The Design Kids competition encourages young designers like McCall Keller to create new designs and show off their talents
BYU graphic design graduate McCall Keller was recently announced as one of the top thirty winners of The Design Kids annual competition — a contest specifically designed to help up-and-coming designers gain recognition. Keller’s submission featured a portfolio of five pieces, which were mostly done in black and white. Annie Atkins, the competition judge who selected Keller’s work, said she was amazed by how each spread “felt fully realized and stylish, including typeface designs that had intriguingly playful exposition on facing pages.” “I love and always will love art that is void of color,” Keller said. “It strips an idea down to its core and provides a different perspective than what we’re used to in the colorful world that we live in.” Keller is currently working as a brand designer for R/GA, a creative agency in Los Angeles. Shortly after being hired, Keller and one of his coworkers bonded over their shared love of basketball, and the two of them decided to start a website, play3vs3.org, where they’ve been exploring the intersection of art and basketball. “We decided to start a 3 VS 3 tournament that invites teams to come and win a custom-designed jersey. Our first round of jerseys came back from production just days before Los Angeles went on lockdown,” Keller said. “That gave us the opportunity to reevaluate and figure out how this idea can evolve.” A lot of Keller’s design inspiration comes from his desire to represent his family well and to contribute to the world by creating things that are new and unique. “I have a bit of an obsession with family history, especially the stories of my ancestors who did things differently than the norm,” said Keller. “I want to live a life that makes future generations proud.”