I was chairman of the illustration jury for the international professional awards annual. My role involved selecting and editing with a team of internationally acclaimed designers and artists from around the world the work for inclusion and recognition in the annual as a record of outstanding international work produced in the field of illustration globally.

I also participated as part of the panel selecting work for the Black Pencil Awards across all sections of design, from product design to environmental and interior design. This awards work from all sections of design internationally that redefines the practice of design globally. This included work from over 50 countries from around the world.

The annual D&AD Awards are highly respected, and regarded as a major event in the world of design and advertising. Two kinds of awards are given out, a Yellow Pencil (formerly known as a silver award) and a Black Pencil (formerly known as a gold award), in various categories ranging from environmental design to billboard adverts and animation shorts. The Black Pencil is particularly coveted as they are given for 'outstanding' work and usually only one or two given out each year although in 2003 none were awarded.

• http://www.dandad.org
• http://www.briancairns.com