The D&AD Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, awarding excellence in design, creativity and advertising. A global pool of judges representing a cross section of practitioners, innovators and leaders from across the creative industries cast their votes, pulling together a shortlist of projects deserving recognition before awarding Pencils to the best creative work of the year.

Explore over 1,200 of the most striking, effective and inspirational pieces of creativity from the professional and New Blood community in this inaugural digital version of the D&AD Annual.

Shortlist
Work that demonstrates merit, worthy of recognition. Awarded in all categories in the first instance.

Wood Pencil
The best of the year in advertising, design and craft.

Graphite Pencil
Standout work, beautifully executed with an original and inspiring idea at its core.

Yellow Pencil
The iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil, awarded only to outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.

White Pencil
Exceptional projects that use the power of creativity to drive behavioural, policy, commercial or societal change. Replaces the Yellow Pencil in the Impact category.

Black Pencil
The ultimate creative accolade, reserved for groundbreaking work. Only a handful of Black Pencils are awarded every year, if any.

Our rankings table tots up the allocated points for each win, in order to recognise: Advertising Agency of the Year, Design Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year, and Client of the Year.

The yearly President’s Award honours an industry hero, a legend whose contribution to the industry has been nothing but inspirational. At the other end of the spectrum the Next award creates a platform for emerging creatives, giving unheard voices amplification in the industry. It’s an opportunity for the next generation to showcase their ideas, and get their hands on a coveted D&AD Next Pencil.

The Side Hustle award recognises people with big ideas who were born to create. For those who dream of launching their enterprise loudly and proudly into the world.

This year, the New Blood Awards celebrated their 40th anniversary of kickstarting the careers of emerging creatives around the globe. 19 big-name brands set briefs spanning disciplines that were designed to push the next generation of creative talent. We received 3,000 entries from over 5,800 emerging creatives in 60 countries, which were judged by some leading industry figures, all on the hunt for top-notch ideas and execution. For the first time, you can now explore this work in the D&AD annual here.