D&AD, the global non-profit championing excellence in design and commercial creativity, today revealed this year’s D&AD Awards Pencil winners. Drawing entries from 89 countries, the highest in the awards’ history, 573 Pencils were awarded across 46 categories, from over 50,000 pieces of work submitted for consideration.
Lisa Smith, D&AD President and Uncommon Global Chief Design Officer, notes, “What stood out most was the sheer creative bravery and excellence on display. Across disciplines we saw teams pushing into genuinely new territory, from storytelling and traditional craft to emerging technologies and new forms of expression. Creativity is very much alive and the work that won did so because it moved the standard of creative excellence forward.”
Highest Awarded Countries – all Pencil levels excluding Black Pencil
Highest Awarded Countries – Yellow Pencils Only
Singapore had a standout year at the D&AD Awards, claiming 11 Pencils in total, including five Yellow Pencils, nearly half of its overall wins. This places Singapore joint third globally for Yellow Pencils alongside Canada, behind only the US and the UK. A remarkable achievement that reflects the country’s growing influence and thriving creative excellence on the global stage.
Categories and Disciplines
The Culture discipline saw the strongest entry growth of any discipline in 2026, with entries up 49% year on year. Three categories, Sport Entertainment, Cultural Influence and Brand Transformation, made their D&AD Awards debut this year, awarding 10, eight and nine Pencils respectively.
The leading category by Pencils awarded in 2026:
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Magazine and Newspaper Design – 28 Pencils, four Yellow
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Art Direction – 25 Pencils, two Yellow Pencils
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Film – 25 Pencils, four Yellow Pencils
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Graphic Design – 23 Pencils, one Yellow Pencil
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Experiential: Activation and Participation – 21 Pencils, one Yellow Pencil
Magazine & Newspaper Design and Film led on Yellow Pencils, each taking four, the highest of any category this year.
2026 Overall Results
The total number of Pencils awarded for the D&AD Awards 2026 by level:
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White – two Pencils awarded
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Yellow – 52 Pencils awarded
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Graphite – 149 Pencils awarded
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Wood – 368 Pencils awarded
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Future Impact – two Pencils awarded
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Shortlisted – 557
D&AD CEO, David Patton, adds, “64 years in and the D&AD Awards have never felt more global or more vital. The breadth of countries entering and the quality of work they’re producing tells you everything about where commercial creativity is headed.
Entries were received from 89 countries this year, up from 86 in 2025 and the highest ever in D&AD Awards’ history. Significant growth in submissions from the UAE, India, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia signals that world-class creative ambition is no longer concentrated in a handful of markets, D&AD’s standard for excellence is being pursued and met across every continent.
Singapore is perhaps the best example of that shift. Eleven Pencils, five of them Yellow, an achievement that signals where global creativity is heading.”
All Pencil-winning work and shortlisted entries are showcased on the D&AD website. The D&AD Rankings and Black Pencil winners will be announced at the ceremony in September.
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