Last week, I judged D&AD New Blood, the not-for-profit's festival focusing on UK students in the creative industries.
Looking at the work of the next generation of creatives was an inspiring and humbling experience, and I left feeling hopeful about the state of the industry, and also assured that AI is simply not going to get rid of the creative industries. No machine could've come up with the original and beautifully made work that was on display.
I was tasked with choosing my top three 'Ones to Watch', which was incredibly difficult as there was so much great work to see. So instead of sharing my top three (though I do let you know which ones they are), here are the top 13 projects that stood out to me. How did I choose them? Well as I mentioned it was tricky, but here's what I was looking for as a judge.
Apologies for the quality of the photos throughout, I had very limited time for judging so had to take quick snaps to help me remember who was who!
01. Amelie O'Sullivan
Amelie O'Sullivan is an Arts University Bournemouth Graphic Design student. Her concept work for a brief set by agency Dragon Rouge caught my eye as it was a well executed campaign I could really imagine seeing in real life.
Combining Heinz x Crayola to support children experiencing food poverty and mealtime anxiety is a solid idea, and creating crayons full of food that kids can play with is inspired. The branding is also very well done and her website clearly explains the brief and the concept.
It wasn't just me that liked it either, as this project was a Dragon Rouge Winner.
02. Phoebe Peel
Phoebe Peel is a Bristol UWE Graphic Design student. Her piece, named Women's Invisible Labour drew my attention as it was a simple yet impactful concept. She had penned a poem (or I assume she wrote it) and then printed it onto a cleaning cloth. It sounds basic but the message and the medium worked brilliantly together.
03. Hollie Tutt
I also enjoyed the moving gloved hand that was above Phoebe's work, created by Hollie Tutt and named Care & Attachment. This was another original idea done well, and the impact of both pieces was particularly impressive when paired together.
04. Ella Marsh
Ravensbourne University London student Ella Marsh's project aims to provoke self-reflection in men by confronting their perceptions of gender equality. Her work comprises of a video centred around women's rights. It asks how we can get men's attention and suggests sending in a scream. It definitely got my attention and got me thinking, which is a mark of a good piece in my opinion.
05. Connie Dickinson
Connie Dickinson is a Graphic Design student at University of Central Lancashire. Her project celebrates 90 years of Penguin Books with a special collection of the first ten titles ever published. She reimagined the Penguin in different guises and created some beautiful embossed books. This project made me smile immediately and I also felt that if we shared it on Creative Bloq, it would be a hit. Connie was one of my top three students.
06. Megan Galey
Norwich University of Arts Graphic Communication student Megan Galey's project focuses on Afghanistan. "In Afghanistan, windows have been banned in order to 'prevent obscence acts against women'," reads the project text. "This typographic campaign squares the counters of letterforms to resemble the shape of windows, then shutting them to visualise the silencing of Afghan women."
Megan penned her own poems and put them on posters, an ad video and AR animations. This was a strong idea with big impact.
07. Eliana-Skye Evans
Eliana-Skye Evans is another Norwich University of Arts student, this time of User Experience Design. Her creation for Depop centres around a 'dark mode' that activates at midnight. Her designs are well thought out and well presented.
08. Freya Snelling
Freya Snelling of London Metropolitan University's Illustration and Animation course caught my eye with her carefully crafted characters. These were displayed in a fun and enticing way. They also caught the eye of others as Freya is a D&AD Winner.
09. Grace Kirkham-Blair
Grace Kirkham-Blair is a Nottingham Trent University Graphic Design student had a killer idea (pun intended) for a meal kit. Conceived alongside the Terminally Ill Adults bill, this tongue-in-cheek delivery service services gourmet meals with a side of mortality. The idea is this will help people talk about death and plan their last meal and death with good humour, dignity and of course, good food. It certainly got my attention and the meal kits and advertising campaigns are very well designed.
10. Veronika Russakova
Veronika Russakova also goes to Nottingham Trent and her piece of work stood out immediately. The large scale knitted wall hanging makes a comment about UK fuel poverty, and it does it very well. Veronika was another of my top three.
11. J&C Create
J&C Create consists of Falmouth Creative Advertising students Joanna and Chanel. This campaign was a playful campaign for Dunlop's tennis balls centering on a brand USP, that Dunlop's balls smell good. J&C Create took this idea and ran with it and have created a campaign complete with assets for posters, social media and limited edition packaging.
12. Nia Benham
Nia Benham of Arts University Plymouth's Illustration programme got my attention with her long list of sketches and beautifully made sketchbooks, which had elements I could pull out and explore. I love the quality of her linework and she made it into my top three of the festival.
13. Amika Hongo Rodger
Last but by no means least is a project by Amika Hongo Rodger of Sheffield Hallam University's Illustration course. This exquisite and delicate book explores a visual narrative of objects within the film Perfect Days. It was full of surprises and delights and I could've spent hours poring over it.
For more inspirational work, see our portfolio examples and the best rebrands of all time.
