D&AD New Blood Awards has awarded 179 Pencils at its ceremony at Protein Studios in London’s Shoreditch. 2 Black Pencils were awarded to work that addresses helmet safety for Vietnamese children and using digital experiences to foster a sense of community. 7 White Pencils, 33 Yellow, 39 Graphite and 98 Wood Pencils were also given out.
This year, emerging creatives were invited to respond to a series of briefs set by leading global brands including Google, eBay, Candy Crush Saga, Gymshark, and Sky. The 17 briefs covered a wide range of disciplines including UX/UI, animation, advertising, typography and PR and were designed to provide new talent with the experience of working on client briefs. They tackled varying commercial challenges and social issues, including asking entrants to innovate banking in the name of neurodivergence; to come up with words that dare the world to dream; and to raise awareness of abortion as healthcare.
This year’s standout entry was Put a helmet on like ô by Linh Nguyễn Khắc Hải & Quỳnh Nguyễn Ngọc Nhã of Vietnam, created in response to a brief set by Google Fonts & HMCT to lead the way through type-led activism. The campaign, that won a Black, White and Yellow Pencil addresses the problem that 2000 Vietnamese children die every year due to road accidents, of which half would have been saved with helmet use. While parents leave their children’s heads unprotected, there’s something they always put a helmet on: the letter ‘ô’. In Vietnamese alphabets, letters ‘o’ and ‘ô’ often cause confusion. So to remind their children of the difference, they visualise the circumflex ‘^’ as a helmet. A lesson every Vietnamese remembers: ‘o’ doesn’t put on a helmet. ‘ô’ always puts on a helmet.
A Black Pencil was also awarded to Sky React by Sophie Ross of Norwich University of the Arts, responding to a brief set by Sky to transport entertainment to new digital experiences. People love to share their reactions to great TV and movie moments online, usually occurring on various social media platforms and not connected to the timeline of the content, unlike live tweeting during a TV show. Sky React lets you express your emotions and opinions in real-time with quick reactions and comments tied to the show’s timeline, bringing the live TV experience to any pre-recorded content anytime you want, fostering a sense of community.
White Pencil winners include Adinkra Braids by Yash Bhut & Alyona Golikova, from Germany, addressing the stigma that women in Ghana face around their reproductive health:
…and The Red O by Laura Orkild, Clara Sofie Ahlefeldt-Laurvig & Sandra Bertelsen from Denmark, addressing the six-week abortion ban in Georgia with a typographically led campaign using an exclusive version of Google’s Lato font, where the red o is consistently the size of a foetus in week six, measuring 6mm.
The Pencils were awarded at the closing of this year’s New Blood Festival which took place on July 5 and 6 at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, London. The winning work has been on display in a graduate showcase of more than 30 exhibiting universities, with exclusive exhibitions of the winners of New Blood Awards, New Blood: The Portfolios with Editor X, and new schools programme New Gen Awards with adidas and WPP.
This year, D&AD again collaborated with advanced website creation platform, Editor X, on New Blood: The Portfolios – a competition recognising creatively excellent portfolio websites across several disciplines, including advertising, animation, illustration, graphic design and digital. The winners’ work, judged by industry professionals, will be profiled, celebrated and highlighted to the industry, providing winners with exposure and an opportunity to land their first job. Those selected are also eligible for a place on the prestigious New Blood Academy, a two-week creative bootcamp with WPP agencies, now in its tenth year. Historically, 92% of those attending the Academy secure a job in advertising or design.
Paul Drake, foundations director at D&AD, commented, “The New Blood Awards always deliver a huge wave of creative optimism for our industry. This year was no different; against a backdrop of job uncertainty, unappreciated creative education and a cost of living crisis; the quality of the work still shone with the winners providing thoughtful and beautifully crafted responses to our briefs. We look forward to seeing what they go on to do next and the impact they have on our industry and beyond.”
