MDX graduate work recognised at global industry-leading awards

10 July 2024

Graduates from MDX arts and creative industries faculty win accolades at prestigious D&AD New Blood Awards 2024

The display of recent graduate work from Middlesex University’s creative industries courses has won ‘Best Stand’ at the renowned D&AD New Blood Awards 2024, beating exhibits from up to 40 other universities.

Two individual awards were also won by MDX students at the awards which receive entries from all over the world and aim to showcase the work of talented recent graduates and emerging creatives to industry professionals. D&AD is a global association that was created in the UK to promote excellence in advertising and design, and celebrate new and emerging creative talent.

Universities display their best graduate work over two days at the awards which recognise talent and innovation in a range of creative fields from graphic design and illustration to fashion and PR and advertising.

The Middlesex University display was put together during six hours to showcase the work of students from five School of Design programmes: Graphic Design, Illustration, Fashion Communication and Styling, Advertising, PR and Branding, and Digital Media and Communications.

Lecturers, students and technicians designed the stand made of beech plywood using machinery from the University’s 3D department. The stand had a series of shelves which displayed postcards, books, comics and zines designed and made by the students from the various courses.

Fashion students designed and created the mini magazines from recycled paper and printed examples of their fashion collections onto them using the University’s facilities. Graphic design and illustration students designed and created the postcards, comics and books to show examples of their final-year projects. Advertising, PR and Branding and Digital Media and Communications students created showreels showcasing campaign videos, animations, and innovative mobile apps. Two tables either end of the stand held screens which displayed showreels of the students’ work. Other student contributions, such as posters, were hung on the walls behind the stand.

Alun Davis, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Communication at Middlesex University, said: “ Many universities and their creative courses are represented at D&AD so to win ‘Best Stand’ overall is a great achievement and brings the creative talents of our students to the attention of industry professionals who attended the awards.

“We are very fortunate to have a cohort of such creative, talented students across the whole faculty. Our stand stood out because of the bespoke units and furniture made by our technicians, and all the examples of student work making it a real showpiece of collaborative, creative talent.

“Graduates from our illustration, graphics and fashion courses attended the event, and because of the buzz around our stand they all had great conversations with people from industry and were able to share their work.”

The stand featured some of the work of the two individual winners who won a ‘Pencil Award’ at the event with projects that explored the theme of climate change. Momo Nomizo, a BA Graphic Design graduate won the award for her entry in the Google & Typography category. She used a poem for inspiration to create fonts and designs to explore the impact of deforestation on birds and how, for example, in Momo’s home country of Japan paper tissues are hardly used to avoid waste. She animated the poem so when visitors held up their phone to a poster about her entry, it showed an animation of birds and floating handkerchiefs.

The other individual pencil winner in the typography category was a group of first-year students on Middlesex University’s BA Advertising, PR and Branding course taught at our partner institution Academy of Journalism and Communication in Vietnam whose typography designs were inspired by the issue of air pollution in Hanoi.

Michael Wright, Lecturer in Graphic Design at Middlesex University, said: “ D&AD is a prestigious organisation within the creative sector and it is a huge opportunity for our graduates to showcase their work and find work in the creative industries. Our success at the awards also shows our faculty at Middlesex University as a creative force in London and beyond, and highlights the talented students that we have.”

MDX ‘Best Stand’ at the D&AD Awards.