The D&AD Awards 2024 have finally announced their winners and we are proud to say that our Malaysian advertising students have bagged their prestigious awards. Each year since 1962, the Design and Art Direction Awards gather the world's best creative work from across the commercial design, advertising and craft disciplines to be judged by a cohort of nearly 400 of the world’s leading creative minds. The D&AD Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best from around the world.

This year, the Advertising & Graphic Design students from The One Academy won three awards in the New Blood student category; one Graphite Pencil Award for stand-out work that rises above the rest, and two Wood Pencil Awards for the best of the year in advertising, design, craft, culture and impact. The winning teams’ campaigns took on a unique approach on the competition’s briefs by incorporating attractive designs, in-depth research and interesting concepts.

Entering the competition as a team project for the Adobe brief, students Tey Yong Kang, Loh Yik Hong, Loke Xin Yu and Alexander Kevin Tanaka took home the Graphite Pencil Award for their outstanding and impactful project, ‘The Most Hire-able Resume Ever’.

The D&AD New Blood “Graphite Pencil” Award-winning project, ‘The Most Hire-able Resume Ever

“Winning this award among so many incredible works is an immense honour for us. It's extremely gratifying to know that our work resonates with others and has made a significant impact,” said Loh Yik Hong.

 The students came up with a campaign that defied stereotypical assumptions of Gen Z employees. Through research, they disproved the common misconception that Gen Z employees are lazy by providing evidence that this generation is actually becoming one of the most entrepreneurial generations yet. Thus, the students’ campaign featured a collaboration between Adobe Express, a content creation tool and LinkedIn, a platform for business community to empower young entrepreneurs. Through Adobe Express, Gen Z applicants could enhance their LinkedIn profiles to highlight their creativity and unique personalities, showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit and skills.

When asked about the process behind this award-winning campaign, Tey Yong Kang simply replied, “We first conducted extensive research and brainstorming. Once we had a solid concept, we spent countless hours perfecting and executing the design. Throughout the process, we continually sought feedback from our mentors, which was invaluable in shaping the final outcome.”

‘Rain, Rain Go My Way’ won the “Wood Pencil” in the D&AD New Blood Awards 2024

The Wood Pencil Award-winning campaigns, ‘Rain, Rain Go My Way’ by Chong Zhe Qi, Lim Min Ting and Choo Im Keat; and ‘PeriArt Odyssey’ by Khoo Chu Yun, Lim Zi Xuan and Tai En Joo were both based on the Nando's & NCA brief.

‘Rain, Rain Go My Way’ is a project inspired by the weather conditions in the United Kingdom (UK) and the popularity of this topic in discussions among UK teens. “This sparked an idea, why not incorporate the weather into our campaign? We believed it would be fun, interactive, and highly relatable for UK teens," said Chong Zhe Qi.

The interactive campaign partnered with UK’s top weather forecasting app MET Office Weather app and Nando’s. Through this, they were able to link UK youths who have the habit of constantly checking the weather forecast to get prompted to visit the closest Nando's restaurant whenever it is about to rain or is raining. This led to Nando's being the next "hotspot" for teenagers to gather.

 “The One Academy has always provided us with an experience that closely reflects a real work environment. Before working on our project for this competition, we actually worked on a few other campaign projects, which helped us immensely. This training has also prepared us for the working world,” said Chong.

‘PeriArt Odyssey’ won the “Wood Pencil” in the D&AD New Blood Awards 2024

As for the ‘PeriArt Odyssey’ campaign, The One Academy Penang students brought Nando's art style and patterns to life through attention-grabbing advertising. By incorporating AR filters, guerrilla ads featuring Nando's African tribal patterns in unconventional places like zebra crossings and street signs, it created an impact on the public by making their day-to-day routine more vibrant. It also brought awareness to the Nando’s brand through artistic exploration. 

“We worked hard as a team and pushed through the challenges to complete the project. It feels great to see our hard work being recognised on a global platform,” mentioned Khoo Chu Yun.

Participating in international competitions not only builds students' confidence but also significantly enhances their portfolios and reputations as designers. Winning such competitions, where their projects are judged alongside those of other designers on the world stage, is extremely fulfilling and rewarding. It is truly inspiring to witness young Malaysian designers thrive in the global creative scene where their projects are evaluated by a panel of esteemed industry professionals.

The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for 33 years, by providing diploma and degree courses in Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making, Computer Science & Game Design. For more information, visit www.toa.edu.my or call 03-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected]