D&AD 2017, visual identity designed by The Beautiful Meme

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, Festivals & Awards

Courtesy of The Beautiful Meme, the D&AD Festival 2017 creative was unveiled – with an explosion of colours, textures and shapes representing the ever shifting nature of our category, thinking and work. This year, the iconic D&AD Pencils are brought to life in animations with tangible textures, explosions of activity and a flurry of shape shifting. All the executions are designed to pay homage to the award levels or categories from the D&AD Professional Awards and using previous winning work as executional inspiration.

Ben Haworth, Creative Director, The Beautiful Meme:

In advertising and design the D&AD pencil, the symbol of excellence, is ever-present. Around it the industry is weft and warp and flux. Nothing stays still and that’s as it should be. That’s what this year’s identity is about.

Tim Lindsay, CEO D&AD:

D&AD is much more than an Awards show and the Festival is a fine example of this – bringing together 26,000 pieces of work, 250 jurors, speakers, exhibitions, events, parties and the Awards Ceremony itself in what is a slightly crazy, slightly chaotic evocation of the wonderful world of creativity and the dividends that excellence delivers. This year’s branding from the Beautiful Meme builds on their rich visuals and sharp statements from last year in a brilliant expression of what the Festival and our business is all about at its best.

There will be at least 20 designs in the campaign with a number light projected on the walls at the Truman Brewery – adding movement and colour to the areas where the winning work is displayed. Executions will also appear as animations on screens at the entrance to the events and as prints throughout the venue. This series will be shared through D&AD’s social channels as well as on their website in the run up to the Festival.

 

 

And this year the D&AD Festival has been organised into three distinct days, each with their own agenda.

  • Tuesday, 25 April – The Earth Will Shake: This is a day of responding to the big issues our world faces. D&AD want to inspire you to build a better, fairer and more sustainable future.
  • Wednesday, 26 April – Staring at The Sun: Shifts in technology, trends and work-styles are upending the creative industries. This is a day of leading innovators thinking, predicting and demonstrating how they are adapting to a transforming sector.
  • Thursday, 27 April – Outrageous Magic: This is a day of our industry’s leading designers and creators talking about what they do when crafting the big ideas.

 

Since 1962, D&AD has been inspiring a community of creative thinkers by celebrating and stimulating the finest in design and advertising. A D&AD Pencil is recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade; the Awards entered and attended by the best creative decision makers from around the world. Set to reward, promote and enable creative brilliance in all areas of creative communication, a Yellow – or Black – Pencil remains the pinnacle in many careers. The introduction of the White Pencil- Creativity for Good category in 2012 was a resounding success. Since its launch it has grown from a single brief to an entire movement, producing a record four Pencil winners in 2015.