D&AD will break with tradition by abandoning the Grosvenor House Hotel
as the base for its awards ceremony next year and by splitting the
evening into two parts held at separate venues.
The new-look 1997 D&AD awards presentations will take place at the Odeon
Leicester Square, followed by dinner and entertainment at the Cafe Royal
in nearby Piccadilly Circus.
In an effort to encourage younger designers and creatives to attend,
ceremony-only tickets will be available for the screen venue. It is
hoped this will make up for mistakes at this year’s awards, when
creative work was given a low profile.
Graham Fink, the president of D&AD, said: ‘We wanted to improve the
quality of the presentation.’
The D&AD awards have been updated, with the introduction of an
interactive media category, sponsored by Apple, along with a stronger
system of judging guidelines and the introduction of specialist advisory
groups.
Fink has kept a promise to bring new blood into the 223-strong jury. The
1997 jury may include the pop stars, Dave Stewart and Nick Rhodes, the
artist, Peter Blake, and the impresario, Malcolm McLaren.
