D&AD 50

Excellence in visual thinking

Celebrating 50 years of outstanding creativity in design and art direction

The annual D&AD Awards honor outstanding creativity, originality, technical excellence, and innovation in design and advertising. Every year, thousands of entrants submit a host of crazy, beautiful, thought-provoking, sublime and, occasionally, winning entries. Panels of rigorous judges debate, sometimes for days on end, to decide on the best work, which all appears in the annual book; the best of the best get nominations, favorites receive a Yellow Pencil, and sometimes but not always, there are entries that are so incredible that they receive the highest accolade: a Black Pencil.

For this special anniversary volume, each of the last 50 years is represented by a D&AD president or other key figure who shares his or her favorites from the year. Interspersed stories, biographies, and a timeline document the history of D&AD and the development of the industry, through the experiences of creative individuals who have been most involved with its evolution. From the birth of TV advertising in the sixties to the digital revolution of the 2000s, D&AD has lived through it all and helped to shape what it is today. This is the chance to explore the best from the world of creative communications over the past five decades.

The editor:
D&AD is a nonprofit educational charity that was launched in 1962 by a group of London-based creative revolutionaries including David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Alan Fletcher, with iconic and legendary professionals on both its judging panels and winners lists. By celebrating creative communication and rewarding its practitioners, D&AD raises standards across the industry. The annual D&AD Awards—the industry’s biggest and best—rewards outstanding creativity, originality, technical excellence and innovation in design and advertising.