They say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but here on the ADC Blog, we intend to go full feline the whole way through as we present ADC Young Guns Month. Of course this is in anticipation of Young Guns 13, our global portfolio based competition for professional creatives 30 years of age or under. March 31 — the last day of the month — is the final day to enter Young Guns 13 at regular price (with a ten-day late fee grace period afterwards for all of you procrastinators) and we will be inspiring you the whole way through.

So when you enter Young Guns, what exactly happens? How do you make the cut? We received a pretty nice summation of the process from designer, art director, typographer, Young Guns 11 winner and Young Guns 12 judge Juan Carlos Pagan.

“Being on the Jury of any award show is tough, and it inevitably fills me with some degree of anxiety. Judging the ADC Young Guns 12 competition this past year was no exception. In fact it was far more overwhelming than any other jury I’ve been a part of.”

“Let me give you a little background. There are three rounds of judging in total. The first two rounds are reviewing a gauntlet of wildly impressive portfolios online alone. This is meant to distill the entries down to the best portfolios for consideration in the final round. The last round is an exhaustive two full days of reviewing, discussing, and sometimes arguing over portfolios with other past Young Guns recipients.”

“As you would expect, all of the judges are passionately opinionated, and each of them have different ideas of what makes work “Young Guns worthy.” A quality you quickly learn is impossible to quantify. Tempers flare. Friendships are shattered. Needless to say it is not easy selecting a Young Guns class. All who were selected should be very proud of the work they’ve done, and the curation of their entry.”

All this month, we will be featuring the winners of Young Guns 12, the latest class to join the exclusive club. Not only will you learn the thoughts, the hopes, the doubts and insecurities of creatives who enter Young Guns, you’ll also hear from the judges who chose them. Combined, their stories will inspire the next class of Young Guns.

Will that class include you?

Enter Young Guns 13