Advertising Graduate Wins Second Prestigious Design Award

Advertising graduate Jordan Amblin, 22, completed his degree last year and now works as a digital designer for Digitas Lbi in Brick Lane, London. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Each year, design students get the chance to attend D& AD (Design & Art Direction) New Blood; a creative and networking festival in London, where they get the opportunity to pitch their work to potential employers with agencies across Europe attending the event held in Shoreditch. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

D & AD also hold the much coveted awards – Pencils – and Jordan’s final year project, a brief for nPower, won him a wooden pencil. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The competition is also open to recent graduates, so Jordan applied for another this year and was successful again – this time gaining an even more prestigious level of award – the yellow pencil for his Nationwide building society brief. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jordan, who is originally from South Wales, said: “Throughout University a D&AD pencil was always seen as a career milestone; something all students dreamt of receiving. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Winning for a second time is something of a dream. This one came as more of a shock, but also felt more important and rewarding at the same time. Trying to juggle a full time job and external work definitely wasn’t easy. I spent my days working on a client pitch, and late nights working on my entry. Winning made the lack of sleep worthwhile though! ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“My idea for Nationwide was looking at focusing the banks services for the next generation. I looked at using Facebook Messenger, the number one messaging platform for Millennials, to simplify the way Nationwide customers bank. Giving customers 24/7 on-demand customer service, simple and easy way to transfer money and manage group payments.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Lee Thomas, Animation course leader, added: “We’re really proud of Jordan. This just goes to show how useful the creative industry engagement we have on the course and live briefs that we set for our students are in terms of preparing them for employment in Advertising. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“They enable students to showcase their work in a relevant way that not only helps them get jobs, but also win high profile awards such as D&AD and YCN also.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​