D&AD has announced the shortlisted entries for its Advertising, Culture, Design, Impact and Next categories, following the second and final stage of 2021 D&AD Awards judging. 890 entries have been shortlisted in these categories. Again, the entries this year have surpassed expected numbers and continue to show the high quality of work being produced within the industry.
In the last year, digital acceleration and adoption of new technologies has accelerated, and this is reflected in the addition of new categories including E-Commerce and Gaming, both receiving considerable numbers of entries – greater than the figures of some of the more traditional categories. The strong submissions within these categories echo wider changes within society as a result of global lockdown which has caused a permanent shift in the way we live, work and connect.
Shortlisted entries from 28 categories have been announced in this second stage, ahead of the Pencil award ceremonies taking place across two separate virtual ceremonies on May 26 and 27.
Across these categories, the top-ranking countries by number of shortlisted entries are:
- United States – 277 Entries
- United Kingdom – 15 Entries
- France – 50 Entries
- Brazil – 42 Entries
- Australia and Germany – 35 Entries
- Canada -30 Entries
- China – 29 Entries
- Sweden – 23 Entries
- Japan – 20 Entries
The top 5 ranking companies for these categories, by number of shortlisted entries are:
- No. 1 – Africa – 18 Entries
- No. 2 – DDB Chicago – 12 Entries
- No. 3 – AMV BBDO – 11 entries
- No. 4 – BETC Paris, DDB Germany, FCB New York, McCann London & Saatchi & Saatchi New York – 10 Entries each
The total number of entries shortlisted in each category are:
- Book Design – 28 Entries
- Branding – 74 Entries
- Design Transformation – 5 Entries
- Digital – 54 Entries
- Digital Design – 26 Entries
- Direct – 50 Entries
- E-Commerce – 21 Entries
- Entertainment – 24 Entries
- Experiential – 35 Entries
- Film – 63 Entries
- Future Impact – 14 Entries
- Gaming – 15 Entries
- Graphic Design – 69 Entries
- Impact – 35 Entries
- Integrated – 19 Entries
- Magazine & Newspaper Design – 26 Entries
- Media – 50 Entries
- Music Videos – 37 Entries
- Next Creative – 5 Entries
- Next Designer – 4 Entries
- Next Director – 6 Entries
- Next Illustrator – 3 Entries
- Next Photographer – 1 Entry
- Packaging Design – 43 Entries
- PR – 63 Entries
- Press & Outdoor – 60 Entries
- Product Design – 15 Entries
- Radio & Audio – 20 Entries
- Spatial Design – 10 Entries
- Type Design – 15 Entries
All shortlisted pieces are showcased on the D&AD Website.
2021 submissions have seen a substantial increase in entries from nearly all regions. Western Asia & India have seen the most significant change with an uplift of 47% since 2019, followed by Oceania (42%) USA and Canada (41%), Latin America (28%), UK (22%), Africa (19%), Europe (12%) and China (9%). In addition, 20% of this year’s submissions came from new entrants.
Tim Lindsay, chairman at D&AD, commented, “It is inspiring to see such a vast amount of incredible work submitted to this year’s awards, despite the challenges that have been placed upon the industry during the pandemic. This year’s full shortlist exemplifies the resolve of the creative community and presents the very best in global talent. The introduction of exciting growth categories such as Gaming and E-commerce demonstrates our pledge to elevate the most innovative, forward thinking work being produced within the creative industry. We are now looking forward to the upcoming virtual ceremonies which will give us the chance to find out which of these works industry experts feel have best encapsulated the creative excellence worthy of a coveted Pencil.”
D&AD has partnered with Asana, a leading management platform for teams, who are supporting the 2021 Awards. Following the D&AD Awards Ceremony, D&AD will be delving into the learnings and insights from this year’s winning work, including publishing a series of interviews with creative leaders, which aim to discover how to lead a successful creative team, made possible by Asana’s sponsorship.
D&AD is also launching the jury insights film series, a programme of panel discussions in which judges from select categories will discuss what makes Pencil-winning work, alongside the trends and themes from the 2021 Awards. These will be released fortnightly from June 8.
Pencil winners will be announced in two separate virtual awards ceremonies on May 26 and 27. Find more information here.
Key awards dates:
11 May – Craft and Side Hustle categories shortlist announcement
18 May – Advertising, Culture, Design, Impact and Next categories shortlist announcement
26 May – Craft, Next, Advertising, Side Hustle, and Collaborative awards presentation
27 May – Design, Impact, Culture, Black Pencil, President’s Award and Companies of the Year awards presentation
D&AD Awards 2021 Jury Insights series:
- 8 June: Craft
- 22 June: Writing
- 6 July: Advertising & E-Commerce
- 20 July: Designing for Transformation
- 3 August: Designing Brands Today
- 17 August: Entertainment
- 31 August: Impact
- 14 September: Editorial Design
D&AD Awards 2021 Creative Leader series, in partnership with Asana:
29 June, 13 July, 27 July, 10 August & 24 August
