Vietnamese creativity shines in global student competitions

Vietnamese creativity shines in global student competitions

Over the past few months, RMIT University Vietnam students have earned recognition in three prestigious global competitions for young creatives – D&AD New Blood Awards, Cannes Future Lions, and L’Oréal Brandstorm.

By combining exceptional creativity, a global mindset, and a distinctive touch of Vietnamese identity, RMIT students tackled campaign briefs set by well-established companies and top experts from the global creative industries.

D&AD New Blood Awards 2024

The D&AD New Blood Awards is one of the most esteemed and high-calibre competitions globally for young creatives in advertising and design.

In 2022, two RMIT students won the first D&AD New Blood Award for Vietnam. Last year, teams from RMIT Vietnam made a splash by taking home awards in the Black (the rarest accolade), White, Yellow, and Wood Pencil categories.

Among the 6,500 participants this year, a team of five RMIT Vietnam Design Studies students won a Wood Pencil for their project ‘Flow without Receipts’ in response to a brief by Google Fonts and Typographic Circle.

Using Vietnamese poetry and typography, their project raises awareness about the environmental impact of thermal paper receipts and promotes the adoption of e-receipts as a sustainable alternative.

The e-receipt prototype by the ‘Flow without Receipts’ team The e-receipt prototype by the ‘Flow without Receipts’ team – Nguyen Phuong Anh, Nguyen Hong Bao Ngoc, Truong My Ngoc, Tran Do Nhu Phuong, and Pham Chau Thanh Van.

Meanwhile, Professional Communication student Nguyen My Chieu Nghi and Digital Marketing student Nguyen Phuong Minh Qui won a Wood Pencil for their project ‘Year 13’ following a brief set by laundry detergent brand OMO.

The campaign pitches the idea of converting school grounds in densely populated Ho Chi Minh City into spaces for citizens to play sports during the weekends when there are no classes. What’s special, the citizens can use their old school uniforms as free passes to enter the school grounds.

Chieu Nghi said, “Since many Vietnamese people keep their old school uniforms as a memento, we wanted to give these treasured garments another life. Our idea was to use OMO detergent to help people clean their old uniforms. They can then put them on, come back to their old school, and play sports just like the old days.

“We chose this brief because it required a national PR campaign featuring local culture, so it was perfect to position something Vietnam-coded into the submission. We can’t wait for New Blood 2025!”.

The ‘Year 13’ campaign poster The ‘Year 13’ project followed a brief set by laundry detergent brand OMO.

Cannes Future Lions 2024

For the first time ever, two campaigns by RMIT Vietnam students were shortlisted at the Future Lions, a global student competition held by design and communication agency AKQA in collaboration with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

This year, AKQA partnered with Spotify and the Wall Street Journal to ask young people to spread positivity by using technology to bring listeners closer to the creators and communities they love.

With their innovative ideas for ‘Moodified Ads’ and ‘Spotify Mixer’, two groups of RMIT Vietnam students were shortlisted for the win.

Moodified Ads presentation slide ‘Moodified Ads’ is the joint creation of Le Pham Phuong Linh, Dao Hung Khoa, Le Ngoc Nhu, Nguyen Trong Nhan, and Nguyen Phu Thinh.

Using the power of AI, ‘Moodified Ads' customises advertising messages so that they fit perfectly with the listener's mood and the songs they are tuning into, instead of “annoying” the audience.

Also using AI, ‘Spotify Mixer’ aims to make audio streaming more accessible to people with hearing loss. The app can analyse a user’s hearing test, then create personalised presets that optimise the audio for the listener’s specific needs.

More than 240 schools participated in this year’s Cannes Future Lions, with the highest submissions coming from the US, Spain, Argentina, Sweden, the UK, South Korea, among others. 

Spotify Mixer presentation slide ‘Spotify Mixer’ was authored by Le Gia Bao Han, Nguyen Thuy Trang, Nguyen Hong Minh, Nguyen Nhat Mai, and Nguyen Hoang Bao Ngoc.

RMIT Senior Lecturer of Professional Communication Dr Soumik Parida said, “There were thousands of entries from across the world, and I estimate the total number shortlisted to be just a few dozen. This in itself is a huge accomplishment as there were only four final winners.”

Remarkably, this was only the first time RMIT Vietnam students have entered this competition.

“Being shortlisted is a testament to the quality of the students’ work. It proves that our Vietnamese students can compete with the best in the world,” Dr Parida said.

L’Oréal Brandstorm 2024

Additionally, three RMIT Professional Communication students clinched the national championship at the L’Oréal Brandstorm competition and recently had the honour of representing Vietnam in the global round in London on a fully sponsored trip.

The team consisting of Duong Quynh Nhu, Truong Hoang Tan and Cao Hoang Anh surpassed more than 5,000 contestants from over 100 universities in Vietnam.

They won the competition for their ‘L’Oréal HairSense Pro’ idea, a cutting-edge device using predictive machine learning to forecast scalp irritation to salon products, based on which suitable in-salon recommendations can be made.

RMIT Vietnam students with organisers at the L’Oréal Brandstorm competition in London. RMIT Vietnam students with organisers at the L’Oréal Brandstorm competition in London.

“This journey helped me realised how far I can push my limits. I am grateful for the chance to meet incredible people across the globe and learn new things about their cultures and projects. I was proud to share how beautiful Vietnam is to my new friends, while giving them some Vietnamese gifts that we prepared,” team member Duong Quynh Nhu recalled.

With wins in 2021, 2023 and 2024, RMIT students have championed the L’Oréal Brandstorm Vietnam competition three out of the five times since it’s been held.

Based on the excellent track record in national and international competitions, RMIT Vietnam’s School of Communication & Design has recently introduced a new general elective called Creative Competition.

In this elective, students work on campaigns that can be submitted for both competition and assessment. They will be supported by lecturers and professionals from the creative industries during the process.

D&AD New Blood Awards 2024 contestants and mentors from RMIT University Vietnam. D&AD New Blood Awards 2024 contestants and mentors from RMIT University Vietnam.

Dr Manny Ling, Deputy Dean of the School of Communication and Design said, “Students can gain great real-life experience through not just the competitions, but also the lecturers and industry experts that mentor them. Winning competitions also make students more employable.

“It’s amazing to see our students fly Vietnam’s flag high in the global competitions. It has been an outstanding year for our University, and this reinforces that our work integrated learning focus brings great impact.”

Story: Ngoc Hoang

30 July 2024

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