Future Lions 2018 Call for Entries

Future Lions 2018, AKQA’s global undergraduate competition to discover a new generation of creative talent and showcase inspirational and innovative thinking, is now accepting entries.

Returning for its 13th year, in collaboration with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, AKQA Future Lions challenges students to push the boundaries, connecting an audience of their choosing to a product or service from a global brand in a way not possible three years ago. Open to all creative fields, there are no rules as to the format of the final entry, nor the media or technology used.

AKQA Creative Director and previous Future Lions winner Nicolai Smith said: “Without limitations, Future Lions encourages students to choose the most exhilarating and distinctive path: one that embraces discovery, breakthrough thinking and liberation from the past. No matter if you’re a student in communications, architecture, technology or design, Future Lions is an invitation to showcase your ideas in front of the world’s leading creative organisations and make an impact for generations.”

Create Tomorrow is this year’s Future Lions theme, exploring how recent advances in technology including artificial intelligence, blockchain, intelligent interfaces and new rules of energy, are advancing possibilities that are yet to manifest. The theme’s aesthetic is inspired by motifs from Art Deco, a movement that combined historic, modern and exotic styles to create bold and compelling work demonstrating the potential of human progress. Exploiting their freedom from rules, imaginative Art Deco thinkers explored and expanded their influences to infuse art with functionality, using technology and new materials to reveal a myriad of opportunities.

The five winning Future Lions 2018 student teams will be celebrated on stage at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on 18 June. Each will receive the prestigious Future Lions trophy and enjoy full access to the Festival. Alongside individual awards, the school with the highest number of shortlisted entries will be named Future Lions School of the Year, winning career workshops with AKQA international teams as part of their prize.

Celebrating progressive thinking, last year’s winning entries included BoseNeuro 35, a wireless headset using brainwave technology and sensors to assess music preferences and permit the curation of personalised playlists dependent on mood (VCU Brandcenter, USA); BeHeard, a smartphone app that uses facial recognition and voice technology to create a digital voice for people unable to speak (Miami Ad School Madrid, Spain); and Google Assistant KIDS, a child-friendly version of Google Assistant able to provide appropriate answers depending on the age of the user by recognising their pitch and pronunciation (School of Visual Arts, USA).

During the past decade, the Future Lions competition has launched the careers of many of the world’s celebrated creatives. Almost all Future Lions winners are now employed by many of the most respected creative organisations.

Competition entries are now invited from students across the globe. Entries can be submitted digitally until 18:00 GMT on 18 April 2018.

Visit www.futurelions.com for further details about the 2018 Future Lions competition and how to enter.