Game-changing contest invites young disruptors to reinvent the beauty industry

Every year JDO sets a different challenge to design students. They're always fun, original and compelling, from creating the cover of the Ministry of Sound's Annual to designing packaging for 0%-alcohol beverages.

This year, though, the brief is the most electrifying yet: design a disruptive new skin, hair or makeup brand with a cause. Students are being asked, in short, to bend, break and shake the rules of beauty.

And this isn't just an intellectual exercise, but something the agency sees an urgent need for in the real world. JDO created this brief, they say, because the emergence of Gen Z is changing the way it designs. Now more than ever, brands need to connect with consumers emotionally.

JDO believes that the voices of the younger generation are being heard louder than ever. And so "brands with a purpose in areas such as fair wages and safety, diversity and inclusion, social activism and carbon footprint will be championed with loyalty and love".

With that in mind, JDO has created this brief not just to find the best and brightest design talent in the UK and US but also to empower designers to think differently and share their beliefs of how the beauty industry should look.

"The 'Change Makers' brief has been designed to offer unbridled design talent with BIG brand ideas," they say. "A chance to not only join our global studios but to advocate transformative thinking within the design industry: a change for good."

Winners will receive a paid four-week placement with JDO and a Wacom Tablet Intuos Pro. Interested? Read on to find out how to get involved.

What's the brief?

The brief for RAW 2022, titled 'Change Makers', asks students to get under the skin of something they want to change in the world, and create a new skin, hair or makeup brand with a cause they care for. Specifically, they need to choose a category and a cause, craft a brand and its purpose, to create a brand they can truly believe in.

JDO has created this brief, they say, "because we are changing the way we consume. Now more than ever, brands need to connect with consumers emotionally, evoking feelings, emotions and thoughts with purpose, vision, mission, and value. This creative brief dares design students to not only think outside the box but set that box on fire and create something truly transformative – to create an inspiring purpose-led brand."

Entries will be judged by an international panel of industry experts: creatives and brand managers with an eye for great design.

Who should enter?

JDO's competition is expressly NOT aimed at anyone who likes to play it safe or stick to convention. The agency is openly seeking new talent who can see the world in new ways and help them meet the challenges of the 2020s head-on.

"More than ever, we're meeting clients that are pushing us to think differently," they say. "Nearly every brand we work on is trying to stay relevant to their legacy consumers whilst slowly repositioning themselves to a broader, more diverse, multicultural group. It's our job to step change the brand, keep it true to itself and resonate with new audiences."

And that feeds into exactly who they're looking for to enter the contest. "We want to ensure we continue to bring multiple viewpoints and new thinking to our clients and the new design challenges we face every day," they explain. "So, for all you change-makers, risk-takers, future shakers, rule breakers, this brief might be a bit of you."

How to enter

The competition is now open for entries from first, second and third-year design students in the UK and – for the first time in 2022 – the US. The deadline is 31 March. To get involved, head over to the JDO RAW website to download the brief.

The competition winners will get a four-week paid placement with JDO, as well as a new Wacom Tablet Intuos Pro. Runners-up will receive a two-week paid placement and a goody bag.