D&AD Reveals 2025 Festival Line-up at London’s Southbank Centre

This May, D&AD’s prestigious annual festival returns to London, bringing together the world’s most innovative and creative minds in design, art direction and advertising to London’s epicentre for creativity – the Southbank Centre.

Taking place on May 21-22nd, 2025, the event promises to push the boundaries of creativity and craftsmanship in an evolving industry and is packed with keynote speakers, hands-on workshops and inspiring awards showcases including an exhibition of 2025 D&AD Award-winning work plus the inaugural annual ceremony on the last evening of the D&AD Festival. Celebrating its 7th Year, the festival will provide a dynamic and exclusive opportunity for guests to refuel their inspiration, learn and listen to some of the brightest minds in forward thinking discussions.

The festival will feature 80+ international speakers across two stages; one for big discussions and inspirational content, and another for more focused learning and insight-driven content. You can also expect D&AD’s world-class Masterclass content, keynote talks and interviews with incredible creatives, networking and learning opportunities, interactive activations and D&AD’s highly anticipated insight sessions led by global and local creative leaders. Masterclasses with industry-leading trainers will also take place, as well as live jury insight sessions where judges reveal the type of entries that sparked discussion and debate in the jury rooms.

Speakers from brands such as Skyscanner, KFC, Open AI and The New York Times will join a diverse mix of award-winning designers, advertisers, tech leaders, and storytellers from across the creative world. They will delve into trending subjects such as AI, Craftsmanship, Design, Advertising, Creativity in 2025 and Technology.

“Stimulating, enabling, and celebrating creative excellence is very much at the heart of the festival. It's what D&AD does 365 days a year, and we’re delighted that we can provide an accessible creative focal point in the calendar year where authentic speakers, excellent practical insights and real-life learning can be explored.

We have all been drawn to creativity in some way, shape, or form, so what better place to delve into that connected experience with the world's best creative minds than at the D&AD Festival,” said Donal Keenan, D&AD COO and awards & festival director.

D&AD has also announced a first round of sponsors, including HP Industrial Graphics who will be back at the Festival with a sponsored Masterclass. Category sponsors include graphics editor app Procreate for the Illustration category and telecommunications company Verizon for Digital Marketing.

'Drawn To' Campaign by JKR.

This year, D&AD appointed global branding agency Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR) to develop the organisation's creative platform for its Awards and Festival. Centred around the theme Drawn to Create, the campaign celebrates the many ways inspiration pulls us in - whether it’s scribbling on a napkin or making a feature film, pulling together sell-in decks or making bold moves for your brand.

Influenced by the iconic D&AD Pencil, the design is built on principles of magnetism, with every element naturally gravitating toward the D&AD logo or Pencil itself. The type-led campaign, developed in collaboration with Studio DRAMA, amplifies this pull, positioning D&AD as the centre of creative excellence.

“Across the creative industries, we’re all drawn to create - whether it’s to break the mould, chase excellence, or just make something that leaves a mark. With this campaign, we wanted to capture that shared drive and spotlight what makes D&AD so special. It’s the pinnacle of creative excellence, where you get to learn from the best and stand alongside your heroes. Whether you’re chasing your first Pencil or adding to a shelf full of them, everything culminates at D&AD,” said Gustavo Dao, design director at JKR.

The festival programme will include insights fresh from D&AD's 2025 juries, behind-the-scenes deep dives into the work, and fireside chats and interviews with incredible creatives. Expect deep conversations, bold ideas and exclusive networking opportunities, all in the heart of London’s cultural scene.

D&AD will also reveal this year’s Pencil winners to close the festival with the D&AD Awards 2025 Ceremony on the evening of 22nd May.