Louis Devine Named AWARD School's 2026 Top Student

Tasmania-based creative Louis Devine has been named AWARD School's National Top Student for 2026 at the 47th AWARD Awards in Sydney.

A student in the 2026 online program, Louis was selected ahead of close to 200 students across the region, taking home the coveted AWARD School Ray Black Pencil.

State finalists recognised alongside Louis included Eva Schmitz (NSW), Tommy Hogan (VIC), Bailey Gatland (WA), Belinda Rabe (QLD), and Furkan Erbasi (SA).

National brief winners included Steve Hannah for Outdoor/Billboard, Eva Schmitz for Audio, Tommy Hogan for Social Media, and Phoebe Lim and Phanisa (Pm) Wangsuk for the Team Brief.

AWARD chair and Saatchi & Saatchi chief creative officer, Mandie van der Merwe, said, “Louis delivered a phenomenal body of work in a year where the standard across every state and brief winner was incredibly high.

"The judges were blown away by his sharp, disciplined strategic thinking that consistently landed powerful creative ideas. Louis demonstrated the rare ability to take something completely familiar and flip it, with real confidence and restraint.

“As one judge noted, the simple indicator of great work is when it makes a CCO envious, which Louis’ portfolio certainly did. He deserves this recognition. Congratulations to all of 2026’s outstanding finalists too."

As top student, Louis is also the winner of the annual Young Creative Grant, which includes a fully funded scholarship to the Creative LIAisons program in Las Vegas over five days in September.

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All student portfolios can be viewed online.