D&AD: Australia ranks #4 in a shortlist dominated (again) by the US & UK

D&AD has announced this year’s shortlist following three days of judging by 342 global creative leaders. The shortlist of 1,261 entries was chosen from a record 12,243 entries made up of nearly 30,000 individual pieces of work.

All shortlisted entries may be viewed on the D&AD website. Winners will be revealed in two ceremonies on May 24 and 25.

Entries came from 77 countries, 5.65% from the Middle East and India,19.65% from Europe, 31.40% from US and Canada, 2.61% from South East Asia, 18.96% from UK and Ireland 4.98% from Oceania, 4.98% from Latin America, 4.26% from China, 4.41% from Japan and Singapore, 2.63% from Africa.

As a charity, entries enable D&AD to fund educational programs such as D&AD Shift with Google, a free, industry-led night school for self-taught creatives from under-represented backgrounds. Every year, the D&AD Awards categories evolve to best represent the creative and cultural landscape within which work is being produced. The revised program addresses fundamental themes currently in the creative industries and ensures that the Awards remain the most relevant benchmark for creative excellence in design and advertising. For the 2023 Awards, these amendments were made.

Gaming category became Gaming & Virtual Worlds with the addition of three new subcategories: Use of Avatars, Use of Blockchain and Brand Experience

Use of XR subcategories more inclusive of work created for web 3.0 and the metaverse; Use of XR added to Direct and Media for the first time; as well as Digital, Commerce, Digital Design, Animation, Typography, and Visual Effects

Photography evolved to include Personal Style to enable portfolios to be judged

Fashion Film added to 6 categories: Film, Art Direction, Cinematography, Direction, Editing and Production Design

Product and Packaging Design added two new subcategories: Packaging Design / Plastic Free, for packaging that has been designed or redesigned to eliminate the use of plastic; and Impact / Climate Solution, for work that’s taking action to combat the impact of climate change by driving the success of Sustainable Development Goals

Branding category restructured so that work is grouped according to the size of the client

Type Design renamed Type Design & Lettering, with subcategories arranged by font family instead of genre and dedicated subcategories for Lettering, Symbols and Variable Fonts

Book Design restructured with new subcategories including Young Adults, Photographic Books, Exhibition Books, Promotional Books, Anthologies and Revised Editions

Craft subcategories reintroduced to music videos, including Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Visual Effects.

The top ranking countries by number of shortlisted entries are:

1. United States: 233
2. United Kingdom: 186
3. France: 67
4. Australia: 38
5. Canada: 38
6. United States, United Kingdom: 36
7. China: 28
8. India: 27
9. Germany: 24
10. Japan: 24

The top 5 ranking entrant companies by number of shortlisted entries are:

1. Division: 22
2. adam&eveDDB: 20
3. Marcel: 18
4. Ogilvy UK: 16
5. FCB New York: 15

The total number of Entries shortlisted in each category are:

Animation: 21
Art Direction: 20
Book Design: 20
Branding: 89
Casting: 23
Cinematography: 13
Commerce: 33
Creative Transformation: 17
Digital: 65
Digital Design: 30
Direct: 67
Direction: 61
Editing: 15
Entertainment: 22
Experiential: 58
Film: 38
Future Impact: 20
Gaming & Virtual Worlds: 13
Graphic Design: 59
Illustration: 20
Impact: 44
Integrated: 15
Magazine & Newspaper Design: 37
Media: 65
Music Videos: 37
Packaging Design: 22
Photography: 12 PR: 65
Press & Outdoor: 35
Product Design: 23
Production Design: 15
Radio & Audio: 20
Side Hustle: 6
Sound Design & Use of Music: 36
Spatial Design: 31
Type Design & Lettering: 22
Typography: 17
Visual Effects: 15
Writing for Advertising: 26
Writing for Design: 14

Entries increased this year from nearly all regions. Africa has seen the most significant change with an uplift of 103.8%, followed by Latin America 33.07%, Middle East & India, 27.73%, Japan & Singapore 18.94%, and US & Canada 6.93%. In addition, there was a record number of total entries for this year’s Awards with a 4.95% overall increase.

Donal Keenan, Awards Director at D&AD, commented, “It was amazing to be back in person for the first time since 2019. It’s been several long days and nights of rigorous debates and discussions, but the judges loved participating and it was great fun to facilitate. Huge thanks to the juries who brought their expertise. They were tough but fair and the results are now in – we’re thrilled to announce the shortlist.”

D&AD chief executive officer, Jo Jackson, added, “We’re making work in a world that’s creating new intelligence, embracing renewables, facing extinction, confronting its biases, entrenching inequality, exploring further, living longer and still fighting a pandemic. It’s clear that we can’t just make things that are pretty. We can’t make plastic junk. We can’t waste time making things up that aren’t even real. We can’t ignore how technology is shaping us. We can’t play off our privilege, take comfort in convention, or turn a blind eye. But our creativity can make a real difference in response to these challenges.”

Pencil winners will be announced in two ceremonies on 24 and 25 May at BFI Southbank, London. Find details here.