FIT Advertising and Digital Design Ranks No. 2 in the U.S.

Courtesy of The One Club for Creativity

This year, FIT’s Advertising and Digital Design students won 10 Young Ones Student Awards from The One Club for Creativity, the preeminent professional association in the field. Based on the Young Ones competition wins, The One Club ranked FIT’s Advertising and Digital Design undergraduate program No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 3 in North America among competition entrants at the 2025 Young Ones One Show Awards. And in a separate awards category, the 2025 Young Ones Portfolio Awards, the program was ranked No. 3 in the world. Additionally, for the 2025 Young Ones Art Directors Club (ADC) Awards, the program received a notable No. 9 ranking in North America. This marks the sixth consecutive year that The One Club for Creativity has recognized FIT’s Advertising and Digital Design program as a Top 10 Program. In addition to the Young Ones awards, an FIT student team won a 2025 Design and Art Direction (D&AD) New Blood Award, one of the most respected international honors in the field.

“The One Club competition is like the Academy Awards for advertising,” says Associate Professor Joseph Staluppi. “It’s a really big deal.”

At the Young Ones awards ceremony in May, FIT Advertising and Digital Design students took home the awards Best Multidisciplinary Portfolio and Student Bronze Pencil, as well as eight Student Merit awards.

The Best Multidisciplinary Portfolio award winner was Lois Choi, Advertising and Digital Design ’25, under the instruction of Professor Christie Shin. The Student Bronze Pencil Award went to the team of Kathryn Kopec and Yukti Poddar, Advertising and Digital Design ’25, for their Duolingo x Spotify “Learn as You Listen” campaign, under the instruction of Christie Shin. The D&AD New Blood Award went to Elias Cherrier-Vickers and Vashite Persaud, Advertising and Digital Design ’26, for their GoWise campaign, advised by Adjunct Professor Randy Elles.

“When these awards are announced, the industry immediately looks at the winners’ portfolios,” Staluppi says. “It really helps our students get their foot in the door and raises the reputation of the program as a whole.”

Staluppi attributes students’ competition successes to the Advertising and Digital Design program’s 360-degree multimedia focus, grounded in real-world collaborative experience working in digital, print, audio, and video. “These awards reflect the remarkable creativity and discipline of our students—and the unwavering support of our faculty, the Communication Design Pathways Department, the School of Art and Design, Academic Affairs, and FIT Administration, who have championed the transformation of the A&DD BFA curriculum over the past decade,” Staluppi says.

This year’s student recognitions were earned from work developed in courses including: Creative Principles, Strategy Planning and Brand Campaigns, Design Systems for UX and UI, Brand Experience Design Portfolio, Advanced Kinetic Typeface Design, Digital Design II, and the DTech Lab FRTHR Project (read more about FRTHR in our Newsroom article). “None of this would be possible without the dedication of our faculty—who teach all 12 Advertising Design and 12 Creative Technology courses,” Staluppi says.

The following A&DD students received recognition for their contest submissions this year:

2025 Young Ones One Show Awards

“Learn As You Listen” – Duolingo / Interactive, Online & Mobile
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Students: Kathryn Kopec and Yukti Poddar
Instructor: Christie Shin
Award: Student Bronze Pencil
“Heinz, We’re Killing It.” – Heinz / Social Media
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design
Students: Cecilia Garcia Pizales, Shalika Thappali, Thalia Merino, Vashtie Persaud
Instructor: Joseph Staluppi
Award: Student Merit
“Heinz, We’re Killing It.” – Heinz / Integrated Campaign
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design
Students: Cecilia Garcia Pizales, Shalika Thappali, Thalia Merino, Vashtie Persaud
Instructor: Joseph Staluppi
Award: Student Merit
“Heinz, We’re Killing It.” – Heinz / Experiential & Immersive
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design
Students: Cecilia Garcia Pizales, Shalika Thappali, Thalia Merino, Vashtie Persaud
Instructor: Joseph Staluppi
Award: Student Merit

2025 Young Ones Portfolio Awards

Lois Choi – Portfolio / Multidisciplinary
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Portfolio: loischoi.com
Professor / Instructor: Christie Shin

2025 Young Ones Art Directors Club (ADC) Awards

“Greta” – Typography / Motion
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Student: Woojung Lee
Instructor: CJ Yeh
Award: Student Merit
“FRTHR” – Packaging Design
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design
Students: Caitlin Yackley and Mateo Gonzalez
Instructors: Diane DePaolis, Judith Bowens, Michael Ferraro
Award: Student Merit
“jetBlue App” – Interactive / UX Design
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Student: Sun Young Lim
Instructor: Christie Shin
Award: Student Merit
“MSG Rebranding” – Brand / Communication Design / Rebranding
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Student: Sagdiana Rakhimova
Instructor: Christie Shin
Award: Student Merit
“BAM Branding Systems” – Brand / Communication Design / Rebranding
School: FIT Advertising and Digital Design + Creative Technology and Design
Student: Mateo Gonzalez
Instructor: Christie Shin
Award: Student Merit