Young Guns 8 entries open soon

Reportedly the industry's only international, cross-disciplinary portfolio-based awards competition for creatives age 30 and under, who have worked in the industry at least two years, either full-time or freelance. The competition is open to both ADC members and non-members worldwide who submit a combination of professional and personal work, judged by a jury of 20 Young Guns from previous years.

Last year's competition drew entries from 84 countries, with more than half coming from outside the US.

“Unlike other award programs, these recognize an individual and considers a body of professional and personal work, not just a single ad or design,” said Rei Inamoto, chief creative officer at AKQA, ADC board member and an ADC Young Guns 4 winner. “Winning feels special because it's your individuality that's recognized and celebrated. For young talent who usually don't get the spotlight, this provides a global stage on which they can be recognized.”

Inamoto adds that the special recognition of the award has played a concrete role in his career development: “I've been fortunate enough to judge many awards shows, even chaired a few, and I'm now on the board of ADC,” he said. “I don't think I would have achieved those things and others had it not been for my winning the award many moons ago.”

Jury

This year's jurors, who are all past ADC Young Guns winners, include:

• Paul Buckley, vice president, executive creative director, Penguin Group USA, us.penguingroup.com, New York, NY (YG1);
  
• Mike Joyce, founder, Stereotype Design, www.stereotype-design.com, New York, NY (YG1);
  
• Adam Levite, creative director, commercial director, www.associatesinscience.com, New York NY (YG1);
  
• Claudia Pearson, www.claudiapearson.com, Brooklyn, NY (YG1);
  
• Rodrigo Corral, founder, Rodrigo Corral Design, www.rodrigocorral.com, New York, NY (YG2);
  
• Jason Fulford, www.jasonfulford.com, Brooklyn, NY (YG2);
  
• Boyoung Lee, founding partner, creative director, A plus B, www.citizensofnowhere.com, New York, NY (YG3);
  
• Christiaan Kuypers, kstudionyc.com/youarehere/, New York, NY (YG3);
  
• So Takahashi, founder, So Takahashi Design/Heads Inc., www.headsinc.com, Oslo, Norway (YG3);
  
• Emily Shur, photographer, www.emilyshur.com, Los Angeles, CA (YG4);
  
• Julia Hoffman, creative director, Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org, New York, NY (YG4);
  
• Jason Munn, www.thesmallstakes.com, Oakland, CA (YG5);
  
• Justin Gignac, art director, www.justingignac.com, New York, NY (YG5);
  
• Wesley Allsbrook, www.wesleyallsbrook.com, Brooklyn, NY (YG7);
  
• Siggi Eggertsson, www.vanillusaft.com, Berlin, Germany (YG7);
  
• Verónica Fuerte, cofounder, Hey Studio, www.heystudio.es, Barcelona, Spain (YG7);
  
• Jessica Hische, typographer, illustrator, www.jhische.com, Brooklyn, NY (YG7);
  
• Mario Hugo, founder, Hugo & Marie, www.mariohugo.com, New York, NY (YG7);
  
• Michael Schachtner, art director, Saatchi & Saatchi, www.saatchiny.com, New York, NY (YG7);
  
• Julia Neumann, copywriter, Saatchi & Saatchi, www.saatchiny.com, New York, NY (YG7).

Prizes

Fifty winners are selected for ADC Young Gun status and all receive the following:

• The iconic ADC Young Guns Cube;
  
• Their work showcased in an exhibition at the ADC Gallery in New York;
  
• Their work included in a limited-edition volume published exclusively for ADC by Moleskine;
  
• Their work added to ADC's permanent collection online;
  
• Complimentary one-year ADC membership;
  
• Automatic and permanent membership in the exclusive ADC CUBE club as an ADC award winner;
  
• An assortment of career-boosting benefits from ADC Young Guns sponsors.