The D&AD has launched its annual New Blood awards, with 16 briefs developed in collaboration with real clients, to which young designers can respond and be in with the chance of winning a D&AD pencil.
“This year’s brief line up for New Blood Awards 2017 has just been released,” says a statement from D&AD. “What does this mean? It means that the next generation of creative disruptors can now sharpen their pencils, roll up their sleeves and start tackling the real-world briefs to showcase their talent.”
Every year the D&AD partners with 16 brands to set creative briefs for new designers to respond to, judges the results with a panel of industry experts, and awards their coveted D&AD pencils to the best entries.
2017’s partners include John Lewis, Nationwide and BBC, who have all set briefs before, as well as new faces Amazon, The National Autistic Society and Squarespace signing up this year.
“Each brief has been designed to set a unique challenge and all are supported by a great range of learning resources and industry insight,” say the D&AD “This year’s topics range from the real-world tangibility of paper to the possibilities of big data, food and drink, music and movies, finance to festivals, things to play and places to stay, education and causes to fight for.
“All the briefs have been designed in collaboration with industry experts to both reflect the real current business challenges faced by modern brands and develop the creative skills most sought after by industry, ensuring that these “ones to watch” of tomorrow are ready for the challenge.”
The awards are open to any young creative aged 23 or under, as well as current students and those who graduated less than two years ago.
Paul Drake, D&AD Foundation Director commented: “We need new exciting talent in this industry, and year after year we are blown away by the professionalism, ambition and skill of the work that is entered into the New Blood Awards. Answering tough, real-world briefs set by globally-renowned partners, these students show the full breadth of talent that will be entering the industry in the next few years. As always the 2017 New Blood Awards are designed to be both challenging and demanding. This year they feature a mix of topical ideas and craft-based briefs, encouraging creatives to hone their skills, test their abilities and show why those already in industry need to be looking over their shoulder.”
“Working with D&AD New Blood we gain creative insight,” says Ana Saenz-Castellano, Manager of Brand Creative at John Lewis. “I enjoy the wealth of creative talent and the incredible quality of the presentations.”
“What we enjoy most about setting a D&AD New Blood brief is getting to see the passion come through and the magical things these students can create with our products,” adds Emma Bryson, Digital Media Marketing Manager, Adobe
Download the briefs here, take your pick, and submit your entry before 22 March 2017. Winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony in early July 2017.
Creative campaign designed by The Beautiful Meme.