D&AD Black Pencils awarded to world-changing map system and an incredible installation made of tape

Last night D&AD handed out two Black Pencils, its top accolade, to a global mapping system and an installation of masking tape, as part of its annual awards.

UK technology start-up what3words won for its map system that divides the globe into 57 trillion 3mx3m squares and allocates each a three-word address, using an algorithm. The unique addresses generated — for example “thinks.much.plants” or “hang.august.taking” — refer only to that square on the grid. They are easier to remember and communicate than a GPS, and more accurate and universal than street addressing. It is used in over 170 countries by governments, businesses and NGOs to deliver post and aid, as well as helping people find friends and locations more easily. This was shortlisted in the Creativity for Good category.

The second Black Pencil went to Japanese agency iyamadesign, for its intricate exhibition mt expo 2015 for masking tape brand Kamoi Kakoshi. Using the many colours and patterns of the brand’s “mt” tape to its creative advantage, the agency decorated an entire gallery using 80,000 tapes, which hung from the ceiling and adorned the floors. This was in the Spatial Design category.

One of the judges, Christian Davies from Fitch, said: “We talked about the responsibility of sending a message to the design community to say this [a Black Pencil winner] will change the way we look at design.”

There were also 61 Yellow Pencils, 149 Graphite Pencils and 532 Wood Pencils awarded last night, as well as three White Pencils — given to work that demonstrates outstanding creativity for social good. These were Security Moms by Ogilvy Brasil for Sport Clube do Recife; Fairphone 2 by seymourpowell; and Clever Buoy by M&C Saatchi for Optus.

Y&R New Zealand was honoured as the Most Awarded Advertising Agency of 2016, while Division was recognised as Most Awarded Production Company and Burger King Corporation was the Most Awarded Client.