This year’s JDORAW x Pentawards competition has reached its finale, with Norwich University of the Arts graduate Maisie Slade, taking first place for her brilliantly characterful concept, A Little Crabby

Now in its 14th year, JDO RAW continues to spotlight the next generation of creative talent, providing a platform for emerging designers to showcase fresh thinking and bold ideas. At Pentawards, we were delighted to partner with JDO on this year’s competition, bringing additional visibility, industry recognition and global reach to an initiative dedicated to nurturing the future of design.

The 2025 brief, ‘Loved by Grandma xx’, invited entrants to take a product that had faded from popular culture and reimagine it for today’s audience. Blending nostalgia with innovation, the challenge encouraged participants to uncover new relevance in overlooked products through contemporary design thinking.

The results demonstrated exactly why supporting emerging talent matters. From inventive storytelling to strategic brand reinvention, entrants showcased a remarkable ability to transform familiar products into culturally resonant propositions, proving that the next generation of designers is already shaping what comes next.

Judging this year’s entries included Pentawards’ Adam Ryan, Danone’s Pau Bartoli and Pernod Ricard’s Coraline Couture, who joined members of the JDO executive team to bring their expert eyes to a wildly imaginative range of submissions.

Maisie’s winning concept, A Little Crabby , reimagined the humble crabstick, a product born in the 1970s that has gradually drifted from the cultural menu over the past three decades. Inspired by traditional Japanese paper-folding and wrapping techniques, the packaging brought a sense of ritual and craft to an overlooked product. Its angular typeface, built without curves, echoed the form of the crabsticks themselves - a small detail that showed big design intelligence. Paired with crab mascot, Surimi, and a witty tone of voice, every element of Maisie's design was distinct and deliberate.

As this year’s winner, Maisie will receive a four-week paid Junior Designer internship with JDO, a published interview with Pentawards, and tickets to the next Pentawards Gala. A suitably sparkling prize package for a designer who brought wit, craft and serious creative instinct to the table.

This year’s runners-up were Clara Smethurst with Piccli, a Norwich University of the Arts graduate, and Germán Miranda Garrido with Sweet Fool, a master’s student from Trazos School of Digital Arts in Spain. Both impressed the judges with their originality, craft and commercial potential, and will also be awarded internship opportunities with JDO as well as offered a free ticket to the Pentawards Gala Ceremony.

The winners were announced at JDO’s London Studio at The Metal Box Factory, before the celebrations spilt out into Central London. Designers, judges, mentors and emerging creative talent came together for a night that celebrated not only the winners, but the energy, ambition and glorious unpredictability of the creative industry itself.

Event photography courtesy of Togada studios