Jean Jullien is a French artist based in Paris whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, illustration, sculpture, installation and design. He has exhibited internationally, collaborated with brands including Apple and AMI, and contributed to publications such as The New York Times and The New Yorker. Recent projects include exhibitions in Brussels, Melbourne, Seoul and Shanghai, as well as an installation for the French Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.

Claudia Rubín is a Puerto Rican graphic designer and art director based in Brooklyn. She is currently a Senior Art Director at Bloomberg Businessweek and previously Senior Designer at The New York Times Magazine. Her work has been recognized by organizations including D&AD, ADC, TDC, The One Club for Creativity and The Society of Publication Designers. She has also worked with clients and publications across New York, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hassan Rahim is a creative director and high school dropout from Santa Ana, California, currently living and working in New York City. In opposition to culture’s obsession with speed, Rahim’s output remains guarded — incubating as long as necessary while he continues to build a body of work dealing with monomania, memory, and mortality. Hassan owns and operates anti-disciplinary creative studio 12:01.

Naomi Otsu is a New York–based illustrator and graphic designer whose work spans fashion, sportswear, food and culture. Her clients include The New York Times, New York Magazine, A24, Nike, Adidas, The North Face, Tiffany & Co. and HBO.

We asked each of our judges a few questions to give you bit more insight into who they are and what inspires them. Have a look at their answers below, and if you wanna submit to the Illustration Awards, head over here.

Jean Jullien: 1) Reading my first Spiderman comics during summer camp after being sent away to calm down. I was enthralled instantaneously and fell in love with comics and storytelling that day.

2) When my teacher Jacques Vincent gave me a perfect mark for my first sketchbook assignment. Probably the first time I got a decent score at something at school. Gave me confidence when I needed it the most

3) The year I got rejected by every art school I applied to. That humbled me greatly and pushed me to find an alternative route. And finding alternatives is what makes you creative.

Naomi Otsu: 1) Being born and raised in NY and moving to Tokyo at age 8, where I lived until I was 19. Japanese culture and the way of life have made me who I am and how I approach my work.

2) I spent my childhood summers in Sweethome Oregon. My mom is a Korean adoptee, and my grandparents had a farm there. Spending time in the woods and fields during my formative years made me appreciate nature, and I always find it to be a theme I return to in my work.

3) Adopting our dog Toby. I don’t remember my life before can’t imagine how it would be like without him. He helps me remember to take a breath and realize that life is about enjoying the moment.

Hassan Rahim: Life moment number one was learning to ride a bike. I was terrified and couldn’t figure out my balance until my neighbor Billy, who lived in my motel complex, grabbed my bike, ran alongside me as fast as he could, and let go. That was the moment I realized commitment is everything.

Life moment number two was learning to pirate software. After accidentally giving my grandma’s computer a few viruses, downloading the Creative Suite and every music DAW I needed completely set the trajectory for where I am today.

Life moment number three was quitting my full-time job and never looking back. At this point, I really can’t imagine being anything other than independent.

Claudia Rubín: 1) Moving from Puerto Rico to New York in 2017. I left my home country to pursue a design career and start working at The New York Times Magazine. It’s probably the biggest and most formative decision I’ve made.

2) The 6 months I spent in Puerto Rico in 2020-2021. I travelled to Puerto Rico for a work assignment during the pandemic, and I just kept extending my trip. I was not doing much, of course, because of the circumstances – but I reconnected with my home and my life there in ways for which I will always be grateful. 

3) Being a headlining speaker at the Latin American Design Festival in Peru in 2024. For the most part, my career has taken place in the United States, but I am Latin American. Sharing my work for the first time with a large crowd, in my native language, on the other side of the world was super grounding and felt full circle. I reconnected with my work and my culture in new ways.

Claudia Rubín: Always show up to things as yourself. You can’t really be what others want you to be. If you are losing your sense of self, it’s not for you. Or how we say in Puerto Rico, “Ahí no es, mami”…Whether that be a job, a relationship, or any situation really! Honoring yourself is what makes you most authentic and valuable. It’s what makes you special in the first place! Being adaptable is great, being malleable is not so cute.

