Mexican wins advertising “Oscar” for project aimed at Afghan girls

Mexican designer Jorge Murad Nahed has won the Yellow Pencil at the Design and Art Direction (D&AD) Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the global creative industry, for a project aimed at promoting access to education for girls in Afghanistan.

This Communications graduate from Tec de Monterrey’s Guadalajara campus received the top prize at the D&AD New Blood Awards for Untouchable Lessons, a project that uses design and typography to respond to the Taliban regime’s ban on education.

The Yellow Pencil, awarded in London, England, is regarded in the industry as “the Oscar in design and advertising” and is one of the most selective competitions in the world.

In addition to the Yellow Pencil (Gold), JorgeFire, as he is also known in the industry, won the Graphite Pencil (Silver) at the same edition of the competition.

More than 7,000 projects by emerging talents from around the world competed in this edition of the New Blood Awards.

Two projects selected from among thousands of proposals

He won the Yellow Pencil in collaboration with Italian copywriter Anna Barisone, his lead creative partner, and Joaquín Ignacio Laso, a creative from Ecuador, who were part of the multidisciplinary team responsible for the project.

Speaking from Madrid, Jorge said that the jury awards the Yellow Pencil only to works that meet an exceptional standard.

“My story is about the efforts of a communications specialist who decided not to settle for traditional advertising formats,” he said.

“Certain categories may even be declared void if no proposal meets that standard,” he added.

His winning project, Untouchable Lessons, proposes turning sanitary pads into secret textbooks with ink-free, heat-embossed lessons that disappear with use, thereby eliminating evidence that could put Afghan girls at risk.

Since 2021, the Taliban regime has barred millions of Afghan girls from accessing secondary and higher education, making Afghanistan the only country in the world with this gender-based restriction.

In addition, he won the Graphite Pencil for La Parada del Rotulismo (The Sign Stop), a design system that transforms informal transit stops into community infrastructure using stencils created by local artists and recorded on digital maps.

Jorge explained that in D&AD New Blood, official brands issue a real brief with a creative challenge, asking participants to develop a solution from scratch as if they were their agency: 

“We researched the problem, developed the idea, and presented the case study showing how it would work in real life. The brand itself and an international jury evaluate the creativity, strategy, and feasibility of the proposal.” 

Jorge pointed out that winning a Yellow Pencil means the campaign was recognized as the best response to the brief.

“For now, Untouchable Lessons is an award-winning campaign that has been validated by D&AD and the brand itself. Hopefully, we’ll be able to implement it in the future. The award itself isn’t about how this is implemented in real life. It focuses on the idea.”

From the Tec to the international creative scene

Jorge Murad, known professionally as JorgeFire, studied Communications at the Guadalajara campus, where he was recognized as the Top Student in His Class by the School of Humanities and Education.

He later earned a master’s degree in Advertising Art Direction from Miami Ad School Madrid, where he made the leap into the international creative industry.

Nahed currently works as Creative Art Director in Madrid, Spain, for GUT, one of the world’s most renowned creative agencies.

“I went from gaining experience in the audiovisual world in Guadalajara to going to Madrid to compete in the big leagues of creativity.”

A career marked by international awards

Before winning the Yellow Pencil, JorgeFire had already made a name for himself at international creative festivals.

His awards include:

• An award at the D&AD New Blood Awards for the HackaGo technology project for Google Cloud in 2025.
• The Bronze Awards at the New York Festivals and the Ibero-American Advertising Festival (FIAP).
• He was shortlisted for the Clio Awards.
• He was a finalist in the Montreux Golden Award with a conceptual campaign for the launch of GTA VI.

The role of the Tec in his training

The creative professional attributes part of this achievement to the training he received during his college education.

“What good is a great idea without execution? Tec de Monterrey gave me exactly the tools I needed to bring my ideas to life.”

He explained that the institution strengthened both his strategic thinking and the technical skills needed to develop audiovisual and design projects.

“The Tec ecosystem allowed me to surround myself with a community of exceptional creatives, both classmates and professors, from whom I learned that the most impactful ideas arise from collaboration and the intersection of different disciplines.”

“My story is about the efforts of a communications specialist who decided not to settle for traditional advertising formats.”

Mexican creativity with a global impact

For Jorge, this recognition also reflects the current status of Mexican creative talent on the international scene.

“Today, as I create from Europe and compete against creatives from around the world, I can confirm that the boldness, resilience, and visual vision we develop in Mexico hold their own at the highest international level.”

He added that contemporary advertising goes beyond product promotion to become a tool capable of solving social problems.

“Advertising is no longer just about selling a product. It’s about leveraging pop culture, design, and technology to tell stories that truly matter and solve real problems without losing sight of the human element.”

Learn more about the winning project: