Dear All,

How long does a length of time have to be, for it to be considered an ‘era’? You’d expect it to be longer than 2 years. Much longer. I’d say at least the better half, if not a full decade minimum. However for me, looking back at the past couple of years brings me so much emotion, that it’s hard to look at it in any other way.

Now that era has ended, and it’s time to move on.

But what to? D&AD is an Educational Charity. You may have absent-mindedly read about them in Metro’s Behind the Idea featurette any Tuesday of the past 30 weeks or so. Don’t worry if you don’t know what exactly an ‘Educational Charity’ is. Most people can’t even get the name right. Say it with me; “Dee And Ayy Dee”, and you’re already more informed than most. The organisation has been running since 1962, and since then has been a well-loved British Institution to the world-class London Advertising and Design industries. Their main aim is to work alongside the creative industries. To help them evolve, improve, and educate.

It begins with Students. D&AD runs Educational workshops, lectures, and seminars, all for students to learn and improve. As well as these programs, they run a Student Awards competition where real brands ask students to tackle real briefs. Win the award, and your work might even cross over, and be commissioned! The organisation has been non-profit since its inception, and runs the Student side at a loss every year in order to keep their membership and awards entry costs low. They’re so low, that many Universities choose to pay for their students’ membership, and entries themselves. Giving everyone the best chance to show off their own talent.

This is what D&AD is all about. Of course the company has to survive, they have to charge something to enter, in order to simply stay afloat. They aspire to a world filled with opportunities for the creatively gifted as opposed to just the financially gifted.

The stance of creativity, and originality above all else runs through to their professional programme. The Professional Awards is where most of the operational funds are raised. Although they need all the money they can to operate as efficiently as possible for Students, D&AD have never scrimped on quality. They’re fiercely proud of just how difficult their prizes are to win, taunting creatives this year with ‘advertising’ campaigns touting that very fact. But where would an industry be, if it were to simply be mollycoddled into producing average creative work? It wouldn’t be the vibrant, internationally celebrated one Britain mothers today, that’s for truth!

So that’s your history lesson. I’m sure you can tell by now, the immense pride it has given me to be a part of such an organisation for the last two years. And it has. But it’s not what I will miss the most.

I was working as part of their Professional Awards team. Throughout the cycle, I would work alongside the best in design and advertising. From researching the best stuff, getting it entered, prepping work to be judged, and producing the book all of the winning stuff’s presented in. It’s a fantastic thing to do. If you like any kind of design work, if you like all types of advertising. To work and handle the best stuff in the world, judged by the best people in the world, as part of the best competition in the world… it gives you a real buzz.

It’s easy to love, and it shows. Everyone who takes contracts there simply loves it. You come in to work with a huge smile on your face in anticipation of the day ahead. If everyone arrives in a good mood, it’s like the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and everything looks that little bit brighter.

Two years, across 3 awards cycles, means hundreds and hundreds of priceless memories. Memories are all well and good of course, but life is not a Disney DVD on a bookcase. It’s been like a huge Summer holiday, and now I’m back from the airport, unpacking the suitcase.

I may be back on the cold, wet, British Isles; In a world where queuing is a national sport, and sitting in a cold room, watching your own breath freeze in front of your face because of a broken boiler seems as common as Jade Goody; but I’m not empty handed. Unpacking the case, I can see duty-free, oversized straw hats, and under-arm donkeys.

Time to plan my next holiday.

Kind Regards,

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James Wormald
Ex-Awards Production Assistant/Awards Editorial Assistant/Senior Awards Production Assistant/Senior Editorial Assistant/Marketing Assistant/Education Assistant.
Ex-D&AD