Meet the Judges: Paul Gonzales

Paul Gonzales is a deputy design director for the features department at the Los Angeles Times. As such, he leads a team of designers in producing the newspaper¹s lively and creative Sunday Calendar, Arts & Books and Travel sections.

In his 20-plus-year career at the Times, he has won many awards for design, art direction and photo illustration from such prestigious organizations as Communication Arts, Print, The Society for News Design and Society of Publication Designers. His collaboration with illustrators has also resulted in a number of award-winning pieces.

What Paul will be looking for:

“Each illustration submission to a competition has been worked on with a great deal of artistry and pride otherwise it would not have been submitted.  Keeping this in mind, I try to give each and every entry the consideration it rightly deserves.”

“Three main criteria I look for when judging an illustration competition are concept, composition and execution.  Entries that stand out the most usually surprise me with a smart concept that communicates an idea in a fresh way.  If the composition enhances that concept, a simple line drawing or a beautifully realized full color oil painting can be equally impressive.”

“These three elements when brought together seamlessly will usually get my vote!”