Hassan Rahim: Good intentions aren’t everything. You can mean well and still cause irreparable damage—that applies to pretty much every situation in life.

Naomi Otsu: For someone that loves to work all the time, I am constantly reminded that taking a breather can be more productive than counter productive.

Jean Jullien: Not everybody likes you!

Jean Jullien: Vintage Akira train adverts. Perfect Japanese 80’s layout.

Hassan Rahim: Watching videos of people who’ve taken DMT describing the exact same place and encountering the exact same characters.

Claudia Rubín: I think it’s seeing Rosalía perform on her LUX tour. It was very inspiring and made me want to create, improve, perfect. I also enjoyed every second of it as a spectator and left feeling lighter. Such a wonderful show.

Naomi Otsu: Learning about my own body through pregnancy and the miracle that is the process of birth.

Naomi Otsu: For the first time, I submitted the final draft of a cookbook that I worked on with my sister. It’ll be coming out next spring and we’re so excited to share it with the world. The recipes are translated from our Japanese grandmother’s recipe book and feature wonderful dishes that feel like a warm hug.

Jean Jullien: Last week, sailing through the “raz de sein” a perilous pass at the far west point of Britanny. That was scary.

Claudia Rubín: I changed jobs for the first time ever a few months ago. I had been at my previous job for 9 years—since graduating college—and I decided to take a leap of faith and try something new. It’s going really well and I’m really proud of that decision. Transitions can be scary. There is comfort in routine and the familiar, but so much growth can come from change. You access new parts of yourself you didn’t even know existed or were developed. New people, new routines, new dynamics, showing up in new ways– all of that is quite expansive!

Hassan Rahim: I ate an entire scoop of ice cream on a cone. I’ve spent my whole life being lactose intolerant, but someone convinced me that raw milk is totally fine because pasteurization is what actually makes lactose hard to digest. I still got a bit sick, but it felt different—more like a mental, learned response than a real reaction. Now I can eat raw ice cream.

Naomi Otsu: Ask for what you want, the worst that can happen is they say “no,” and that’s not the end of the world.

Hassan Rahim: A mundane routine can actually beat occasional bursts of creativity. Stringing together small wins is far better than relying on rare, big ones. Consistency and routine are what truly put you in a flow state, making momentum sustainable.

Jean Jullien: “Add color”, my teacher Fañch Le Henaff told me after I spent a year in black and white. I never looked back.

Claudia Rubín: Curiosity is how we truly grow. Curiosity in the work, curiosity about others, and curiosity about yourself. It makes us more open, less defensive or precious, more discerning, and more trusting in the right thing. It’s good to ask questions and acquire new information. Honestly, I’ve learned this through friendship. I have very curious friends that ask a lot of questions and have inspired me to do so as well.

Hassan Rahim: The only thing hanging in my house is a DJ Screw promotional poster for the All Screwed Up, Vol. 2 mixtape that I found on eBay. It was pulled straight off a telephone pole in Houston, complete with original nail marks in the corners. A thing of beauty.

Naomi Otsu: We have a piece on our shelf that Seymour Chwast gifted to my husband and me for our wedding. I think it was for an editorial piece he did a while back and it depicts a man sitting at one end of a table surrounded by people eating and drinking. He has a look of not wanting to be there, an expression that reminds me of my dog when we have people over and I find it quite funny.

Claudia Rubín: I have a big, colorful, wide 5-foot painting above my couch in the living room. My dad painted it many years ago and it was in my family’s living room while I was growing up in Puerto Rico. My parents sent it to me for my 30th birthday. It’s called “Fiesta de Lobos” (Party of Wolves). It’s my favorite piece of art in my apartment because it makes it feel like a home. It also makes me think of my family.

Jean Jullien: I did plein air painting with my 7 year old son last week. We were painting the garden from the same angle. His is perfection in my eyes.

The deadline for the 2026 Illustration Awards is coming up quick! Learn more and submit to the awards here.