A.S. Strategy Branding & Communication
Katherina Tudball is Creative Director at Superunion London, and was D&AD Design Trustee 2016-19. In 18-19 Harriet Devoy, Creative Director, Marcom, Apple EMEI, was D&AD President, and here Tudball shares her experiences working with D&AD Shift, which launched during her time as a trustee, and the support she received from Devoy.
A few weeks before writing this, I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Shift Challenge Day at D&AD HQ. Shift is D&AD’s free, industry-led night school programme for new creatives, open to anyone without a degree-level qualification. That afternoon the short-listed candidates for London’s class of 2022 were brought together to meet the Shift team, find out more about the programme and complete an on-the-spot brief. My role was to mentor and observe a group, feeding back to help with the final selection process.
Inspiring is an understatement. These were all new creatives with very different experiences and backgrounds. They had never met before and were thrown together, without any preparation, to compete on the dauntingly random brief of marketing cheese to hairdressers (the product and audience were literally picked from a hat). And they had to do it fast.
“I left that evening feeling thoroughly energised and excited by what I had seen”
Over an hour or so I offered advice and encouragement to my group, whilst struggling to hide my own sympathy stress as I imagined myself in their shoes. The pressure was on as they navigated the group dynamics, developed their point of view, invented a product, name and identity, filmed and edited a frankly mad demonstration video, and confidently pitched their solution to everyone else. They got laughs, it was a triumph!
I left that evening feeling thoroughly energised and excited by what I had seen. This wasn’t the learned behaviour of students in a university crit and the candidates were free from limiting notions of ‘correct’ industry process. All the groups demonstrated real energy and creativity, with so much individual personality shining through.
Shift was born in 2016, the same year I was elected to the D&AD board as a Trustee for Design. I felt the same sense back then that I was meeting a kind of talent that I hadn’t encountered often enough, refreshingly un-jaded whilst impressively self-assured, and seriously motivated. Shift’s launch further fuelled my own interest as a Trustee in the support of emerging creatives, and the importance of diversity and representation. I’ve been a massive fan ever since.
“At a certain point I realised that she was one of only a few female creative leaders, that I could think of, visibly smashing it in the design industry.”
In the middle of my term at D&AD I was delighted to see fellow designer and Apple Creative Director Harriet Devoy appointed as President. Our paths had almost crossed professionally as we had both previously worked at the same branding and design studio johnson banks. I’d started as a graduate just weeks after she’d left. In the intervening years I followed her impressive career progress. At a certain point I realised that she was one of only a few female creative leaders, that I could think of, visibly smashing it in the design industry. So, when the time came for me to make some career decisions of my own, she was someone I instinctively reached out to. I really needed the point of view of a creative director that basically wasn’t a man and was maybe a bit more like me.
Harriet’s down to earth style, straight-talking advice and relatable perspective was invaluable for me at a pivotal time. This contributed to inspiring a sense of responsibility to be more visible myself as a woman in design. Which in turn became a motivation to put myself forward for a D&AD trustee role.
“During that time, I got to see behind the scenes on the most important work of the organisation”
As a President Harriet’s enthusiasm and support for D&AD’s educational role was clear and went hand in hand with representation and inclusion. During that time, I got to see behind the scenes on the most important work of the organisation. Shift flourished, gaining great industry recognition and support, and eventually expanding beyond London to other global cities. The longer established New Blood Awards, Festival and Academy went from strength to strength, steadily offering more opportunities for emerging talent in new and more engaging ways every year.
My favourite times as a Trustee were in support of these learning initiatives. Whether judging the New Blood awards or speaking at the ceremony, doing talks for Shift or Academy workshops, graduate portfolio sessions or mentoring. Meeting the next generation was (and still is) the best bit for me.
The creative excellence and reputation of the D&AD Awards is so important, it’s inspired me since I was a student and has always motivated me in my own work. But what makes D&AD really special is how all that professional celebration is so tangibly transferred into supporting and nurturing the future of creativity.
Don’t forget to check out this year’s Shifters.