Three Wood Pencils for India at D&AD 2018 New Blood Awards

India bagged three Wood Pencils at the recently announced 2018 New Blood Awards by D&AD at London.

Teams from DSK Supinfocom International School of Design, Miami Ad School Mumbai and MAEER's MIT Institute of Design won the accolades for India for different campaigns built on different briefs.

The team from DSK Supinfocom International School of Design worked on a brief from Digital McKinsey and presented a campaign - Unnati. The team of students included Malvika Kasliwal, Elaine Geojy, Prateek Kumar and Sanjana Kalra, with the tutor Rattan Gangadhar.

Miami Ad School Mumbai presented the campaign Froot Loops for the Colorblind for the Dropbox Paper brief. The team comprised of Arjun Roy, Adithya Venugopal Yadhu, Nitya Isaacs and Rohit John. The team from MAEER's MIT Institute of Design’s campaign that won Wood Pencil was called Killer Switch made for Hasbro brief. Nishigandha Sahasrabudhe worked on this campaign.

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, 29 Yellow Pencils, 40 Graphite Pencils and 120 Wood Pencils among the coveted accolades. Judges also awarded Best Stand at the New Blood Festival and selected 39 graduates from 1000 exhibiting students for its ‘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.

Tim Lindsay, CEO, D&AD, commented, “#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 2018 New Blood Awards partners are included Adobe, adidas, Antalis in collaboration with Conqueror, Bacardi, BBC, Beano, Burger King, Digital McKinsey, Dropbox Paper, giffgaff, Hasbro, Hellmann's in collaboration with WPP, Hotel Indigo, JCDecaux, John Lewis, Mayor of London, Microsoft, Nationwide in collaboration with Shelter and Pearson.

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.

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.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com