Eyes on the D&AD prize

Fourteen lucky winners picked up British Design and Art Direction yellow pencils (Silver Awards) in the design category at last night’s awards. But the occasion really belonged to Apple Design Group, which took the only Gold in the shape of a coveted black pencil.

The fact that the iMac has come to be considered by some as a classic in such a short space of time may have underlined the judges’ decision to honour the “product for the home” entrant, which has certainly caused no end of lively debate on the DW letters page in recent weeks.

Altogether 17 107 entries, the highest number yet, were submitted for the 20 categories across advertising and design making up the D&AD awards, which are judged over four rounds. Design work was submitted for the ten main categories, which were broken down into 55 sub-sections.

In all, there were 90 nominations work deemed exceptionally good and worth considering for a Silver Award in the next round of judging. Design and advertising sections produced 27 and 63 nominations respectively.

Of the design awards, the Graphic Design category had the most nominations (seven), and produced two winners in the guise of the One Woman’s Wardrobe brochure by Area and the Mother Miniatures model hooligan kit, a self-promotional entry for the ad agency. The categories of Product Design and Graphic Design Crafts had three winners in each, the most of any category and the basis of some stunning work.

Deepend and MetaDesign London were rightly commended with Silvers for their interactive design. Deepend was honoured for its VW Beetle website, which was a Design Week Award finalist this year and has clearly set standards in its field, while MetaDesign scored with its Glasgow 1999 type movie for this year’s City of Architecture and Design. The BBC’s Future Generations sting entered by BBC Creative Services won for the TV and Cinema Graphics category.

No awards were made for Environmental Design, Corporate Branding or Packaging Design. But Canongate Books’ The Pocket Canons: Words of the Wise covers, designed by Pentagram partner Angus Hyland, took Silver in the Editorial and Books category. In Music Packaging, Circa Records’ Massive Attack teaser poster by Tom Hingston Studio was also honoured.

D&AD president Richard Seymour says: ‘There was a record number of entries, this year, with a particularly gratifying 21 per cent increase in entries from the design disciplines. I have to say that I am particularly delighted to see three Silvers, and the only Gold, awarded in the Product Category. Each one of these products promotes the clearest possible message: that good design sells, as well as making our lives more interesting and enjoyable.”

Winning work can be viewed on the D&AD website at www. dandad.org/1999awards.