Check out Sophie's Sky React video and design work here on the D&AD site
Huge congratulations to Sophie Ross, a BSc User Experience Design graduate from Norwich University of the Arts, who won the coveted Black Pencil at the D&AD New Blood Awards 2023—the highest accolade in the competition and one of only two awarded globally in 2023.
About the D&AD New Blood Awards
The D&AD New Blood Awards draws thousands of entrants from graduating students across the globe. These prestigious awards celebrate the best recent graduate work in commercial design, advertising, and craft disciplines. Winning any level of pencil is an incredible achievement, but the Black Pencil is reserved exclusively for ground-breaking and industry-leading work.
D&AD promotes excellence in design and advertising. The competition sets briefs in partnership with leading global brands, spanning diverse industries. Winning a D&AD Pencil earns graduates' work exposure to a global audience in the creative industries, providing a platform for future careers.
Sky React: Sophie's Winning Project
Sophie's winning project, Sky React, tackles a real-world challenge in how viewers engage with content on-demand. The project addresses the gap between the live, interactive experience of watching TV (like live-tweeting during a broadcast) and the disconnected nature of viewing pre-recorded content.
The Challenge: People love to share their reactions to great TV and movie moments on social media. However, this discussion occurs across various platforms rather than connected to the show's timeline. Additionally, with Sky's vast content library, viewers often struggle to decide what to watch next, even with recommendation engines.
The Solution: Sky React allows users to express emotions and opinions in real-time with quick reactions and comments tied directly to the show's timeline. This innovative feature brings the live TV experience to any pre-recorded content, anytime the viewer wants. Beyond sharing personal thoughts, the quick reactions create a new form of content categorisation from an emotional perspective, providing viewers with emotional resonance as a discovery metric.
Sky React fosters a vibrant sense of community and transforms how audiences connect with content, turning passive viewing into an interactive, shared experience.
Why This Matters
These awards demonstrate the exceptional calibre of work coming from Norwich University of the Arts. The Black Pencil is the ultimate recognition for new creatives. It's not just an award, it's validation that your work is industry-leading and ground-breaking.
For Sophie, this recognition brings £2,000 in prize money plus global exposure to the creative industry. For all graduates, winning a D&AD Pencil provides a powerful portfolio piece and a proven track record of excellence, opening doors to leading design and creative agencies worldwide.
These projects showcase what's possible when talented designers and UX professionals tackle real-world briefs with creativity, research, and empathy - skills that Norwich students develop throughout their courses.