University of Technology students score one of four White Pencils at the 2018 New Blood Awards

Tonight, at a buzzing ceremony in London, D&AD revealed the winners of the 2018 New Blood Awards.

Australia has picked up one of four White Pencils, two Yellow Pencils, one Graphite Pencil and four Wood Pencils.

The White Pencil was awarded to Manon Drielsma, Hou Fong (Brian) Lo, Lizzie Smith and Olivia Mullins from University of Technology, Sydney for Dropbox Paper ‘The Dirty‘, which also scored went on to score a Yellow Pencil. The second Yellow Pencil went to Sam Cable for New Blood Side Hustle with Adobe ‘Bot Ad School‘.

VIEW THE HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO

University of Technology Sydney students Anita Gallagher, Anna Pham, Boaz Suen and Shay Xayalith won a Graphite Pencil for giffgaff ‘Stack’.

Wood Pencils were awarded to Sebastian O’Brien and Emily Young from Sydney Institute – Enmore Design Centre for adidas ‘Re-Active Duty Prosthetics’; Lari Smith and Madeleine Pane from RMIT University for Antalis ‘Yours Faithfully’; Elizabeth Simpson, John Barrett and Lara Smith from RMIT for John Lewis ‘Unearthed’ and Jack Sullivan, Donn Matthew Malate and Siobhan Bird from RMIT for Microsoft ‘Stop Viewing. Start Doing’. 

The winners impressed the judges with their creative thinking and practical skills and tonight received one of the industry’s most prestigious creative accolades: a New Blood Pencil. Hand picked by some of the industry’s leading lights from thousands of entries from across 54 countries, the winners represent the best of emerging talent from around the globe.

194 Pencils have been awarded in total, with one Black Pencil, four White Pencils and 29 Yellow Pencils among the coveted accolades. Judges also awarded Best Stand at the New Blood Festival and selected 39 graduates from 1000 exhibiting students for it’s ‘One to Watch’ award.

Winning entries ranged from the playful – giving a nod to the fun that youth culture can add to advertising – to tackling important current issues such as homelessness, environmental impact, access to education, unsolicited imagery and feminism. Entries spanned across the full spectrum of design disciplines from digital design, illustration and graphics to intricately crafted animation, pointing to a rich culture for future commercial creativity.

One Black Pencil was awarded this year, to #DearMrHousingMinister in response to the Nationwide and Shelter brief. Naomi Taylor from the School of Communication Arts 2.0 impressed the judges with her work, which was described as ‘a powerful, emotive and relevant piece grounded in humanity and hardship’. The judges further commented that her ‘spine-chillingly apt account of the housing crisis’ should be the level that future professional D&AD entries should be measured against. Naomi will certainly be one to watch.

Says Tim Lindsay, CEO, D&AD: “#DearMrHousingMinister offers a fresh perspective to an old problem and is a worthy winner for this year’s awards. It embodies what a New Blood Pencil is all about. It also speaks to the important role of creative thinking as a powerful tool for change. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners. Looking at the quality of work, I’m confident that the future of our industry is in capable hands.”

With more than 126,000 brief downloads to 116 countries, 2018 was a record year for the programme.

The full Pencil statistics are as follows:

1 Black Pencil

4 White Pencils

29 Yellow Pencils

40 Graphite Pencils

120 Wood Pencils

The New Blood Awards are a platform for students and other new creatives to showcase their talents on real briefs, set by real clients. No other programme offers such a comprehensive test, or a more accurate representation of the challenges that await on the other side. Brand representatives and industry experts decide what work wins a coveted New Blood Pencil, and the bar every year is extremely high.

Entry to the awards is open to anyone in full or part-time education, recent graduates who finished their course within the past two years and anyone 23 or under.

All Pencil winners were eligible to apply for the New Blood Academy 2018 with WPP, where 50 graduates attend a two-week creative bootcamp. The Academy provides an opportunity to learn from the best in the business, with attendees working alongside WPP agencies on a live brief in order to secure a foot-in-the-door with a series of paid placements up for grabs. This year students will be working alongside creative luminaries as well as working on a live brief in their final week.

View the full list of winners here.