The strange yet beautiful fact about bibles, is that the same words speak to various people differently. Something you may not understand now, might dawn upon you later. What you comprehend at the moment, might speak to you differently another time around. That’s the beauty of profound wisdom and inspiration - its ability to be intensely personal.


Title: D&AD Annual 2008
Publisher and Editor: D&AD

Whoever said that creativity carries no weight should try lifting the D&AD Annual 2008 catalogue. Just by holding it in your arms, you can immediately feel the immense amount of creativity, effort and hours sacrificed to produce this masterpiece. The 623-page creative bible is bound without a spine, but secured with a black vanguard honeycombed book cover. In a way, this personifies what the publication is all about: indulging in creative excellence one page at a time, while savoring it as you would fresh honey from the comb.



This year’s awards saw an overall increase of 5% in entries compared to the previous year, and a total of 67 countries participating. Two new categories have also been: Environmental Graphics for graphic design and Moving Image for the digital category. Paying tribute to creative icon Paul Arden (he passed away on 2 April, 2008), this year’s judging criteria saluted his personal philosophy of breaking the mould.



Not only were the judges looking for creativity, innovation and brilliance in execution, they were looking for works that teased the mind, challenges one’s perspective and a brand new way to execute existing methods.

It can never be deemed absolutely impartial to only mention a few of the winners amongst such a stellar body of work, but we have nevertheless cherry-picked a few of our favorites, as would be elaborated upon below.



The Shining Stars

The Black Pencil was awarded to branding agency, The Partners, for their ‘The National Gallery Grand Tour Campaign’. Art Directors, Jim Prior and Greg Quinton were commissioned to educate the modern audience and entice them to visit the art gallery. Their solution? Bring the art to the public instead.


Exact replicas of original paintings were hung and exhibited all around the streets of Central London. Just like the real gallery, each painting was accompanied by a small write-up next to it. Curious appreciators can listen to inspiring commentaries using mobile phone or podcasts.

The campaign was such a success that it has since toured to other cities.



OneYellow Pencil award that actually deserved a Black is the ‘F**k Off/Drowning/Expelled’ campaign. Barnado’s, a children’s charity organization, had commissioned maverick advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, for this project.

The advertising campaign was aimed at highlighting Barnado’s mission; never give up on even the most difficult children. Not only did the campaign successfully project the charity’s commitment, it also sent a very clear message: No kid was born evil. It all starts with the environment they grow up with. Need anything be said more?



Every page in the publication is worthy of being a personal favourite, inspiring one person differently from the next. Nevertheless, the D&AD Annual 2008 never wavers in delivering its value, which is to celebrate and reward excellence in creative communication and identifing talents worthy of recognition in the creative field.



As aptly put by Editor Roger Kennedy, every year, winners are reminded that they are only as good as their next idea. One might be a nominee this year, a winner the next or probably forgotten after that. The year 2009 is a year of economic uncertainty. Will this affect the results of entries next year? One can only wait and hope for the best.




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