Melbourne designer and illustrator Shy Trutwein named an ADC Young Guns 23 Winner

Shy Trutwein, a talented young designer and illustrator at After Hours in Melbourne, is among the global winners in the Art Directors Club’s prestigious ADC Young Guns 23 competition, celebrating global creative professionals age 30 or younger.

Trutwein told CB: “Being named a Young Guns winner is a big moment, not only personally but for independent studios! Co-founding After Hours Studio was about backing ourselves and building something on our own terms. To have that validated on an international stage like ADC Young Guns really matters, and it’s especially good to see Australian studios in that mix.”

ADC Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creative professionals.  This year’s entries were judged by a diverse jury of 98 creative professionals — many of whom are past ADC YG winners — from 41 countries.

The complete list of global ADC Young Guns 23 winners can be viewed here.

The list of YG23 finalists based in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, UAE, UK and US, can be viewed here.

This year’s winners will be celebrated at a special awards ceremony and party on January 28, 2026 at Sony Hall in New York.

At the event, The One Club will also announce the ADC Young Guns 23 Creative Choice Award winner, as voted by the global creative community.  Anyone can view the work of this year’s winners and vote on which one they believe stands above all others.  Voting is now open on the winners page, with a deadline of Monday, January 26, 2026, 11:59 pm PT.

All 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 ADC Young Guns website.

Winners also receive a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the ADC Young Guns network, a chance to be featured in events and an assortment of career-boosting opportunities from ADC Young Guns sponsors.

For the 11th consecutive year, international artists management agency and ADC Young Guns sponsor Levine/Leavitt will bestow one winner with the Artist In Residence Award.

The honour, presented annually at the ADC YG celebration, goes to a newly crowned Young Gun whose body of work truly stands out, as judged by an advisory board of industry professionals across a range of disciplines.  The winner receives a full year of professional development, guidance and mentorship from Levine/Leavitt to help advance their career.

Program branding and design of the ADC Young Guns Cube award itself are reimagined each year by a past ADC Young Guns winner.  This year’s branding was created by ADC YG23 jury member Khyati Trehan (ADC YG19), a talented graphic designer and 3D visual artist originally from New Delhi who now serves as senior designer at Google Creative Lab in New York.

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