We are incredibly proud to have added two more beautiful D&AD pencils to our awards cabinet. The recognition was for our poster design that raised funds to bring Afghanistan’s First All-Female Orchestra to Oxford, and support their music education. The poster is an image of a wool rug we created. A rug is an iconic symbol of Afghan culture, often used as a stage. They say, “when you look at an Afghan rug, you can see its soul”. We designed a traditional handwoven rug, incorporating the apparatus of war depicting the orchestra’s incredible journey from hardship to musical harmony. We commissioned its production with a women’s charity from Kabul and then photographed it to create a poster.

It is a project that has captured jurors’ imagination at many awards this year, including Design Week and winning the Grand Prix at the Drum Design Awards. Read more about this project here.