London: D&AD has marked the tenth anniversary of its free night school initiative, Shift, with the launch of Shift Edition — a new platform designed to showcase alumni journeys and creative work from across the programme’s global community.
Launched in 2016, D&AD Shift was created to open pathways into the creative industry for emerging talent from non-traditional backgrounds. Over the last decade, the initiative has expanded across the UK, USA, Brazil, Germany and Australia, with D&AD stating that, on average, 75% of graduates secure employment in creative industries within a year of completing the programme.
Shift Edition brings together alumni stories in a single destination, featuring personal narratives and commissioned photography by Shift alumnus Xavier Duah.
The programme’s early success stories include Sophie McGovern, who entered the inaugural cohort as a store manager and has since become a Pencil-winning Senior Creative at MullenLowe UK. Another founding participant, Edem Wornoo, has built a career directing music videos for artists including Stormzy, Dave and Kojey Radical.
Recent graduates continue to reflect the programme’s focus on alternative career pathways. Russie Miessi transitioned from nursery work into a creative strategist role at Ogilvy, while Lorena Pereira moved from coordinating home care services in New York to becoming an Associate Art Director at BBH USA.
Commenting on the milestone, Paul Drake, Foundation Director at D&AD, said, “For a long time, the creative industry has been hiring the same type of people. Same schools, same networks, same postcodes. D&AD Shift was our answer to that and honestly, what it’s uncovered has been remarkable, careers that wouldn’t have happened otherwise, work that wouldn’t have existed. But we can’t do it without the brands, studios and agencies who are willing to take a chance on someone new, that’s what will keep it going for another ten years.”
Over the years, Shift has been supported by partners including Google, adidas, Spotify, Airbnb and Uber. Among them, Diageo has maintained continuous funding for five years and facilitated the placement of 29 Shift graduates across its agency network.
D&AD said the programme remains focused on broadening access to creative careers and enabling more representative talent pipelines across the industry through continued collaboration with brands, agencies and studios.
