D&AD Reveals Final 2025 Awards Shortlist

The 63rd annual D&AD Awards (Ceremony due to take place on Thursday 22nd of May 2025 in London) have announced the final shortlist from all 44 Awards categories across the following disciplines: Design, Advertising, Craft, Engagement and Experience, Health, Luxury, Entertainment and Impact.

As a globally respected and famously hard-to-win awards, D&AD celebrates creative excellence, believing creativity is critical to commercial, economic, social and cultural success.

The non-profit organisation goes to great lengths to ensure a rigorous judging process, focused on integrity, with industry leaders selecting only the most exceptional creative work. Their focus on creativity, originality, and effectiveness ensures that winning entries represent the pinnacle of excellence in advertising and design.

Reflecting on the volume of submissions received this year, D&AD President for 2025 Kwame Taylor-Hayford commented, “The 2025 Awards saw our broadest participation yet, with submissions from 86 countries around the world. It’s also been our strongest year ever in terms of company participation—an encouraging sign that groundbreaking creativity and a deep commitment to craft continue to thrive across the globe."

Commenting on this year’s judges, D&AD CEO Dara Lynch said: “Our real superpower rests with our judges and community, who ensure the Pencil retains its place in history as the one to win; driving the industry forward and setting new standards for creative excellence in an industry that’s going through transformation.”

The Awards incorporates more than 44 categories judged by 330 of the world’s leading creatives from over 45 countries (52% female-identifying), recognising work that will inspire both seasoned and emerging talent. As a charity, Awards entries enable D&AD to fund educational programs such as D&AD Shift, a free, industry-led night school for self-taught creatives from under-represented backgrounds, currently running in London, New York, Berlin, Hamburg, São Paulo and Sydney with more locations to be announced.

A new Creator Content category reflects the evolving landscape of the creative industries and allows the international awards to stay current and inclusive, while the division of the branding category into two distinct categories: New Brand Identity and Brand Identity Refresh addresses the significant volume of entries received in previous years (over 900+ in 2024), ensuring each submission receives the focused attention it deserves by the jury.

The total number of entries shortlisted in each category are:

• Animation (30)
• Art Direction (36)
• Book Design (25)
• Brand Identity Refresh (24)
• Casting (30)
• Cinematography (22)
• Commerce (32)
• Creator Content (24)
• Digital Marketing (63)
• Digital Design (19)
• Direct (39)
• Direction (51)
• Editing (13)
• Entertainment (43)
• Experiential: Activation & Participation (49)
• Film (53)
• Future Impact (12)
• Gaming & Virtual Worlds (19)
• Graphic Design (43)
• Health & Wellbeing (49)
• Illustration (42)
• Impact (35)
• Integrated (19)
• Luxury (19)
• Magazine & Newspaper Design (23)
• Media (33)
• Music Videos (42)
• New Brand Identity (31)
• Packaging Design (29)
• Pharma (15)
• Photography (18)
• PR (38)
• Press & Outdoor (36)
• Product Design (21)
• Production Design (16)
• Radio & Audio (13)
• Sound Design & Use of Music (26)
• Spatial Design (19)
• Sustained Impact (4)
• Type Design & Lettering (30)
• Typography (39)
• Visual Effects (24)
• Writing for Advertising (24)
• Writing for Design (20)

While the anticipation builds for the final winners to be revealed, the judges remain impressed by the calibre of entries and the transformative impact they promise to have on the creative landscape.

As the excitement continues to build, we invite you to join us for the culmination of this year's festivities at the D&AD Festival on Thursday, May 22nd. The day will be filled with enlightening talks and engaging workshops, offering invaluable opportunities for industry professionals to connect and exchange ideas. Tickets for the Festival are still available for purchase on site.

The highlight of the day will be the eagerly anticipated Awards Ceremony, where the winners of this year's competition will be unveiled. Be sure to secure your tickets to attend the Awards.

Announcement and witness the celebration of creativity at its finest. Tickets are available for purchase here.

D&AD will reveal this year’s Pencil winners, closing the Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre with the D&AD Awards Ceremony from 6pm on the 22nd May.