D&AD Impact has chosen its winners, announced at the D&D Impact presentation event in New York. 32 Pencils were awarded for products, initiatives and campaigns from around the world that are addressing some of the globe’s most pressing issues. 2 Black Pencils, 4 White Pencils were won, 5 Graphite Pencils, 10 Wood Pencils and 11 Future Impact Pencils were won.
This year the use of design and emerging technologies featured prominently within the top winning work.
Both Black Pencil winners had a focus on 3D printing:
| Black Pencil | France | TBWA\Paris | Dagoma | Harmless Guns | Community and Civic Engagement |
| Black Pencil | Israel | McCann Tel-Aviv | IKEA | IKEA ThisAbles | Equality and Diversity |
The use of AI was also a common theme within the line-up of projects that took home the top awards – being used both to help increase accessibility for people with special-needs and tackle issues such as racism.
White Pencil Winners are:
| White Pencil | Canada | FCB/Six | Black & Abroad | Go Back to Africa | Equality and Diversity |
| White Pencil | United Kingdom | FCB Inferno | Huawei | Story Sign | Educational and Financial Empowerment |
| White Pencil | Australia | FINCH | Mars Inc | The Lion’s Share | Environment and Sustainability |
| White Pencil | United States | McCann New York | Microsoft | Changing the Game | Equality and Diversity |
Patrick Burgoyne, D&AD chief executive officer, stated, “Our winners this year showcase the power of creativity to make significant, positive impact in the world. From increasing accessibility to products and services, to changing policy and changing lives, this is work the whole industry can be proud of.”
The D&AD Impact Council, a group of business and thought leaders from across the creative, brand, investment, social impact, sustainability and NGO space, assembled on November 5 to decide which work was deserving of a Wood, Graphite, White or Black Pencil. Its support for the programme continues on as part of the D&AD Future Impact programme, a new initiative for 2019 that exists to support creative ideas that have the potential to change the world.
Eleven winning prototypes, products and projects, including personalised colouring books for dementia patients (A Colourful Life) and specialty paper from locally sourced discarded pineapple leaves (Pinyapel), form this year’s cohort. The Future Impacters will receive access to a fund worth $150,000 that includes consultancy and mentoring, visibility and grants, and a place on the D&AD Impact Accelerator. This is a two-day masterclass, held at McCann New York November 6-7. The accelerator is spearheaded by members of the council and has been designed to help the cohort amplify their ideas, so they can start generating impact after launch.
View all the D&AD Impact 2019 winners here.
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