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Why enter D&AD Awards?
Creativity is one of the most powerful drivers of commercial success and social and cultural change. Creative awards create a paradigm for the industry against which all the work can be measured. Being recognised for achieving creative excellence attracts talent to your business, wins you clients and creates a standard others strive to achieve.
Since 1962, D&AD Awards have been regarded as one of the world's most prestigious awards for design and advertising.
Each year we invite the commercial creative industries to enter their work to be judged by more than 380 of the world’s leading creatives.
A fraction of that work will be deemed worthy of a D&AD Pencil, the benchmark for game-changing creative work. For those that win one, it’s a career-defining moment that drives the entire industry forward. It’s the award for the ever-hungry, never-satisfied, forever-curious minds who re-define what we think is possible in communications every day.
Times have changed over the past 60 years, but the Pencil-shaped award that our founders created to recognise excellence in design and art direction still remains at the very core of D&AD today.
98%
'It was good for my career.'
85%
'We had opportunities we might not have had.'
87%
'It helped us attract new talent.'
71%
'We won new business as a direct result.'
Shortlisted and winning work will:
Be celebrated by over 160,000 visitors and 1m+ views on the D&AD Winners pages, Archive and Rankings each year.
Feature in the D&AD Annual, now online and freely accessible to tens of thousands of creative companies and practitioners globally. In 2021 the Annual reached a global audience of over 75,000 people, three quarters of which are outside the UK.
Get exhibited around the world at one of D&AD’s international exhibitions. Past venues include The Advertising Museum Tokyo, Louvre Museum Paris, Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Design Institute, Arts Centre Melbourne.
Have the chance to appear in the Behind the Work insight video series for the D&AD Annual. Judges will provide commentary on, and curate lists, of their favourite award winners.
Inform D&AD Annual theme reports, which will be presented alongside winning work to agencies and clients all over the world.
Be promoted through D&AD social media channels and the D&AD newsletter, reaching millions of creative professionals globally.
Earn prestige amongst your peers, global media coverage for you and your company and points towards D&AD rankings.
Give Future Impact entrants access to a £25,000 Impact Fund and a place on the D&AD Impact Programme.
Give Side Hustle entrants training and support towards their Side Hustle pitch in advance of the final round of judging, worth £560.
Pencil winning work will also:
Receive a coveted D&AD Pencil
Feature in the D&AD Awards Ceremony, viewed by over 8,000 of the finest minds in the industry in 2021
Have a tree planted in recognition of your award, as part of an innovative afforestation programme that's restoring vital biodiversity in much needed areas of Lebanon. Find out more about this initiative here.
Be amongst the world leading creative companies to enter the D&AD Awards, from the world's leading brands and agencies to production houses, content creators, Design Studios and Freelancers. Be recognised with the best.
Why it matters most
Hear from leading creatives, first hand. When it comes to winning an award, nothing matters more than a D&AD Pencil.
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Dick Powell, Founder & Chairman, Seymourpowell
"There’s more to the Pencil than just being hard to win; it's about the creatives who enter the awards, the judges, the agencies, the educators, and the contributors. All of which gives the Yellow Pencil its legendary status."
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Rosie Arnold, Consultant in Advertising and Leadership
"Pencils encourage great brave work, they reward passionate talented individuals, they become a measure for judging individuals or companies, they are a record of that year's successes and endeavours."
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Anna Sundbom, Head of PR & Marketing, B-Reel Films
"It's like winning the Oscars, I think it opens up doors that wouldn't have been opened if it weren't for being awarded the Pencil. It inspires creativity and inspires people to do the best that they can do."
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Nils Leonard, Founder, Uncommon London
"If any awards organisation interrogates familiarity more thoroughly than D&AD I have yet to judge it. It's why, in a cluttered world, D&AD is still the one worth winning."
What people often don’t realise is that D&AD is a charity.
In fact, everything we do is about inspiring the next generation of creative talent, improving their access to the industry, and nurturing and developing their skills.
Thanks to the Awards, we are uniquely positioned to bring insights on creative excellence to aspiring creatives, providing free or heavily subsidised educational tools, and creating new, more accessible routes into the industry.
We do this through our suite of New Blood programmes - which have been helping aspiring creatives realise their potential for 40 years. It’s a critical bridge between education and the world of work.
We put the money we make back into the industry we serve.
In 2021, we provided 141,716 vocational learning opportunities to emerging creatives.
So, enter not just for a chance at the glory, but to contribute to our mission to make the creative world stronger, fairer and more open for everyone.
Find out more about our New Blood programmes here or contact us on newblood@dandad.org.
Insights on the D&AD Awards judging process
Learn more about D&AD Awards
Since 1962, D&AD has been inspiring a community of creative thinkers by celebrating and stimulating the finest in design and advertising. The D&AD Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best from around the world.