London: The D&AD has announced the winners of the 2026 New Blood Awards, with a menstruation-focused campaign emerging as the biggest winner by securing both a Black Pencil and a White Pencil—the programme’s highest honours.
The project, Blood Stocks, created in response to the Canesten New Blood Brief in collaboration with Design Bridge & Partners, was developed by Jens Kühnel and Kirstine Vilsen from the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX), Denmark. The concept proposes treating menstruation as a medical asset by linking menstrual cycles to a first-of-its-kind donation model, transforming monthly donors into contributors to women’s health research.
Blood Stocks was the only project to receive both a Black Pencil—D&AD’s highest creative distinction—and a White Pencil, which recognises creativity that delivers positive social impact.
The second Black Pencil was awarded to Young Explorer: Independence with a Snap, created for Wise by Mohammed Al Sane of Kuwait. The concept addresses children’s financial independence through a physical payment card that snaps apart, symbolising a gradual transfer of trust between parents and children while integrating digital safety features.
Overall, D&AD awarded 175 Pencils across the 2026 programme, including two Black Pencils, four White Pencils, 24 Yellow Pencils, 42 Graphite Pencils and 103 Wood Pencils. The winners represented 29 countries from more than 7,000 entrants across 78 nations, responding to 19 live briefs set by global brands including Twix, HSBC, Duolingo, L’Oréal, Tuborg, Wise, Carrefour and Canesten.
Among the White Pencil winners, Play Aid from Spain redesigned humanitarian food-aid packaging into children’s play boards, 2Integrate from Belgium developed language-learning tools for asylum seekers in partnership with UNHCR, while Launch Pads from Singapore introduced period products designed to make first menstruation experiences less intimidating for young girls.
The United Kingdom topped the overall medal tally with 51 Pencils, followed by Spain (19), France (16), Denmark (15) and the United States (11). Denmark distinguished itself by winning across all five Pencil categories.
For 46 years, the D&AD New Blood Awards have connected emerging creative talent with live commercial briefs from global brands. This year’s programme recorded 227,000 brief downloads across more than 90 countries, while 65% of last year’s winners have already secured employment within the creative industry.
David Patton, CEO, D&AD, said: “What strikes me most this year is how global New Blood has become, we had our highest ever number of international briefs this year and the only two Black Pencils awarded went to work made in Denmark and Kuwait.
New Blood is the world’s largest programme for students and emerging talent, but scale and reach are only part of the story. By setting students real briefs from leading brands, we give them the skills to progress and help bridge the gap between education and industry, wherever in the world they’re starting out. None of it would be possible without our partners, university tutors and the wider creative community, 1,000 of whom came to support the students at our private view, to kick off the New Blood Festival last night.”
The D&AD New Blood Festival, presented with Adobe, is currently underway at Protein Studios in London, showcasing work from more than 40 university courses alongside exhibitions of the 2026 New Blood Award-winning entries and talks by leading creative professionals.
For information on all of the winning entries, visit dandad.org/awards/new-blood-awards.
