D&AD New Blood Festival 2026 with Adobe

In a world flooded with content, safe ideas disappear fast. The work that cuts through? It’s bold, uncomfortable, and a little bit risky.

In this session Nicholas Hulley and Nadja Lossgott explore how emerging creatives can move beyond self-doubt and start making work that actually gets noticed. From reframing fear to making smarter creative risks, you’ll learn how to push past hesitation, and challenge your own instincts.

Great ideas don’t sell themselves. People do. In this practical and straight-talking session, Gabriela Lungu breaks down what it really takes to pitch your work and present yourself with confidence as an emerging creative. From structuring your story and making your thinking clear, to owning the room and handling feedback, this talk is packed with advice you can utilise as you begin your career (no matter your discipline). Whether you’re presenting a project, a portfolio, or your point of view, you’ll leave with the tools to communicate your ideas more effectively, and get people to believe in you.

How do you find your creative purpose, and how do you build a creative career that aligns to this purpose? In this session Josh will explore the importance of developing your personal purpose, finding the type of work that you truly want to create to make a difference, and how you can build a roadmap to achieve it all through the lens of his own creative experiences.

Hear from industry legend Anthony Burrill on his own creative influences. Discover how some of his most famous pieces of work were created, followed by an interactive creative session for attendees to develop their own piece of work inspired by Anthony's world of opposites. Please note, due to the workshop element of this session, capacity is extremely limited and attendees will be admitted on a first-come-first-served basis.

Attention has become the industry’s most valuable currency. We'll look at how truly impactful work earns and sustains it, and how the rules are shifting as culture, technology, and behaviour evolve. This isn’t about surface-level tactics, it’s about unpacking what makes ideas cut through in a world of constant distraction, and how emerging creatives can develop work that not only captures attention, but deserves it.

The world's most powerful brands don’t just communicate. They create environments and worlds you can step into and experience for yourself. From immersive retail spaces to cultural activations and experiential design, brand environments grab audience's attention and build lasting emotional connections.

In this session, Seen Studios will unpack how thoughtful, multi-sensory design can transform a brand from something you see into something you feel. Drawing on their experience crafting bold, story-driven spaces, they’ll explore how to design environments that not only look striking, but genuinely resonate; spaces that invite interaction, spark curiosity, and leave a lasting imprint.

Breaking into the creative industries can feel like navigating a world with unwritten rules; where talent matters, but knowing how to position yourself can make all the difference. This panel brings together creatives at different stages of their careers to share the honest advice they wish they’d had when starting out.

SOLD OUT - Waitlist available

Join us to get your portfolio reviewed by industry creatives, led by some of the world's top agencies and studios.

Portfolio reviews are offered by discipline (Advertising, Graphic Design, Illustration & Animation) – spots for this event must be booked in advance. Portfolio review sessions will last 45 minutes and you will be sent an exact time to arrive, along with more information on how to prepare, the week before the event.

Tuesday 30 June
Saboteur
Edelman

Wednesday 1 July
R/GA
Wise
Among Equals

Ever wanted a behind-the-scenes look at agency life? This year as part of New Blood Festival you have the chance to visit local agencies to discover what it's like to work there, hear more about how work gets made, and put your questions about working in industry directly to the people in-the-know.

Book your ticket to secure your place.