Presenting the kick ass class of Young Guns 22
It’s a kick-ass class. Young Guns 22 is topping the charts in creativity. But are you even surprised? Of course, not. If you’re new here, let me catch you up. Young Guns is a community of incredibly talented individuals – think amazing cinematographers, animators, illustrators, photographers, designers, and directors – and a new class of winners is chosen by an expert jury every year. This year we have 33 winners and among them, we have some very new, very exciting titles to unveil – an Architectural Designer, Composer, Stage & Show Designer, and Colorist.
We interviewed the winners so we could share their prowess with you. And if you’re a NYC local you can snag a ticket to the official YG22 Party at Sony Hall on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, where you will have the chance to meet and greet them.
Young Guns continue to dominate the creative industry, so we’re happily presenting you with the kick-ass class of Young Guns 22.
Nicholas Konrad
Art Director & Illustrator
Based:
New York City
Hometown:
Vashon Island, Washington
What were your original impressions of the Young Guns competition, award, and community?
When I first stumbled upon the world of design in high school, I found Debbie Millman’s Design Matters podcast. It was the perfect gateway for a kid raised on public radio and Terry Gross interviews. I was hungry for the digital mentorship Design Matters offered me – and as a kid growing up on a rural island in the Pacific Northwest, where New York and the design industry felt mythic, I gained entry to a world I never thought I could set foot in, but that I was drawn to despite myself. Through the podcast, I found interviews with people I could look up to like Brian Rea and Stefan Sagmeister, who are both Young Guns. What excites me about Young Guns isn’t just that they are young people I can easily identify with — it is how their work unapologetically reflects their unique voices. Every entry is distinct, nothing looks like anyone else’s. It makes the creative industry feel boundless and like there is space for someone like me.
How did you end up in the creative field anyways?
As a kid, I threw a fit if I went anywhere and forgot my sketchbook. I loved a compelling story. Journalism, with its narrative worlds constructed from words and pictures, offered the perfect combination of the two. I vividly remember devouring my first Adbusters on the floor of my bedroom — my belly pressed to soft carpet, the matte pages between my thumb and index finger, the smell of dye and anti-corporate fervency — as I flipped those pages, they became portals. From there, I discovered other magazines like Eye, Dazed, and VICE. I fell in love with the witty conceptual images I found in their pages, their ability to be both sophisticated and daring — how the images made just as much of an argument as the language to which they were tied. Magazines were the first place I saw the symbiosis of images and words. They were both pieces of the same puzzle — distinctly different as mediums, yet uniquely crucial when communicating nuanced ideas. It was all in service of a good story. They were thoughtful and provocative — which informed, educated, and hopefully sparked an argument. Magazines offer stories of how people live, yet you never quite know what you’re going to get. There’s an element of surprise. In a world now governed by algorithmic feeds, that kind of human-curated unpredictability now feels like a kind of rarer magic. This philosophy led me to a career in design and journalism, from art school to The New York Times, to my current role at The New Yorker.
Congrats on the YG win! Why did you decide to enter this year?
I was lucky enough to be nominated by my boss and mentor Aviva Michaelov, who after a morning meeting casually asked, “Wait — are you still under 30?” This is my first time applying to Young Guns — I hadn’t thought about it before. It always seemed like a pipe dream. But her nudge made me think, maybe I should give it a shot. I’m turning thirty soon anyway, so why not? I’m fortunate to work with colleagues who foster an atmosphere of creative collaboration that’s dynamic and supportive, who push me to go deeper, and who value what I bring to the table in ways I don’t always recognize in myself. It’s their belief in me that makes me believe in myself, too.
You only get to submit six projects that embody you and your talent. So, how did you decide which pieces were good enough to make the cut?
Two of my favorite things about my job are collaboration and packaging ideas together. There’s nothing like working with artists and editors, bouncing ideas off each other, and then stepping back to see what we each bring to the table and how all the pieces fit together. It’s like a puzzle you have to solve, with no right answer, and for the most part the projects I chose embody those two things. These were also the projects where I broke the rules or did something I wasn’t supposed to do. I’ve always had a bit of a rebellious streak, so I’m especially proud of the moments when I managed to pull something off and get away with it. So I guess these projects are a little mischievous.
“There’s nothing like working with artists and editors, bouncing ideas off each other, and then stepping back to see what we each bring to the table and how all the pieces fit together.”
What was your reaction when you discovered that you won?
When I first got the email, I was convinced they’d sent it to the wrong person. I half-expected a follow-up from the jury apologizing for the mistake like one of those terrible stories about college admissions. Looking at the other finalists, I was blown away by their work. To celebrate, I had dinner with my supportive boyfriend and then went out dancing.
How does your current home inspire your creativity as an artist?
I feel lucky working in journalism where you’re constantly exposed to new ideas. I joke that my love language is sending the people in my life the articles I find interesting and receiving articles back from them - but I do think my friends are a huge source of inspiration. Seeing how they observe the world and what they’re drawn to is endlessly interesting and sometimes baffling. Being in a city like New York is overwhelming and I love that quality - stumbling on new things I hadn’t considered before. Just this week after work, I went to a tiny gallery in Chinatown I’d never heard of for a photo book exhibit with my colleague. I was blown away.
If you could create a new Young Guns tradition, what would you want it to be and why?
This question makes me think about an application prompt from when I applied to college: draw a bike. It’s a deceptively simple request and people have their fun with it. Some draw bike wheels from monumental angles, or a bicycle constructed from the anatomy of the human body, or the self-satisfied conceptualists write the word “bike” at the center of a large piece of paper. I love the idea of seeing how different artists interpret, challenge, and work within a constraint, so asking all the Young Guns to create something within the confines of the same parameters would be a beautiful way of revealing the disparate ways creative people interpret the same challenge.
Name a dream project that you have yet to fulfill — maybe Young Guns will propel you in that direction!
I’ve always wanted to redesign a magazine or newspaper or start a literary magazine. I enjoy writing in addition to design and I’ve recently been inspired by the work of Kristen Radtke and Mira Jacob who create these essayistic, completely illustrated nonfiction books. Their visual sensibilities are very different from my own, but I’ve always wanted to do a project like that, where I combine my own writing with my own art. Perhaps saying it here will give me the push I need to actually make that happen!
Will we see you at the YG22 party in NYC in November?
Yes!
Come party with us and celebrate the class of Young Guns 22 on Wednesday, November 13, 6:30 PM, at Sony Hall in NYC!
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