The D&AD Digital Annual

Before joining D&AD as Head of Content, I consulted and led on the first digital Annual in 2020, reimagining the iconic book as a digital product for the first time in its then 58-year history.

Through an interface designed to optimise exploration and inspiration, the Annual offered up interviews, insights and reports, to provide deeper understanding of the winning work and the ideas behind it, transforming the publication into a more widely accessible resource for the global creative community. Reaching over 75,000 users in the first several months, 12,000 of whom are in the 18-24 age category, the 2020 Annual enabled D&AD to fulfil a core mission by reaching as wide an audience as possible, and inspiring and supporting emerging talent in new ways.

In 2021, as Head of Content at D&AD, I led on the the 2021 Annual. Again designed by Studio Dumbar, the 2021 Annual built on the digital experience to create a more two-way conversation, with the ability to earmark work and curate lists (and view Judges’ recommended work); and the addition of Voices to the editorial insights, addressing topics ranging from the cultural production of the Black diaspora, to exploration of Gen Z's relationship to media and branding, the rise of gaming, and the role of typographical craft in cultural inheritance, all told through the lens of this year’s Pencil winners.

Insights also delved into the craft behind the work, with journalists commissioned to tell the stories of the directors, casting directors, animators, strategists, designers and other creatives who made the winning work.

See the 2021 annual here.