Aïcha Wijland
College: University of Otago, New Zealand

Best Stand Winners
Winner: Edinburgh Napier College
BDes (Hons) Graphic Design
Stand 40 & 41

Runner Up: Falmouth University
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
Stand 37 & 38

Runner Up: Arts University Bournemouth
BA (Hons) Illustration
Stand 78 & 79

One to Watch Winners