The 2012 Yellow Pencils were awarded in April).

"The people, companies and brands celebrated are the true visionaries of the past 50 years of commercial creativity," said D&AD CEO Tim Lindsay. "Their work has changed the way we live our lives, the way we communicate and the way we perceive businesses and each other."

Image: Kevin Joseph

Winners and representatives from the winning companies – including Sir Jony Ive (above collecting the award with other members of Apple's design team), Sir John Hegarty, Sir Frank Lowe, Sir Alan Parker, Sir Paul Smith and Derek Birdsall – were interviewed by SomeOne creative director Simon Manchipp.

We've listed the winners below, along with examples of their work and the explanations given by the D&AD as to why its believes the firms and people have been so successful.

Advertising Agency: Collett Dickenson Pearce & Partners (CDP)

Collett Dickenson Pearce & Partners (CDP) emerged from the 1960s as Britain's most influential advertising agencies. It was a nursery for the careers of many who were to become internationally famous, including Sir Frank Lowe, Lord David Puttnam and Sir Alan Parker.

Under creative Director Colin Millward, CDP flourished in the 70s, winning Pencils for work including Heineken, Harvey's Bristol Cream, Bird's Eye, Hovis (above top), Benson & Hedges (above bottom) and Hamlet cigars.

Art Director: Neil Godfrey

Neil Godfrey has been collecting D&AD Awards since 1967, when he worked at DDB. He continued to enjoy success when he moved to CDP with Tony Brignull during the 1970s. Godfrey worked on accounts for Remington, Bird's Eye, Fiat, Dunn & Co, Albany (above) and B&H. His pioneering print ad style remains hugely influential to this day.

Brand and Design Studio: Apple

Apple's founder Steve Jobs was known to obsess about product design – and under the inspirational leadership of Sir Jony Ive the design team at Apple has produced a seemingly endless stream of beautiful, functional products.

Copywriter: Tony Brignull

Tony Brignull began his career as a trainee at JWT but spent the majority of his working life at Collett Dickenson Pearce with interludes at DDB.

With art director Neil Godfrey, Tony formed probably the most successful creative partnership in the history of British advertising. Their D&AD pencil count runs well into double figures.

Creator of many memorable commercials for the likes of Clarks shoes and Fiat cars, Tony is probably best known for his print and poster work for I00 Pipers, Birds-Eye (above), Parker pens, Olympus, Whitbread and many others.

Designer: David Hillman

In the 60s, David Hillman art directed Nova magazine through it's most successful period. In the early eighties, having become a partner at Pentagram, he executed the re-design of the Guardian that established the newspaper's position at the forefront of UK publishing design.

David's Studio was formed by the award winning graphic designer in 2006.