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Why enter D&AD Awards?

Creativity is one of the most powerful drivers of commercial success and social and cultural change. Creative awards create a paradigm for the industry against which all the work can be measured. Being recognised for achieving creative excellence helps you progress in your career, attracts talent to your business, wins clients and creates a standard others strive to achieve.

Since 1962, D&AD Awards have been regarded as one of the world's most prestigious awards for design and advertising. Each year we invite the commercial creative industries to enter their work to be judged by more than 330 of the world’s leading creatives.

A fraction of that work will be deemed worthy of a D&AD Pencil, the benchmark for game-changing creative work. For those that win one, it’s a career-defining moment that drives the entire industry forward. It’s the award for the ever-hungry, never-satisfied, forever-curious minds who re-define what we think is possible in communications every day.

Times have changed over the past 60 years, but the Pencil-shaped award that our founders created to recognise excellence in design and art direction still remains at the very core of D&AD today.

"D&AD is still the most prestigious award in the eyes of the creative community. It’s the one everyone wishes they had."
— Tara Ford, Chief Creative Officer, The Monkeys

88%

believe winning an award is important for career progression

90%

include details of the awards they've won on their CV or portfolio

87%

said it helped their business attract new talent

85%

said they had opportunities they might not have had

64%

of hiring managers are more likely to invite someone for interview if they're award-winning

60%

of people said that winning awards had a commercial impact on their business

Shortlisted and winning work will:

Be celebrated with over 2.9 million views from 2.7 million visitors on the D&AD Winners pages, Archive and Rankings each year.

Earn its rightful place in The Annual; D&AD’s collection of the best work in the world, published online and to a global audience of over 200,000 people, three quarters of which are outside the UK.

Earn you and your company points towards D&AD rankings; our official table of the most successful individuals, companies, networks, countries and clients in the world. These include Design Agency of the Year, Advertising Agency of the Year, Production Company of the Year, Client of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, In-house agency of the Year, Network of the Year and Individual Creative Rankings of the Year.

Get exhibited around the world at one of D&AD’s international exhibitions. Past venues include The Advertising Museum Tokyo, Louvre Museum Paris, Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Design Institute, Arts Centre Melbourne, The National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and the National Design Centre of Singapore.

Have the chance to appear in the D&AD content series for the D&AD Annual, including being selected for the popular Behind the Work videos. Judges will provide commentary on, and curate lists, of their favourite award winners.

Inform D&AD Annual theme reports, which will be presented alongside winning work to agencies and clients all over the world.

Be promoted through D&AD social media channels and the D&AD newsletter, reaching millions of creative professionals globally.

Earn you prestige amongst your peers, global media coverage for you and your company and points towards D&AD rankings.

Enable you to receive up to £25,000 worth of funding when you're awarded in Future Impact, for prototypes, beta designs or MVPs that are using creativity for good. Includes places on the D&AD Impact Programme for project owners and 12 months of support from the D&AD community.

Pencil winning work will also:

Be celebrated at the D&AD Awards Ceremony, live in London on 22 May 2025.

Earn you a coveted D&AD Pencil.

Have up to four trees planted in recognition of the Pencil awarded, as part of an innovative afforestation programme with our new partner Everclime. Find out more here.

"D&AD is one of the most respected industry organisations in our industry. A D&AD Award is well deserved."
​— Xolisa Dyeshana, Chief Creative Officer, Joe Public United

Be amongst the world's leading creative companies entering the D&AD Awards; from global brands and agencies to production houses, content creators, design studios and freelancers.

Why it matters most

Hear from leading creatives, first hand. When it comes to winning an award, nothing matters more than a D&AD Pencil.

The D&AD Foundation

A D&AD Pencil has long been established as the most coveted creative award out there, but that barely scratches the surface of what we do as an organisation.

What people often don’t realise is that D&AD is a charity, everything we do is about inspiring the next generation of creative talent, and improving their access to the industry, and nurturing and developing their skills.

Thanks to the Awards, we are uniquely positioned to bring insights on creative excellence to aspiring creatives, providing free or heavily subsidised educational tools, and creating new, more accessible routes into the industry.

The D&AD Foundation is committed to supporting emerging talent from all walks of life to get a foothold in the creative world, and partners with agencies and studios to improve the way our industry works. At the heart of the Foundation is New Blood: Awards, Festival, Academy and Shift - a series of programmes that open eyes to creative opportunities and doors to careers. In 2023, we provided over 195,000 vocational learning opportunities to emerging creatives. So, enter not just for a chance at the glory, but to contribute to our mission to make the creative world stronger, fairer and more open for everyone.

The value and importance of D&AD Awards

Insights on the D&AD Awards judging process

Learn more about D&AD Awards

Since 1962, D&AD has been inspiring a community of creative thinkers by celebrating and stimulating the finest in design and advertising. The D&AD Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best from around the world.