D&AD invites entries for New Blood Awards 2014

Briefs for the D&AD New Blood Awards have launched with sixteen challenges from top-name brands. The Awards have been given a refresh and are now open to a wider pool of young creatives, rather than just to those in education.

"For young creatives looking to kick-start their career and create that elusive something to stand out from the crowd, D&AD's New Blood Awards are back with a bang. We've got a new name, a new look and new brands with exciting but testing challenges," said Kati Russell, D&AD Senior Programme Manager.

The Awards are now open to everyone under 24, current students and those within two years of graduating. The shift comes as we see the education landscape continue to change, not to mention the increasing number of young creatives, who having completed their education are unable to find a permanent foothold in the industry. The D&AD New Blood Awards, and its worldwide industry network, act as an accessible bridge into the workplace.

This year's Awards actively encourage creatives to respond to idea briefs with a multi-disciplined approach. The aim is for individuals to push the application of their own skills and also seek out collaboration in creating their responses. Continued support for creative excellence in craft can be found via graphic design, photography, illustration, moving image and typography briefs.

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Former US Vice President Al Gore, supported by WPP, is setting the challenge to tackle the Global Legacy project - changing habits to change the world. Selected winners will have the opportunity to attend a special climate summit next summer, and if the idea is good enough, it might just be put into action.

Speaking about the setting of the Global Legacy brief, Jon Steel, WPP Planning Director, said, "We are excited by the opportunity to work with Al Gore, who has campaigned tirelessly to raise consciousness of the climate crisis. This problem is real, it's influenced by human activity, and we are already feeling its effects. Now, as a global community, we need to do something about it."

Further challenges such as 'Restyle street-style' for ASOS, 'Revisit the idea of the decisive moment' for Nokia, 'Repackage Purdey's' for Purdey's, 'Solve megacity problems' for Unilever, 'App design' for NPower and 'Making world news a global experience' for the BBC are tasters of what's on offer.

The briefs have been built around themes for the 2014 New Blood Awards - addressing topics such as 'Urban Renaissance', 'Retail Revolution', 'Authenticity' and 'Open Culture'.

Tim Lindsay, CEO - D&AD, said, "The changes we've made to the D&AD New Blood Awards are all part of our aim to make them a vital conduit between education and the creative industries for the current generation. We wanted to ensure that these Awards remain utterly relevant to both the talents of those young people and the needs of the industry they will be entering."

For more information about the 2014 D&AD New Blood Awards - including the briefs and entry guidelines, click here.

The deadline for entries is March 19, 2014. Judging and results will be announced on May 19, 2014, and an awards ceremony and exhibition of the best work will take place on July 3, 2014.

New Blood Awards 2014 - Brief Challenges

ASOS - Restyle street style

BBC - Make world news a global experience

The Body Shop - Re-establish the beauty pioneers

British Council- Create an exhibition identity to go

D&AD - Tell don't sell. Make Your Mark.

DCM - Show the emotion of film

Monotype - Realise the importance of type

National Trust- Reconnect our relationship with nature and beauty

Nokia - Revisit the idea of the decisive moment

NPower - Give control to energy users

Purdey's - Repackage Purdey's

RAB - Start an experience through radio

Sky - Put Sky into words

Unilever - Solve megacity problems

WPP - Change habits, change the world

XL Recordings - Illustrate label history