After two rigorous rounds online and inspiring jury days in New York and London, the judging of the inaugural YCN Professional Awards is now complete. Scores are being calculated, with results due to be announced in early June.

The image below was kindly taken by Joseph Fox at yesterday's jury event at Shoreditch House. A big thanks to all those who took time to consider entries, and for the many nice words about creative standards in our first year. More images from both jury days will be posted online to coincide with the publication of results.

The first of two final jury days as part of the YCN Professional Awards took place at Soho House New York this week. A shortlist of entries to have made it through two extensive rounds of online judging were studied by jury members, as well as additional guests invited from among the local creative community, before final verdicts were privately shared.

A similar session will be held in the Garden at Shoreditch House in London next week before our inaugural winners are announced in early June. A big thanks to all those who gave their time yesterday, pictured below (left to right) are Hornet's Michael Feder, Droga5's Cliff Lewis, JUICE Pharma's Alison Candage and Howard Bernstein. More photos to follow from Ryan Dorsett.

"A Phenomenally high standard".

A huge thanks to all those who took time rigorously assessing all submissions to our inaugural YCN Professional Awards, and for the many compliments that have followed. A shortlist of entries will now be shared at live jury days hosted by Soho House in London and New York before our winners are announced in early June. 

Illustration by Jean Jullien.

We're absolutely over the moon with the response to our inaugural YCN Professional Awards, having received entries from over 35 countries internationally. Perhaps the most remote of these is the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, measuring just 16 X 8km.

Other remarkable, diverse and all-together inspirational pieces of work came to us from all continents; and we can't wait to now present it to our equally international jury. More details as we progress through the judging stages will be regularly posted here.

We've had an overwhelming and inspiring response to our inaugural Professional Awards and a big thanks to all those who took time to submit their work. The first rounds of judging will begin in earnest soon, and full details of next steps will be published online in due course.

The official deadline for entering the YCN Professional Awards is 11.59pm GMT tonight. Share the best of your creative work, right here. Illustrator Jack Molyneux has sequentially visualised this key date, and his third installment can be seen below.

Our series of Q&As with members of the YCN Professional Awards jury concludes with illustrator Adrian Johnson.

YCN: What’s the best thing about being an illustrator?

Adrian Johnson: Everything apart from compromise and accounting.

YCN: What was the best advice you received when you began working professionally?

AJ: "Life doesn't owe you a living."

YCN: Which piece of work have you been especially proud of?

AJ: My default answer would usually be to say my most recent work, but that invariably changes within a matter of days when I'll fail to see any merit in it whatsoever.

YCN: What makes for a good client?

AJ: It would be too easy to say "one that let's me get on with what I do". Those jobs seem to be few and far between these days anyway. I guess a good client or art director is one that you feel you can work with and share a common direction - to try and make something that's really good, whilst enjoying the creative process.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

AJ: I don't recall ever winning anything of significant interest. I once won £500 in HMV vouchers, which I spent on CDs that I no longer listen to, nor would I care to list in public.

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

AJ: Evan Hecox's Dark Island exhibition at the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York last summer.

Adrian is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here. The deadline for submissions is tonight at midnight, and you can enter here.

The next in a series of interviews with members of the YCN Professional Awards jury sees us speak to designer Fraser Muggeridge.

YCN: What’s the best thing about being a designer?

Fraser Muggeridge: Working with clients that believe in you, understand who you are and what you are trying to do. Also, press passing a job at the printers and watching your work literally roll of the press. It's exciting, exhilarating, nerve-racking and self-motivating - even in the early hours of the morning in some far flung country.

YCN: What was the best piece of advice you received when you began working professionally?

FM: When I was a studying at the University of Reading in the early-Nineties, we undertook "Real Jobs" with real clients and a real budget. During this, I remember my supervisor Paul Stiff saying that I should always triple check my artwork, as I would be responsible for any mistakes. At the time, this made me really anxious, but it was great advice which I continue to practice today.

YCN: In addition to the work you do with your studio, you also run an annual Typography Summer School for graphic design graduates. What was the inspiration behind this idea?

FM: Whilst I was at a conference in India, during a talk I thought to myself "what what would happen if I got a small bunch of recent graduates in a room for a week?" This had actually been in the back of my mind for a while, as I felt there was a real need for a platform that could bridge the gap between student and professional life.

YCN: Which project have you been especially proud of?

FM: There isn't really one specific project, but I'm proud of those where risks have been taken, even if they haven't necessarily worked.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

FM: It's not about winning, it's about taking part. A weekly basketball game with fellow designers certainly proves this as I never win.

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

FM: New subject areas that relate to my work are so exciting to discover, like a new or old designer, or a whole archive or library such as the Poetry Library in the Southbank Centre.

Fraser is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here.

Illustrator Jack Molyneux is creating a series of images to demonstrate that the deadline for this year's YCN Professional Awards is indeed advancing at rapid pace. The second is shown below. Enter your work before Thursday 28th here, and find more from Jack here.

We continue our series of Q&As with members of the YCN Professional Awards jury with Plenty's Pablo Alfieri.

YCN: What is your favourite thing about working with animation?

Pablo Alfieri: Bringing life to something that is static. It's incredible to see how a character, car or even something as simple as a sphere can be animated in so many different ways.

YCN: What was the best piece of advice you received when you began working professionally? And if you could offer some words of wisdom yourself, what would they be?

PA: There's not one piece of advice that springs to mind, but I learned a lot from watching how my previous boss managed his company, his clients and his approach to writing briefs.

I'd say that the best thing you can do is try to make your working day as challenging as possible. As Steve Jobs once said, if you always have real challenges in front of you, you'll never stay stupid.

