News / 03 Jul 2025
Marketing Communications and Graphic Design students win Black, Graphite, Yellow and Wood D&AD New Blood Pencils
BA (Hons) Marketing Communications
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
Students from BA (Hons) Marketing Communications and BA (Hons) Graphic Design have won Black, Graphite, Yellow and Wood D&AD New Blood Pencils.
Open to advertising, design, digital and marketing students, recent graduates and emerging creatives worldwide, the D&AD New Blood Awards celebrate the best new creative talent, with briefs set by leading global clients and judged by the industryās top creatives.
The winning students attended the New Blood Awards Ceremony on 2 July in London, where their award levels were announced and they were presented with their Pencils.
This is the tenth year running students from BA (Hons) Marketing Communications have won at D&AD New Blood, taking home an impressive 15 Pencils since 2016, including two Black Pencils.
āSilent Shakeā by final year BA (Hons) students Marketing Communications Hollie Spooner and Lizzie Day and BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Katie Charlesworth won a Yellow Pencil, and went on to win a Black Pencil, which means that the project was the best of the best of the Yellow Pencil winners this year.
'Silent Shake' is a Monotype campaign designed to reflect the handwriting changes often seen in the early stages of Parkinsonās disease. It is intended to work as an educational tool, highlighting common irregularities in handwriting which can be early indicators of the disease.
āI genuinely canāt put into words how much this means to me. We worked so hard to make sure our work was as strong and meaningful as possible. Iām really glad that me and Lizzie created work that brought attention to this cause.ā
Hollie Spooner, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications student
āI am so thrilled to have been awarded a New Blood Pencil for our Monotype idea: Silent Shake. This idea means the world to us and we couldnāt be prouder. Massive thank you to Fabio Fragiacomo and Nick Young for all the support. And thank you all the judges at D&AD for seeing the potential and canāt wait to meet you all in July.ā
Lizzie Day, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications student
In a fantastic example of cross-course collaboration, Hollie and Lizzie chose to collaborate with final year BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Katie Charlesworth on the winning campaign, due to Katie's skillset in creating typefaces.
Katie worked with the creative team to design the typeface and create a keep-safe card, a practical tool to support family and friends to identify the early signs of Parkinsonās disease in their loved oneās handwriting.
"As the graphic designer for our submission Silent Shake, I had the opportunity to design the custom typeface, keep-safe card and contribute in the visual identity to the project. Itās been such a rewarding concept to help communicate a condition that deserves more visibility. I'm incredibly proud to have been part of the creative team to make a difference and honoured our work has been recognised.ā
Katie May Charlesworth, BA (Hons) Graphic Design student
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By Hollie Spooner, Lizzie Day and Katie Charlesworth
Silent Shake
Second year BA (Hons) Marketing Communications student Yesser Alkazaz has been awarded a Wood Pencil for 'Knowledge is Protection', a campaign built around the idea the idea that the way we use words can change how we understand and treat people.
The campaign uses innovative technology and storytelling to empower people with Downās syndrome to access conversations around consent, sex, and relationships in a way that makes sense for them and isnāt rooted in fear or shame.
āThis was a really special brief for me, it touches on things Iāve seen and felt growing up in Middle Eastern culture, where topics like consent are rarely spoken about. So, to have this idea recognised feels like a real āIāve done something right!ā moment. Iām super grateful to my tutors, Nick and Fabio, for supporting me through the process and always believing in the work. I honestly didnāt expect it, but Iām over the moon!ā
Yesser Alkazaz, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications student
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By Yesser Alkazaz
Knowledge is Protection
Finally, BA (Hons) Marketing Communications graduate Sarah Heng Xinyuan won a Graphite Pencil for her response to the 21GRAMS brief, 'What Feels Right'.
Over the past ten years, students from the University have won everything from the Wood Pencil, celebrating the best of the year in advertising, design, craft, culture and impact, right through to the Black Pencil, the highest accolade awarded for groundbreaking work.