D&AD Shift with Google announces winners of inaugural Shift Studio

London, 21 March 2022: D&AD Shift with Google today announces the winners of the inaugural Shift Studio, which saw 15 of the programme’s London and New York alumni selected and paid to work on a guided brief set by Disney, mentored by Chloe Templeman and fellow creatives from Design Bridge. In addition, the organisation also shares details of Shift Campus, a new digital training platform to democratise access to world-class learning.

For the inaugural Shift Studio, Disney challenged Shifters to engage an aspirational audience of young, diverse and socially conscious consumers with National Geographic. Working in teams, participants were tasked with developing a fresh and authentic creative idea that would speak directly to Gen-Z audiences alongside a 12-month roll-out plan. 

Colby Pelfrey, Ebika Pinneh and Jael Umerah-Makelemi formed the winning team of Shifters. Their idea, ‘Unbox Your World’, aimed to make exploration more attainable for Gen Z’ers – by providing “phygital” tools to create a new wave of "globe steppers" who are empowered to capture their world. 

Running for six years, D&AD Shift with Google aims to uncover, support and ultimately help secure jobs for diverse creative talent who are self-made and non-university educated. The programme, which consists of night schools in London, New York and Sydney, is currently in a new phase of growth as a response to the urgent need to prioritise diversity and inclusivity in the industry, as well as to reach a wider audience of aspiring creatives who face even more challenges to enter into paid employment. As part of the global expansion, D&AD Shift with Google has introduced Shift Studio and Shift Campus to provide opportunities for emerging talent to hone their skills, establish a network and develop their portfolios. The announcement comes alongside the launch of this year’s in-person Shift London night school which is now open for entries until 20 May 2022. 

Shift Studio is an industry-led learning experience that enables D&AD Shift night school alumni to continue to develop their skills and portfolio through a paid stint to respond to a live client brief. Working collaboratively in teams and with structured support, the programme brings together established Shifters with more recent alumni to work with senior creatives and leading global brands including Disney, Google, giffgaff and Here Design. During the programme, Shifters are financially remunerated for their work and, if a partner chooses to take a creative idea forward, this results in either a paid placement or the global brand buying the IP out for commercial use. The programme also enables brands to tap into fresh talent and new creative perspectives, lived experiences and authentic approaches to help tackle business and societal challenges.

Colby Pelfrey, Shift New York Alum 2019 and Disney brief winner