enter awards
Category Winner
2024
Jessica Da Silva Oliveira
CATEGORY
How the brief was fulfilled
Last year, being shortlisted for the Why Rising Star Award was a key milestone in my career. More importantly, it became an opportunity to connect with incredible women from different backgrounds. IDI Awards was the first step to understanding how opportunities like this are a win for every woman. It creates a conversation.
This year I realised that as I am getting older my role in this world is changing when I received a Best Advise & Wisdom Award from an amazing young woman during a team appreciation on her last day in the company. That made me think about how I can use my words, so I decided to make the best of it by contributing to more diverse spaces.
Attending Cannes Lions was another important step forward in Female Leadership which has been an interest of mine. I immersed myself in the experience and listened to different female groups, such as the Cannes Lions programme, See It Be It. It inspired me and other women to create a supportive group where we can follow each other’s rise by meeting through video calls to talk about challenging and proud experiences.
The connection extended to my work environment as well I could get close to other women in the company and we are growing a community. Questioning the table, contributing and supporting each other. We now know that, together we have the power to make a significant difference in our environment.
My goal last year was to inspire other immigrants and young women in Ireland, showing that there are spaces for us. Happily, I could see the shortlist’s benefits when it raised other women. This year as it is my last chance, my goal is to use it as a tool for more actions and contribute even more. Creating a better place for future generations. Debating the shortcomings and problems but more than that I would love to use it to create more positive conversations, sharing that there is a bright side and bringing up the Female Leadership possibilities in the Irish industry and the world.
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Every studio needs a Jess. I see her mission, her tenacity and how she is trying to be that rising tide that raises all boats. As well as championing women in design, I hope she will also find ways to authentically bring her experience as an immigrant in Ireland to the fore and advocate for all those people who are being sidelined by the media and public policy. A big intersectional challenge but from what I have seen here I think Jess can face it with charm and conviction.
Jessica’s commitment to her practice, her colleagues and her wider community is inspiring and I feel certain that she will continue to develop and widen her circles of connection and influence, contributing to creating sustaining and inclusive communities within the profession.
It’s inspiring to see a strong sense of personal values translate into commercial projects as is the case here with the work created for Perrett Laver and Check Your Drink and to learn about how colleagues and peers value Jessica’s creative output.
Jessica has embraced and is leading the march for diverse female design leaders and the design community. It’s incredible to see her energy and hear her voice in this important issue.
There is a strong sense of purpose and an infectious enthusiasm that comes through in this entry. Jessica’s colleagues give such warm endorsement of her contribution to not only the company but also the wider community of women and younger female designers. It is evident that her IDI nomination last year has widened her ambition and that she has made the most of the opportunity to make a contribution and have impact through her work and the generous manner in which she works.
JUDGES' THOUGHTS