Special and Pembleton took home Australia’s only Yellow Pencils at the D&AD Awards.
Special Australia, working with its US office, won the pencil for Uber’s ‘Build Your Own Super Bowl Commercial’ in the Digital Marketing category.
Pembleton won its pencil for the Evil Ray sun cream in the New Brand Identity category. It also won a Graphite Pencil (the third-highest level of D&AD Award) in the Packaging Design category.
Melbourne-based design and materials studio Other Matter also took home Australia’s only Future Impact pencil for its OM Signage Film. It uses algae-derived polymers and locally sourced mineral pigments to provide a non-toxic, petrochemical-free alternative to PVC vinyl decals.
D&AD awarded four Black Pencils, its highest level of award.
Isle of Any’s ‘Your Way Out’ for Coinbase received two Black Pencils, for Visual Effects and Production Design.
Uncommon Creative Studio’s ‘The Periodic Fable’ for DECIEM was awarded a Black Pencil for Art Direction, while Publicis Conseil’s ‘Three Words’ for AXA received a Black Pencil for Impact.
Uncommon Creative Studio London was named Advertising Agency of the Year, with Ogilvy Singapore ranking second and US independent Isle of Any in third.
Australia placed ninth in D&AD’s country rankings, with the US, UK and France taking the top three spots, respectively. New Zealand placed 23rd.
Japan’s DENTSU INC. took Design Agency of the Year, ahead of Pentagram New York in second place, with SMLXL and Mallandrich both in third. Pentagram also placed seventh through its London studio, making it the only agency represented twice in the Design Top 10. SMLXL and Mallandrich were also jointly named Small Independent Design Agency of the Year.
Isle of Any was named Independent Agency of the Year, adding to its third-place finish in the overall Advertising Agency ranking plus it was named Small Independent Agency of the Year. Mother took second place, followed by Serviceplan Germany in third.
Ogilvy topped the Agency Network of the Year ranking, ahead of TBWA in second and Havas Creative Network in third.
David Patton, D&AD CEO, said:“What stands out in this year’s rankings is the breadth of creative excellence at the very top. The three highest-ranked Advertising Agencies come from three different countries, while independents are competing alongside the major networks at the highest level.
“Isle of Any embodies that – winning two Black Pencils, being named both Independent Agency of the Year and Small Independent Agency of the Year, and placing third overall in Advertising. With Mother and Serviceplan Germany also in the Advertising Top 10, it’s a reminder that exceptional creative work isn’t defined by geography or agency model.”
On the brand-side, Apple was named Brand of the Year, with Coinbase taking second place and Vaseline third. Apple also took the top spot in the Brand-Side Agency of the Year ranking through Apple Marcom, ahead of The New York Times and BBC Creative.
Unilever was named Client of the Year, followed by Apple in second and Coinbase in third.
Celebrated Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom received the 2026 D&AD President’s Award, presented by D&AD President Lisa Smith.
Lisa Smith, D&AD President and Uncommon global chief design officer, said: “I chose Irma because her work is a reminder of what it means to care deeply about making something specific. She doesn’t simply design books, she continually challenges what a book can be, through scale, material, structure and extraordinary craft.
“At a moment when our industry focuses so much on speed, automation and AI, Irma represents something incredibly important: curiosity, conviction and a point of view. After more than four decades, she is still experimenting, still questioning and still finding something new to discover. Her work has inspired generations of designers, myself very much included, and she continues to show us what a book can be.”
