"Dream-level" D&AD award for illustrator Lotte Siu, as Middlesex cuts a dash with eco-conscious stand

Middlesex University Illustration graduate has won a Portfolio Award at a flagship event for emerging talent in Design, Advertising, Animation and allied disciplines

Lotte Siu, who seeks in her practice to celebrate and preserve the culture and stories of her native Hong Kong, was one of five Illustration students nationally to receive a Portfolio Award at D&AD’s annual New Blood Festival. 

She had also been commissioned through the Adobe Creative Apprenticeship programme by event sponsor Adobe to devise the official festival bandana, producing a witty, colourful design with London landmarks and animals skateboarding and playing guitar.

“D&AD has always been a dream-level award for me, so the whole experience was both surreal and joyful,” Lotte says of her festival triumph. “Being commissioned by Adobe to design the bandana was a total surprise. Seeing people wear my work around the festival was magical."

She gave a “huge thank you” to her lecturers Aldous Eveleigh, Louise Weir , Martin Ursell and Prof. Phil Cleaver.

“The Illustration course created a really nurturing space that encouraged experimentation and deep thinking. I appreciated having access to so many facilities and workshops; the tutors challenged me to step outside my comfort zone while also offering realistic, practical advice about the industry. I especially appreciated the life drawing sessions - they really helped sharpen my observation and drawing skills which are the foundation of my practice."

Lotte Siu, MDX Illustration student

Previously Lotte was shortlisted for the 2025 Penguin Cover Design Award to celebrate the publisher’s 90th anniversary. At the MDX Degree Show Festival, she won £500 first prize in a competition organised by children’s comic The Phoenix.

Middlesex’s stand, showcasing work by students from five courses – Illustration; Graphic Design; Fashion Communication & Styling; Advertising, PR & Branding; and Digital Media & Communications – also left an impression by quietly but uncompromisingly championing sustainable design.

All the work and display panels were printed, following research by lecturers Alun Davies (Fashion Communication & Styling) and Michael Wright (Graphic Design), on biodegradable Alga Carta paper, created using algae which has been damaging the ecosystem of the Venice lagoon. Alga Carta is made at an Italian paper mill that uses electricity produced from renewable sources and offsets unavoidable emissions.

The work was printed on Risograph printers which use a sustainable ink, then put up with pins. The trestle tables on the stand were repurposed, furniture and materials delivered to site in an electric van, and Middlesex staff pledged to keep to a plant-based diet during the three days of the show.

Students’ projects embraced the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those relating to gender equality and inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ people, with symbols under the submissions showing how each met at least one or two of the UN goals.

Fashion Communication and Styling lecturer Helen Delany adds that her students’ striking photographic work demonstrates the breadth of their skills: “futuristic-looking portfolios that showcase emerging technologies, using AI embedded in Photoshop and other software”, complemented by mastery of “more old school approaches to design”.

“We live in a digital age, but there are still real-life props, styling and working on shoots that involve reality,” Helen says. “We see a trend for student interest in print and analogue,” adds colleague Alun Davies.

Helen started her career winning a design award while still a student. She keeps reminding her own students of the relevance and importance of design competitions, encouraging them to “enter so you have a chance!”

The New Blood festival is a “bridge between industry and students,” she says. “The atmosphere is inclusive and friendly and there’s sharing of ideas."

Illustration lecturer Louise Weir says, “I don’t think some students could believe the access they could get to industry” at New Blood. “Adobe really wanted to get young talent, and set up collaboration with academics." The three day festival, held at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, featured talks, portfolio reviews and open house sessions with agencies, plus the presentation of coveted D&AD ‘pencils’ to early career creatives starting their journey in industry.

Graphic Design graduate Raiyaan Omar said: "It was such a fun experience. There were so many incredibly talented creatives showcasing their work, and I was proud to have mine exhibited."

Fashion Communications graduate Shaquille Stewart says his final year had been a “whirlwind”. In his portfolio, “there’s some work that is vulnerable and emotional and others are playful and fun – I can do both”.

Middlesex has “offered a sense of community, especially creative community,” Shaquille says.

“You can go to any department and know you’re going to get help – there’s no hostility to cross-collaboration." Shaquille has personally done projects involving partnerships with music, wood-working, Fashion Marketing and the School of Film.

Find out more about studying BA Illustration or BA Fashion Communication & Styling at Middlesex University.