Improper Design + Animation, the New Delhi-based 2D animation director team of Mehr Chatterjee and Aditya Dutta, was named a third-place winner in the global COLORFUL 2023, a special grant program related to The One Club for Creativity’s Young Guns 21 competition to help up and coming BIPOC creatives around the world advance their careers.
COLORFUL winners are awarded cash prizes to be used towards a professional dream project of their choosing, and free entry to the YG21 competition.
This year’s first-place winner is Mischelle Moy, a digital artist and photographer based in Brooklyn, who will receive a $3,000 grant. Second place went to Troy Charbonnet, a filmmaker in Irvine, California, who picked up a $2,000 grant.
In addition to Improper Design + Animation, the other third-place winner is Katty Huertas, a Washington DC-based illustrator. Each receives a $1,000 grant.
In addition, the following COLORFUL 2023 finalists qualify for free entry in YG21:
Jappy Agoncillo, artist, Long Island City (New York)
Diego Aguilar Villalobos, graphic designer, art director, Draav, Montréal
Advik Beni, filmmaker, Valley Village (California)
Esston Benjamin, photographer, EssTheory Inc., Brooklyn
Denzel Boyd, artist, designer, Zeus Jones, Los Angeles
Black Childish, illustrator, Amsterdam
Lo Harrris, multidisciplinary artist, Lo Harris Universe, Brooklyn
Seine Kongruangkit, art director, artist, AKQA Bloom, Miami
Hayley Lim, art director, designer, Montréal
Aarman Roy, graphic designer, visual artist, Sunday Afternoon, New York
Levi Walton, photographer, videographer, director, Brooklyn
Yifan Wu, illustrator, Madison (Alabama)
Rozi Zhu, designer, Long Island City (New York)
The complete list of winners and finalists, with links to their websites, can be viewed HERE.
The COLORFUL grant program, which has no application fee, is open globally to BIPOC creatives who qualify for the club’s prestigious Young Guns competition: age 30 years and under with at least two years of professional creative experience, and never having won Young Guns in the past. Submissions were reviewed by the 2023 COLORFUL jury, many of whom are past Young Guns winners.
Funding for COLORFUL is provided by Russell’s Reserve Bourbon, female and minority-owned creative studio and artist rep agency Sunday Afternoon, as well as personal contributions from Menno Kluin, CCO at Ogilvy New York, and Rich Tu, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, designer, and ECD/partner at Sunday Afternoon, who conceived of the grant program two years ago.
Sunday Afternoon will also provide one COLORFUL applicant with 12 months of mentorship from the studio’s leadership team. Receiving that honor this year is COLORFUL second-place winner Troy Charbonnet, who will connect with the Sunday Afternoon team to help support their creative growth and goals.
“Congratulations to winners Mehr, Aditya, and all the other winners and finalists,” said Rich Tu. “It’s mind-blowing to witness the caliber of submissions this year, everyone came to play. COLORFUL continues to be a barometer for the industry in terms of talent and representation from all spectrums. If you’re hiring, look out!”
COLORFUL branding was created by Sunday Afternoon, using the custom typeface — also called COLORFUL — designed by Tré Seals at Vocal Type Foundry in Washington DC, a YG17 winner. The result is an exuberant new look, reflecting the grant program’s ability to help BIPOC creatives “make waves” in the industry. The COLORFUL typeface is available for sale, with all proceeds going to the grant program.
The Young Guns 21 online entry system is open, with the regular deadline on July 13, 2023, and final deadline July 27, 2023. Winners will be announced in the fall.