The winners of the 2015 D&AD New Blood awards were announced this week. The awards are given to design students, graduates of the last two years, and those under 23, with the aim of celebrating up-and-coming designers. This year, there were 288 winners from 49 countries, who received wood, graphite, yellow, white and black pencils, with black being the most prestigious award. All Pencil winners are eligible to apply for the New Blood Academy following the awards, a two-week creative training course supported by WPP, which provides opportunities for paid work placements.
The winners of the 2015 D&AD New Blood awards (which celebrate up-an-coming designers) were announced this week
41 young creatives were the recipients of a Yellow Pencil, with three receiving D&AD's highest accolade. Four White Pencils, given for projects aimed at making a positive difference to society, were also awarded. In line with the Professional Awards, “In Book” status was marked with a Wood Pencil, while projects that were nominated for a Yellow Pencil, but didn't quite make the grade, were recognised with Graphite. Clients which wrote briefs this year included Airbnb, BBC, WWF, Nationwide, Facebook, John Lewis, Pantone, i-D, Npower, Monotype, TalkTalk, VICE, WeTransfer and WPP.
Nationwide – How It Should Be
Black pencil winners included creators of the “How It Should Be” work for Nationwide, “Project Monsoon” for Pantone, and “When I’m a Dad” for WeTransfer. How It Should Be (above), designed by students from School of Communication Arts 2.0, challenged the gender pay gap, while Project Monsoon, created by students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, saw the streets of Seoul in South Korea painted with water-activated paint. When I’m a Dad, from the University of Lincoln, was a print and digital execution that aimed to create inspiring connotations of fatherhood. Other winners included WWF – “Endangered Soles” by Frazer Price, John Trainor and Teddy Souter from School of Communication Arts 2.0, who scooped a White Pencil, and Pantone – “Colourful Accents” by Hilda Cortei at the Arts University Bournemouth, who also picked up a White Pencil.
This year, there were 288 winners from 49 countries, who received wood, graphite, yellow, white and black pencils
Mark Bonner, president of D&AD who hosted the awards ceremony, said: “The New Blood Awards offer an unparalleled opportunity for young creative people to shine. The list of winners is a curated resource for employers to cherry pick the hottest talent just as they’re graduating. D&AD’s mission is to ensure that the creative industry continues to enjoy rude health, both in the UK and around the world, and the New Blood programme is a vital pillar in our efforts to support talent at a grassroots level. Everyone nominated was in the top 6% of entrants – we had to narrow it down from thousands of entries. We’re here to set and raise the creative benchmark for advertisers and designers, and that benchmark was at the Awards.”
