D&AD Partners with DDB Group Hong Kong to Bring New Blood Portfolio Night to Asia

The next generation of Hong Kong’s advertising talent will have the opportunity to showcase their work to seasoned creative professionals in an event later this month, jointly organised by design and advertising association, D&AD, and local agency, DDB Group Hong Kong.

The Portfolio Night, a part of D&AD New Blood, will take place on the 31st of August at the DDB Group Hong Kong offices, with senior DDB creative talent across multiple disciplines available to review young creatives’ work. The portfolio night provides aspiring art directors, copywriters, and designers the chance to get relevant and constructive feedback, as well as establish relationships within the industry.

D&AD’s New Blood initiatives including Awards, a Festival, and an Academy have long nurtured future creative talent. Programmes by the non-profit currently run in North and South America, Europe, and Australia, and their awards see submissions from across the globe, but this is the first such D&AD New Blood event in Asia.

The initiative was quick to get up and running once DDB Group Hong Kong’s recent hire, regional executive creative director, Alejandro Canciobello, identified the opportunity. Alejandro is known as a particularly passionate advocate for nurturing the emerging talent in the industry and as well as being an official D&AD mentor, is also a regular jury member for rising talent categories across multiple award programmes. In addition to Alejandro, DDB Group Hong Kong, as one of Hong Kong’s biggest agencies, and with clients such as McDonald’s, Octopus, and Aptamil, offers plenty of experienced talent in a position to provide relevant and inspiring guidance to the next generation of creative professionals.

Alejandro explained his motivation behind organising the event, “There is an abundance of creative potential in Asia, but from what I understand, not enough opportunities for students and grads to get real exposure to the industry. Not only is a Portfolio Night beneficial in helping young people further shape their skills and get greater insight into the industry, but something I know the team here will find extremely rewarding too.”

D&AD senior foundation manager, Marie Dryden, added, “We are delighted to be further strengthening our vibrant global community with an increased presence in a part of the world we know there to be a lot of emerging creative talent. It’s great to be working with DDB to make it happen and we are hopeful this Portfolio Night is the beginning of a successful partnership that will ultimately bring a series of events to the region, providing regular opportunities for the young creative minds in Asia.”

The event is exclusively for recent graduates or emerging creatives with less than 6 months experience in the industry. Applications can be made as individuals or as part of a creative team, and open today, with the first 24 applicants able to secure a place.

Applications can be made online here.