The D&AD judging process is not such a mystery after all

It is the morning after D&AD’s ‘How the hell did that get in?’ event, and I can’t figure out if my head is spinning from drinking too much Guinness or from the sheer passion that the evening’s debates aroused.

The format was great: nine previous jury members individually discussing work that was included in the Annual the year they judged, and championing a piece of work for next year’s book.

It was good to see D&AD opening up and shedding some light on the mystery of the judging process, but what was really exciting for me was the lack of unanimous agreement on the work.

Hearing other designers’ perspectives, both positive and negative, gave us the opportunity to reappraise our own views and was a great reminder that design is, and always will be, a broad church.

The Slaughtered Lamb turned out to be a fitting venue indeed.

David Jones, Buddy Creative, by e-mail