ADC Young Guns 24 opens global entries for creatives aged 30 and under

NEW YORK: The next generation of creative talent has been given the green light. The global Art Directors Club, part of The One Club for Creativity, has opened entries for ADC Young Guns 24, its annual international competition recognising creative professionals aged 30 and under.

Regarded as one of the industry’s most prominent portfolio-based awards programmes, ADC Young Guns spans multiple creative disciplines, including advertising, design, illustration, filmmaking, photography and digital media. The competition is open to professionals aged 30 or younger who have worked for at least two years, either full-time or as freelancers, and allows entrants to submit a mix of personal and commercial work.

The entry portal is now live, with the regular deadline set for August 27, 2026, followed by a final submission deadline on September 24, 2026. Winners will be announced in January 2027, with the awards ceremony scheduled to take place in New York on January 27, 2027.

The competition consistently attracts submissions from more than 45 countries, with international entrants accounting for over half of all entries. Winners will be selected by a jury comprising previous ADC Young Guns recipients and other leading creative professionals. The full jury line-up is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Each winner receives a bespoke version of the iconic ADC Young Guns Cube, redesigned annually for each new class, along with a permanent profile on the Young Guns website. Winners also receive a complimentary one-year membership to The One Club for Creativity, lifetime access to the Young Guns alumni network and opportunities to participate in industry events and partner-led career initiatives.

This year’s competition branding and the redesigned Young Guns Cube were created by Chantal Jahchan, the Brooklyn-based illustrator and designer who won ADC Young Guns 23.

Speaking about the visual identity, Jahchan said the design celebrates creativity as a universal human instinct.

“It features bold typography, juxtaposed with a collection of elemental glyphs symbolising memory, expression and connection. It’s inspired by the idea that the act of making is fundamentally and universally human.”

Over the years, ADC Young Guns has recognised several creatives who later became influential figures across design, advertising, filmmaking and fashion. Alumni include Academy Award-winning directing duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski, designers Stefan Sagmeister, Natasha Jen and Jessica Walsh, illustrator Christoph Niemann, fashion designer Kerby Jean-Raymond and artist Rich Tu, among many others.

With applications now open, ADC Young Guns 24 aims to spotlight another cohort of emerging creative talent, reinforcing its reputation as one of the industry’s leading platforms for recognising future leaders across the global creative economy.