D&AD has never offered free membership before. It has never been so global before. But you feel different about things when you turn 50.
The exclusive club is 52. So it is amping up its ability to support the whole world’s creative industries, and help gen next creatives stand on their feet.
The new membership includes digital access to the full D&AD Awards archive. That’s a lot of knowledge to get for free – the best work from D&AD’s entire 52 years.
As a member, you can browse through and search for free every awarded ad, design, campaign, product, agency and creative, beginning with the sixteen Yellow Pencils awarded at the inaugural D&AD Professional Awards in 1963 and including all New Blood Award winners.
At launch, users will be able to search back as far as 1990, with the full archive available online for August 2014.
The new D&AD Membership is also looking to get all of you talking to each other – creating an online community that is founded on the spirit of ‘I Wish I’d Done That’, which was introduced earlier this year.
Members can now explore and interact with fellow creatives by highlighting work they particularly admire. Each user’s profile will be populated with related awarded work, credits and portfolios, allowing creatives of all ages and experience to connect by sharing their appreciation for each other’s craft.
Tim Lindsay, chief executive at D&AD, explained, “A look at D&AD’s history tells a wonderful story. In 1962, the organisation was the formed by a special group of designers and art directors, who came together to celebrate the best in commercial creativity, and that’s the spirit we continue today.
“But we’ve evolved a lot since then too. Our remit spans all corners of the world and we strongly believe in the role we have to play in bringing that community together, nurturing and supporting the next generation of design and advertising talent.
“That’s why we felt it so important to make this decision – to be more visible, guiding and inspiring, whilst creating greater opportunities for connection, collaboration and mentorship. The new digital archive is a wonderful illustration of the rich history of the industry and a fantastic resource; one that we believe should be accessible to all, regardless of who you are, or where in your career you may be.”
The new Membership structure consists of three tiers; Free, Full and Awarded:
- Free Membership gives Members complete access to the D&AD digital platform, including the Awards archive and the opportunity to take part in the new online community. It also allows individuals to engage through more traditional features, including entering Awards, downloading briefs and signing up to events.
- Full Membership gives Members additional benefits such as a free copy of the D&AD Annual, a D&AD notebook, personalised Membership card, free tickets to any of the monthly President’s Lectures, exclusive invitations to VIP events, discounts on Training courses, the ability to vote in the annual election of Board Trustees and discounts on selected brands.
- Awarded Membership has all the benefits of a full Membership plus the following:
- A free entry to a new Professional Awards category
- A free session to a new Training course, a free Training course to “gift” to a New Blood Member
- The option to stand for election in the Board of Trustees elections
- A black personalised Membership card.
All In-Book, nominated and Yellow Pencil winners will be entitled to a free year of Awarded Membership.
Both the Full and Awarded tiers will be priced at £12 per month.
Winners of the Black Pencil, White Pencil and Presidents Award will be given Awarded Membership for life. In addition, D&AD will continue to offer special New Blood Memberships tailored for students, tutors and universities, as part of the New Blood programme.
Everything you need to know to join is here.
