GLOBAL – New D&AD President Andy Sandoz is bringing the future. He isn’t just a disruptive creative partner with big ideas, he’s a sci-fi traveller stuck in the wrong time, working very hard to help us all catch up. His manifesto isn’t about what he can do in a year; he wants us to think of the next 20 years and how we can use creativity to save ourselves.
To say Andy is passionate about the technology is to put it lightly. He declares that the internet is the reason he got into advertising and names Tim Berners-Lee as the person who has most (indirectly at least) influenced his career to date. A voracious reader of sci-fi novels, he embraces the idea of the future and all of its exciting innovations and worries about those that bury their heads in the sand, unwilling to change with the times. For Andy, creativity is what is going to save the world, which is good, because we’re good at creativity.
Andy explains why we should all take the red pill “The next 20 years will be a golden age, in which we envision, design and deliver a new world. With good reason, as right now this one we have really needs us. We have to design a new way to live on earth, create new ways to live with each other and work out how we are going to live with technology”
No need to panic (too much) though “Fortunately we humans are already sophisticated problem solving machines, able to start with just an idea and the belief that it can be done. And rather than fighting against the machines as we see in the movies, we actually have technology on our side.“
“Understanding how science and technology works makes you think about what is possible. Asking yourself ‘can this work?’. It makes you experiment, and to me that is the essence of creativity. To every day explore what is possible.”
How does this future-thinking apply to D&AD? “The future is anyone’s guess, so why can’t it be yours? Invest in technology. Invest in creativity. In this D&AD is your rock and your light. We are a not-for-profit platform for creativity, giving directly to initiatives that drive our industry forward. Our Pencils don’t just award excellence, create confidence and make careers – they show us all the way forward. Our education initiatives take the knowledge from the Pencil winners and turn it into wisdom we can all share and learn from.”
“We create catalysts such as the White Pencil, awarding work for good, to encourage answers our industry and our world needs to see. We ask brands to take the responsible seat at the table. Our New Blood education program accelerates the next generation and promotes diversity helping us stay fresh and grow. If the answer to our problems is creativity, and I believe that it is, then D&AD is a vital platform to help us achieve our goals. Become a member of D&AD and you become a member of your own future, enter your work into D&AD and you enter your work into your everyone’s future, win at D&AD and you boost everyone’s future times ten.”
So in conclusion “I look forward to a future filled with creative thinking, where our work has a meaningful impact on the world around us. Over time, I expect D&AD to give out exponentially more Pencils, thousands more. Not because our benchmark of quality is getting lower – we won’t drop our standard – but thanks to technology, we are about to get better.”
In addition, there are four new creatives elected to sit on the D&AD Board of Trustees, which are:
New Deputy President, Bruce Duckworth, Principal at Turner Duckworth
“It’s a great honour to have been elected as a trustee of D&AD. I’m looking forward to helping keep the bar high and D&AD top of mind.”
Nicky Bullard, Creative Director, LIDA
“It’s an absolute honour to be elected and I’m going to do my damnedest to throw our industry’s door wide open”
Hamish Gardner [New Blood Trustee]
“New Blood gives young creatives like myself a step up and it is vital for ensuring the future of the creative industries, I am very proud to be their representative this year.”
Caitlyn Ryan, former Group Executive Creative Director, Karmarama
“I love everything that D&AD stands for and promotes, particularly when it comes to promoting diversity and innovation in creativity – which is why I am so excited about being a trustee.”
The D&AD Board of Trustees represent the full breadth of the advertising, design and digital industries. As a member-run organisation, the elected board are responsible for the overall direction of D&AD, its programmes and where its money is spent. Any Awarded member of D&AD is eligible to stand for election to the Board of Trustees, which is voted on by D&AD Awarded and Full members. Each elected trustee serves a term of three years and New Blood Trustees serve for a year.
Tim Lindsay, Chief Executive, D&AD commented, “This is always a refreshing time of year; almost like a back to school feel for us. We are poised, full of optimism for the year ahead as we announce who will be our new president and trustees. Once again I am blown away by this supremely talented collection of individuals who will help to guide and shape D&AD over the coming months and years.”
“I would like to say a whole-hearted thank you to Mark, who has been a fantastic ambassador for D&AD and a champion of the creative industries, especially around New Blood and the Foundation. I also extend a warm welcome to Andy whose ideas on the future and fearless approach to new technologies will be sure to catapult D&AD into a new way of thinking.”
“With an international calendar of events, exciting new categories for our Professional Awards, some big plans for D&AD Judging, and some ambitious plans for our New Blood programme and the D&AD Foundation, it’s sure to be a year to remember.”
