It all begins with a pencil x logic and magic

As they eloquently put it, "D&AD celebrates and nurtures outstanding work in the design and advertising industry each year with its international creative awards. A D&AD Pencil is recognised the world over as a shining symbol of the very highest creative achievement. It can’t get much better than that."

And for young creatives, it really doesn't get much better than snatching up one of the prestigious New Blood Award pencils, as design, art direction and copywriting students the world over battle it out to deliver the best answer to global brand briefs.

Our amazing third year students submitted their entries (under the expert guidance of graphic design lecturer Carmen Schaefer, and copywriting lecturer Wendy Shepherd) for the Adobe, Desperados and D&AD briefs, and did us proud with two award nominations, earning each of themselves a (to be announced) pencil award! Not only did they scoop up fame and pencil-made fortune, but crowned Red & Yellow as the only South African institution to be awarded this year. They join their peers and alumni in adding to our proud history - take a look.

D&AD global brief - "Fortune Favours The Brave" finalists, Stef Martin and Ruby Jennings, hit the mark when it came to inspiring bravery in young creatives with their Not-So-Scaredy Pants concept. Watch their campaign video below:

not-so-scaredypants_small from Red Yellow on Vimeo.

Copywriter of the duo, Stef Martin, says of their win and hard work, "I'm grateful to be in a space where ideas about something as seemingly silly as underwear are grappled with. I never imagined that I would gravely consider the most effective way to fold a pair of panties into a tin. Seeing South African students feature in these awards... it's so exciting to be part of a dynamic and confident group that values its own voice."

Daniel Fabre, Mishka Byram and Morgana Marengo 'dialed up the dare' with their interpretation of the Desperados global brief, which aimed to "unleash urbanites party spirit with an unforgettable experience." Their concept, "Don't Tell Me Not To", tapped into the rebellious side of the target audience, daring them to defy the rules and be rewarded. Watch their campaign come to life below:

Desperados - Don't Tell Me Not To - Campaign by Mishka Byram, Morgana Marengo, Daniel Fabre from Red Yellow on Vimeo.

Part of an epic team, Daniel Fabre said of their campaign "We live and work in an industry where insight is a priceless commodity. I have to thank my teacher, Wendy Shepherd, for showing me just how powerful an accurate insight can be. Once you have it and refuse to relinquish your grip, the rest does itself."

However, their wins did not come without challenges. "It's a big challenge to compete in the D&AD New Blood awards because the students are working on briefs set by international clients and competing against students at European universities. It was really hard for the team working on the Desperados brief, for example, to find a sample of this tequila beer in Cape Town." said Carmen.

What can we say? In the words of Carmen and Wendy, "It testifies to their world-class conceptual thinking, and their ability to craft their work to a high standard... Cracking an international brief is game-upping of note. A quantity of hard graft went into these campaigns... But what else would you expect from Red & Yellow students?"

Next stop - the awards ceremony in London!

The Red & Yellow School has been producing industry leaders and game changers in the fields of marketing, graphic design, art direction and copywriting for 22 years. Applications for 2017 are still open. Find out more on the website or contact Red & Yellow on 021 462 1946 / az.oc.wolleydnader@ofni.