ADCE selects 28 young talents to attend 4th Creative Express in Austrian Tyrol,

28 creatives from 16 different countries chosen to attend ADCE’s elite two-day workshop, Creative Express (an elite education programme from the Art Directors Club of Europe), which reached to its 4th edition and will take place in Austria’s Tyrol, between 23-26 July.

The two-day workshop brings together the continent’s best young art directors, copywriters and designers, to draw inspiration and new methods of learning from their international peers. Hailing from the full breath of Europe, the attendees will work together to tackle a real-world business challenge in a classroom like no other: the cable cars flying high above the Austrian Alps.

28 creatives have been nominated by their respective ADCE member clubs, and from the U5 Academy for Communication and Graphic Design in Munich, Germany, to take part in the Creative Express. They are:

• Austria – Philip Krautsack – Copywriter Wien Nord Werbeagentur GmbH, Andreas Misslinger – Digital Marketing Engineer, Astrid Neumayr – Graphic Designer, Paula Kirnbauer – Digital Marketing Engineer, Robert Seekirchner-  Graphic Designer
• Czech Rep – Alexandra Mikhaylova – Art Director Bistro Agency
• Estonia – Karmen Heinmaa – Freelance Graphic Designer / Illustrator
• Finland – Aya Iwaya, Freelance Graphic Designer
• Germany – Damian Theato, Copywriter U5 Academy,  Joan Lechner – Graphic Designer / Illustrator U5 Academy, Marie-Christine Steixner – Junior Art Director DDB Berlin GmbH, Saurabh Kakade – Junior Concept Art Director Jung von Matt Hamburg and Tsing Tsing Wu – Communication Design student U5 Academy
• Italy – Alessandro Patscot – Art Director Rolling Stone, Noemi Martina Mariani – Copywriter DigitasLBi
• Netherlands – Nynke Koster – Interior Designer Nijn
• Portugal – Rui Pedro Antunes – Copywriter Ogilvy & Mather
• Romania – Ruxandra Papuc – Copywriter McCann Erickson Bucharest, Vlad Tătaru – Copywriter Kubis Interactive SRL
• Russia – Elena Sorokova – Communication Design student U5 Academy
• Slovakia – Katarína Popracová – Senior Copywriter/ Ideamaker Re-define
• Slovenia – Ana Kogovsek – Art Director Futura DDB
• Spain – Benjamin James Barber – Freelance Art Director / Designer
• Switzerland – Yannick Schaller – Copywriter Havas Worldwide Zürich
• UK – Barbara Ryan – Art Director/ Designer Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, Vaida Kidykaite – Interior Architect Bluebottle Architecture & Design
• Ukraine – Ganna Kashchieieva – Copywriter Havas Worldwide Kiev, Zoloyedov Maksim – Art Director Ekonomika Commucation Hub

The Creative Express is the brainchild of Austrian Creative Director Hans-Peter Albrecht, who
heads the U5 Academy:

This is the Europe you could dream of. No borders or classes, just mutual inspiration from a remarkable collection of young people hailing from every imaginable cultural environment, armed with the common language of creativity.

We can’t wait to bring the Creative Express to Tyrol and the incredible, unique setting of the cable cars high above the town of Fieberbrunn. It’s going to be close quarters; certainly it’s like no creative department anywhere in the world! But we think it will bring out some truly wonderful creativity.

The 4th Creative Express begins with a special lecture series, featuring a host of award-winning creatives and artists, including acclaimed composer Tom Batoy, film director Michael Stiebel and Lürzer’s Archive digital expert Sue Keogh. Each will deliver a concise ten-minute trend briefing, before the attendees break into teams and enter the cable cars to begin tackling the creative challenge, with coaching from top industry experts.

This year, the brief is set by the Brenner Basistunnel, a green-friendly tunnel project constructing the world’s longest underground railway beneath the Alps and a perfect fit for the setting. After a day and a half of ideation and development, teams will present back their final ideas to the Creative Express mentors and the Brenner Basistunnel client for a winner to be chosen.

To celebrate the conclusion of the Creative Express, attendees will wind down in style with a true experience of Austrian culture. The Saturday closes with a party and a performance from Tyrolean ‘Surfrock’ icons “Dave and the Pussies”, before a Sunday trip to the Biathlon World Championship Arena in Hochfilzen for the opportunity to try target shooting.

Previous editions of the Creative Express have taken place in Innsbruck-Vienna, Amsterdam and Munich. To be eligible to apply for the ADCE Creative Express, creatives must be under 28 years of age and have a minimum of two years professional experience.

The Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) is a not-for-profit association headquartered in Barcelona comprised of professional clubs and associations of graphic design and advertising from 18 European countries: Austria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Ukraine.

Founded in 1990, the ADCE strives to foster excellence in graphic design and advertising creativity at a European scale. The association represents more than 4,500 professionals from the field and internationally spotlights the best works accomplished at a local scale through its annual European awards. The association’s current president is Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer at DDB Worldwide, and one of the most recognized advertising creatives in the world.