D&AD awards four Black Pencils & tops agency rankings

D&AD awarded four Black Pencils across three projects at its 2026 Awards Ceremony in London and published its annual global rankings for agencies, brands and clients.

Isle of Any took two of the top awards for Your Way Out, a campaign for Coinbase that won in Visual Effects and Production Design. Uncommon Creative Studio won a Black Pencil for Art Direction for The Periodic Fable for DECIEM, while Publicis Conseil received one for Impact for Three Words for AXA.

The Black Pencil is D&AD's highest award, reserved for work judged to be at the top of its field. The ceremony also recognised Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom with the 2026 D&AD President's Award.

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."

Top rankings

In the annual rankings, Uncommon Creative Studio London was named Advertising Agency of the Year, ahead of Ogilvy Singapore in second and Isle of Any in third. The top three spots went to agencies from the UK, Singapore and the US.

Japan's DENTSU INC. was named Design Agency of the Year, ahead of Pentagram New York in second. SMLXL and Mallandrich shared third place and were also jointly named Small Independent Design Agency of the Year.

Isle of Any also won Independent Agency of the Year and Small Independent Agency of the Year. Mother ranked second in the independent category, followed by Serviceplan Germany in third.

Ogilvy led the Agency Network of the Year table, ahead of TBWA in second and Havas Creative Network in third. Serviceplan was named Independent Network of the Year.

Apple topped both the Brand of the Year and Brand-Side Agency of the Year rankings, with Apple Marcom taking the latter title. Coinbase ranked second among brands, while Unilever was named Client of the Year ahead of Apple and Coinbase.

Winning work

The three Black Pencil-winning projects covered markedly different areas of commercial creativity. Coinbase's Your Way Out was a film designed to place viewers inside a video game-like world, using practical sets, printed costumes and live actors.

AXA's Three Words focused on a change to home insurance contracts in France. The work centred on adding the words "and domestic violence" to policies so women could access emergency relocation support, with the clause applied across 2.5 million contracts.

DECIEM's The Periodic Fable replaced chemical elements with 49 skincare marketing terms to challenge product claims and marketing language in the beauty sector. The project extended across outdoor, social media and influencer activity, alongside a film set in a classroom.

Country spread

The US led the country rankings, followed by the UK and France. Brazil and Germany completed the top five, while Canada, Spain, Japan, Australia and the Netherlands also featured in the top 10.

The rankings are based on points accumulated through results in the D&AD Awards. Points are awarded across Black, White, Yellow, Graphite and Wood Pencils, as well as shortlisted work.

Pentagram was the only agency to appear twice in the Design Top 10, through its New York and London studios. The Advertising Agency Top 10 covered seven countries, reflecting a broad geographic spread among the highest-ranked entrants.

Industry signal

The results point to the continued prominence of independent agencies alongside large global networks in the creative awards market. Isle of Any's performance was especially notable, with two Black Pencils, two agency ranking titles and third place in the overall advertising table.

David Patton, D&AD Chief Executive Officer, 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."