Letter from D&AD's President

Dear Students,

When you see something you don't understand, the easiest and most human attribute is to fear it or dismiss it. In science fiction, which becomes science fact, in an upgrade, new is always portrayed as evil; robots hiding amongst us, adverts shot into your retina and computers taking over the world. It's the panic that we will ultimately be replaced, we're not the latest version, the top of the food chain or, indeed, can't understand what the hell these "newbies" are talking about.

Judging the Student Awards can be a bit like that, you have a real grasp of the brief, the problem ahead, but when confronted with the answers given, you kinda go into Victorian dad mode... bah humbug they will never get that through BACC, what would the client think...? Well that's just the fear talking.

You lot are our future, the future of the industry, my studio and in-fact every client's bread and butter. If you don't scare the living shit out of us then it's work that I can do right now without you. Anything truly creative is not made for now, it's made for... just over there, maybe over the next fence or over the horizon but it has to be bold, it has to be frightening and more than ever it has to be different.

It's been an honour to have been President during this last year, to have judged the Student Awards with the courage and conviction that you have put into this work. If any of you doubt your worth in the industry, then just look that creative director in the eyes when he opens your portfolio, if it looks like you just stuck a finger in his eye or crapped on the carpet then odds are you're exactly what he's looking for.

Simon Waterfall
Poke

I thought this was an interesting concept in light of some of our crits.