LONDON, UK – The 63rd annual D&AD Awards, with its Ceremony due to take place on May 22, 2025, in London, have announced the first shortlist from the following categories: Book Design, Brand Identity Refresh, Casting, Commerce, Digital Design, Digital Marketing, Direct, Editing, Entertainment, Experiential, Illustration, Music Videos, New Brand Identity, Packaging Design, PR, Radio & Audio, Type Design & Lettering, Typography, Visual Effects, Writing for Advertising, Writing for Design.
Reflecting on the volume of submissions received this year, D&AD President for 2025 Kwame Taylor-Hayford commented, “The 2025 Awards saw our broadest participation yet, with submissions from 86 countries around the world. It’s also been our strongest year ever in terms of company participation—an encouraging sign that groundbreaking creativity and a deep commitment to craft continue to thrive across the globe.”
Commenting on this year’s judges, D&AD CEO Dara Lynch said: “Our real superpower rests with our judges and community, who ensure the Pencil retains its place in history as the one to win; driving the industry forward and setting new standards for creative excellence in an industry that’s going through transformation.”
Globally respected and famously hard to win, the D&AD Awards celebrate creative excellence, believing creativity is critical to commercial, economic, social and cultural success.
The non-profit organisation goes to great lengths to ensure a rigorous judging process, focused on integrity, with industry leaders selecting only the most exceptional creative work. Their focus on creativity, originality, and effectiveness ensures that winning entries represent the pinnacle of excellence in advertising and design.
The Awards incorporates more than 44 categories judged by 330 of the world’s leading creatives from over 86 countries (52% female-identifying), recognising work that will inspire both seasoned and emerging talent. As a charity, awards entries enable D&AD to fund educational programs such as D&AD Shift, a free, industry-led night school for self-taught creatives from under-represented backgrounds, currently running in London, New York, Berlin, Hamburg, São Paulo and Sydney, with more locations to be announced.
A new Creator Content category reflects the evolving landscape of the creative industries and allows the international awards to stay current and inclusive, while the division of the branding category into two distinct categories: New Brand Identity and Brand Identity Refresh addresses the significant volume of entries received in previous years, ensuring each submission receives the focused attention it deserves by the jury.
The total number of entries shortlisted in each category announced so far are:
- Book Design (25)
- Brand Identity Refresh (24)
- Casting (30)
- Commerce (32)
- Digital Design (19)
- Digital Marketing (63)
- Direct (36)
- Editing (13)
- Entertainment (43)
- Experiential (49)
- Illustration (42)
- Music Videos (42)
- New Brand Identity (31)
- Packaging Design (29)
- PR (38)
- Radio & Audio (13)
- Type Design & Lettering (30)
- Typography (39)
- Visual Effects (24)
- Writing for Advertising (24)
- Writing for Design (20)
While the anticipation builds for the final winners to be revealed, the judges remain impressed by the calibre of entries and the transformative impact they promise to have on the creative landscape.
The highlight of the week will be the eagerly anticipated Awards Ceremony on 22 May, which wraps up the two-day D&AD Festival at Southbank Centre, London, where the winners of this year’s competition will be unveiled. Be sure to secure your tickets to attend the Awards Announcement and witness the celebration of creativity at its finest. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Check out the full list of shortlisted works here.
Key Dates
The D&AD Awards judging will take place from May 18 to 21, 2025, culminating in the announcement of the shortlists for all categories on May 20 and 21, 2025. Following this, the D&AD Festival will be held from May 21 to 22, 2025 at the Southbank Centre, London. featuring keynote talks, judges’ insight sessions, networking events, and an exhibition celebrating the best in creativity. The awards ceremony will take place on May 22, 2025 where the coveted Pencils will be presented in person, marking the grand finale of this prestigious creative celebration.
About D&AD
D&AD exists to stimulate, enable, and award creative excellence in design and advertising, serving as one of the world’s most prestigious benchmarks for commercial creativity. The D&AD Pencil symbolizes rigor and integrity, embodying everything required to produce the very best creative work.
Since 1962, the D&AD Pencil has represented the very best in design and advertising. Winning a Pencil remains the pinnacle of many careers and the work it celebrates inspires others to study, debate, copy and reference its excellence, as the industry’s finest and most historic of treasures.
The D&AD Awards feature a hierarchy of recognition levels that celebrate varying degrees of creative excellence. The Shortlist acknowledges work that demonstrates merit and is worthy of recognition, placing it among the top entries in all categories. The Wood Pencil honors the best work of the year across advertising, design, craft, culture, and impact. Rising above the Wood Pencil, the Graphite Pencil is awarded to stand-out work considered for the prestigious Yellow Pencil. The Yellow Pencil represents the iconic symbol of true creative excellence, reserved for outstanding work that sets a high standard in the industry. At the pinnacle is the Black Pencil, the ultimate creative accolade, given only to groundbreaking work, with only a handful — if any — awarded each year.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of the 2025 D&AD Awards.
