When it came to preparing our final submission for D&AD, we chose to work together as a wider group to focus on one brief, rather than scattering ideas across multiple avenues.
We did feel as though the wide variety of briefs gave the opportunity for creatives to brainstorm from the get go, and originally all discussed a number of individual project ideas, before narrowing those down into what we felt could be the best fitting to our interest, skill level and hold the most relevancy for our business.
Individually, we were able to look into how we could handle each brief, and develop these techniques within any other directives we had access to. This meant that our standalone piece at the end could hold ground not only on social media, but hopefully billboards, email advertising, and more.
We failed to realise until last minute, that a lot of the previous winning submissions were done in video format, whereas we had been working with storyboards in order to create posters, social media visuals and conflicting media.
For us, this challenge late into the process meant bringing elements to the work that would read well on a multimedia level. While there are always areas for improvement, we felt as though our final project is versatile across platforms, and has potential to be seen in animation and motion graphics in more depth in the future, as this is an area, we feel we could really excel in.
In retrospect, I would have done my research regarding previous winners sooner and before I began the development process of my idea, rather than waiting until the project was mostly finished to take a look at what may stand out for the judges. Due to the nature of the competition, it was difficult to find official winners labelled online, and instead I took the time to diagnose other marketing campaigns that may be related, focusing on their techniques and individualities to consider whether or not my own concept was just as strong.
I realise here that I had made the mistake of staying within the zone of safety I knew with the software partner Canva. I often make infographics and timelines for other social media, and did not venture into new features, like video, that could have been accessed through a membership. I did use some premium features such as stickers, gifs and other stand out additions in order to bring more attention to the desired areas of each poster.
Alongside this, sharing my research and listening to my collages brainstorm their thoughts was extremely helpful in expanding aspects of the campaign that I may not have considered – Looking at their storyboards and finished mock-ups gave me insight as to something I could have missed, or angles I have room to expand on within my own future projects.
Awards
The awards are levelled in ‘pencils’ which are decided in May. There are tiers of pencils which are given out:
| Shortlist | Work that demonstrates merit, worthy of recognition and in the top echelon of entries. It’s awarded in all categories in the first instance. |
| Wood Pencil | The best of the year in advertising, design, craft, culture and impact. |
| Graphite Pencil | For stand-out work that rises above the rest, worthy of consideration for a Yellow Pencil |
| Yellow Pencil | The iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil, awarded only to outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence. |
| Black Pencil | The ultimate creative accolade, reserved for ground-breaking work. Only a handful of these are awarded each year, if any |
While many other award organisations make sure that every category has a winner, D&AD Pencils are never given out unless the work is exceptional.
If you win one, your bragging rights will be vast and forever, according to one industry watcher. He goes on to say that a D&AD Pencil is the equivalent of a “career knighthood.”
Whilst it is rogue to not have participation awards, the awards hierarchy does intensify the drive to succeed. Throughout this the group has wanted to work to achieve the sought-after awards, incentivised by their rarity. This has led us to really have a strong drive throughout the process. We had a look at some previous winners as inspiration for what our work should aim for, so the awards levels helped us to frame our goals around structured levels (almost like at GCSE/Highers etc, there were clear goals for the standard we were aiming for).
If I were going to change anything, the winners would not be announced early and then confirmed in the July; I feel like this would really build up my hopes up to winning highly! Additionally, I think an award that recognises specific goals would be a useful addition; fuelled by the pandemic and our wider research into the lives of carers and medical professionals we were inspired to work on this project. Whilst our work may not be specifically awarded in any category, it would perhaps be beneficial to smaller participants to achieve recognition for intention or altruistic goals.
As for the brief we chose, it allowed us to work on a topic that is not only important but also very timely as the whole world is still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Care workers have been on the frontline in the fight against the virus and have been doing an incredible job in protecting the most vulnerable. Without their help, many more lives would have been lost. That is why it is important to show all care workers that we appreciate what they are doing and that we care about their well-being too. For them, the safety and comfort of their patients is often a priority so they easily forget about their own health. Through our project, we want to remind care workers that they have to care about themselves first so they can keep caring about others.