NEW YORK, July 14, 2026 — The global Art Directors Club, part of The One Club for Creativity, has opened the call for entries for ADC Young Guns 24, the leading global competition to celebrate international creative professionals age 30 or younger.
ADC Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creatives. The program is open to creatives ages 30 and under who have been working for at least two years, full-time or freelance. Eligible entrants can submit a combination of professional and personal work.
The online entry system is now open, with the reduced-fee regular deadline of August 27, 2026, and final deadline September 24, 2026. Winners will be announced in January 2027, with the YG24 awards ceremony and party slated for January 27, 2027 in New York.
The renowned competitions regularly attract entries from upwards of 45 countries, with more than half coming from outside the US. Winners will be selected by a jury made up of past ADC Young Guns winners and other creative leaders, to be announced shortly.
All ADC Young Guns winners receive a unique version of the iconic ADC Young Guns Cube, designed exclusively for this year’s incoming class, and have their permanent profile page added to the YG website.
Winners also receive a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the YG network, a chance to be featured in YG events and an assortment of career-boosting opportunities from YG sponsors.
ADC Young Guns 24 branding and YG Cube trophy were created by Brooklyn-based independent illustrator and designer Chantal Jahchan, a winner in last year’s YG23 competition.
“This year’s identity features bold typography, juxtaposed with a collection of elemental glyphs symbolizing memory, expression, and connection,” said Jahchan. “It’s inspired by the idea that the act of making is fundamentally and universally human.”
Past ADC Young Guns include rising stars who went on to become leaders in their chosen fields, including Oscar-winning film director duo DANIELS (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) (YG14), “Top Gun Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski (YG4); graphic designers James Victore (YG1), Stefan Sagmeister (YG1), Natasha Jen (YG4) and Jessica Walsh (YG8); artist/designer Rich Tu (YG8); ad creatives Rei Inamoto (YG4) and Menno Kluin (YG6); illustrators Christoph Niemann (YG2) and Deanne Cheuk (YG4); fashion designer Kerby Jean-Raymond (YG14); artist/filmmaker Calmatic (YG16); director/photographer India Sleem (YG17); typographers Alex Trochut (YG6) and Gemma O’Brien (YG13); animation artist Todd St. John (YG1), and others.
For more information and to enter, please visit the ADC Young Guns 24 website.
The One Club for Creativity – home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) awards, ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition and scholarships, ADC Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE School, ONE Creator Lab, Where Are All The Black People conference and career fair, Portfolio Night, Creative Week, and more – is the world’s foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows goes back into the industry to fund programs that support industry access, creative education, professional development, and enhancement of creative careers around the world.
