Apple Awarded D&AD Black Pencil Award for VisionOS

Apple has been awarded a Black Pencil by the Design and Art Direction (D&AD), honouring the Vision Pro’s VisionOS software.

D&AD is a prestigious organization that promotes and highlights commercial design, advertising, and creativity. Each year, the organization hosts its awards ceremony, the D&AD Pencils. This year, Apple’s Vision Pro has been honoured and received a Black Pencil for ‘Digital Design and Connected Experiences.’ In addition, it was also recognized with a Graphite Pencil for ‘Use of XR.’

“We are honored that visionOS has been awarded the prestigious D&AD Black Pencil for Digital Design,” Apple’s Vice President of Human Interface Design Alan Dye said to Dezeen. “This new era of computing will redefine how we connect and create, and this award is a testament to the tight integration and care the design studio and engineering teams at Apple have invested into crafting a truly magical experience.”

“At Apple, design plays such a central role in defining not only how our products look, but most critically, how they work,” he continued. “Our goal has always been to create intuitive user experiences that blur the lines between hardware and software and reimagine how users interact with technology.”

This isn’t the first time Apple has been awarded a Black Pencil from D&AD. Over the years, the company has seen recognition for the original iPhone, iMac and official website.

Apple CEO Tim Cook also took to X (formally Twitter) to respond to the news. “The result is so profound that people are often emotional the first time they try it,” Cook said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. Congratulations to the Apple Design Team for winning this rare award.”

Aside from Apple, D&AD awarded French telecom company Orange and agency Marcel a Black Pencil for the ‘WoMen’s Football’ campaign, which leveraged VFX to show gender bias in soccer. Dentsu Tokyo was also granted an award for ‘My Japan Railway.’ Mastercard and McCann Poland also won for ‘WhereToSettle,’ a smart-data platform that maps Ukrainian refugee shelters and work opportunities across Poland.