YCN: Which project have you been especially proud of?

PA: I think the promotional piece that we did for AXN for the Criminal Minds series. It was one of my babies, and I'm incredibly proud of it. I really enjoyed the process and mix of techniques we used to make it. It's the only project that ended up looking exactly as I imagined.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

PA: Probably the paddle tennis tournament I won when I was 13 years old. That feeling of success, enjoyment and happiness after playing tons of games was incredible for me. I still feel really happy thinking about it now.

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

PA: I love to sit on my couch and watch movies, but I also love to start my morning by watching films on Vimeo, or read blogs about art and design, so it's difficult to pick just one thing! One thing that inspires me a lot is seeing what amazing things other studios around the world do. For example, the film the guys at Buck made for Good Books not long ago was so inspiring to me.

In terms of movies, I get equally inspired by animated features such as Rango as I do by smaller budget, independent films such as Ruby Sparks or The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Pablo is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here.

Illustrator Jack Molyneux is creating a series of images to demonstrate that the deadline for this year's YCN Professional Awards is indeed advancing at rapid pace. The first is shown below. Enter your work before Thursday here, and find more from Jack here.

The latest in a series of Q&As with members of the YCN Professional Awards jury sees us speak to Anthony Smith, Creative Director and Partner at Music.

YCN: What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Anthony Smith: Working with some really talented people and the feeling you get (when it happens, and it doesn't always) of solving client's problems in an unexpected, but always appropriate, way. 

YCN: What was the best piece of advice you received when you began working professionally?

AS: My first boss, Hugh Clarke-Williams, once told me, "when playing golf, always take two pairs of trousers, in case you get a hole in one." 

YCN: Which project have you been especially proud of?

AS: The project of setting up and running Music. We're still here after five years, and still enjoying it. 

YCN: If you could have the choice of any commercial job, what would it be?

AS: It doesn't really matter what the client's business is, but the client themselves matter a lot. So I'd choose any project where we're able to build a good relationship, and be trusted by whoever we're working for to deliver a great job.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

AS: I haven't won it yet. 

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

AS: Katherine Grainger winning gold at the Olympics after coming second at the three previous games.

Anthony is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here.

We believe that well orchestrated Award programmes are a valuable, inspiring and solid way to elevate and recognise creative talent. We've created the brand new YCN Professional Award programme with rising talent specifically in mind, inviting those to have graduated or begun working within the last 8 years to enter the best of their creative work. We think there's a gap in the Awards scene for such a programme, and have been hugely enouraged by the response to date. We can't wait to celebrate and showcase some amazing new work, putting talent onto new radars; creating new connections and new opportunities. The deadline for entering is 28th March. Here are some of the reasons we think you should.

• You'll share your work with an amazing 80 strong international creative jury, raising your profile among an inspiring group of professionals from around the world. See the jury here

• Winning work will be published in a gorgeous new Annual, this year designed and Art Directed by the brilliant Matt Willey. He's on the jury too. More details here

• Winners will be showcased at two Summer launch events hosted by Soho House in London and New York. A chance to saunter, celebrate and shake hands in the sunshine. Find out more here.

• The physical Award is a joy to pick up, to shake and behold. Designed as part of the Call for Entries campaign by Craig Ward, you can see it move here.

• Everyone entering this year will become a Super Member of YCN for free (this will cost £60 when opened up beyond invitation in May). It means great creative benefits in the post and online over the course of a year. It begins by choosing a membership card from designs by Hvass&Hannibal, Chris Gray and Kate Gibb. See them here.

Enter the best of your creative work here, by 28th March 2013

Our series of interviews with those judging this year's YCN Professional Awards continues with illustrator Luke Best.

YCN: What is your favourite thing about being an illustrator?

Luke Best: Without sounding too obvious, it's the illustrating. I really enjoy using my own visual language to solve problems, testing it and seeing what it's capable of. Sometimes it fails, but that's another thing I like. I enjoy how mistakes can be beneficial.

YCN: What was the best piece of advice you received when you began working professionally?

LB: It's not really advice, but when I first saw Heart with my portfolio, they didn't like any of the work I had specifically made in an attempt to show them I had commercial promise. It was validation that I should stick to what I think is interesting, instead of trying to predict the market.

YCN: Which project have you been especially proud of?

LB: Recently, I have been working on a project with Spencer Wilson for Vital Arts, creating artwork for the children's outpatients ward at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. When I went to photograph the work, I spoke to the nurses, as well as people who worked there, and they were all really happy with how the kids had responded to the project. It was great to see that the real client was so pleased.  

YCN: What is the first thing you do when you receive a new brief?

LB: I read it, make notes, draw out the information and spend a couple of hours coming up with ideas. Then I go for a short walk and come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes to see if any of them are worth pursuing.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

LB: I'm not very competitive, but I used to play football, so winning any game felt pretty good

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

LB: I saw the film Chinatown for the first time recently, and thought it was just perfect story telling. I also recently saw The Red Studio, Dance (1) and The Piano Lesson by Matisse in MoMA, which were all as incredible as I had hoped.

Luke is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here.

We continue our series of Q&As with members of the YCN Professional Awards jury with Jim Parkyn, model maker and animator at Aardman Animations.

YCN: How did you first become involved in animation and model-making?

Jim Parkyn: I was always a fan of animation, but was never really aware that you could study it. I had set myself on a path to product design, with a leaning towards toy making, before discovering animation courses in the UCAS course guide. I soon changed my mind and signed up for one.

YCN: What do you enjoy most about what you do?

JP: The variety of projects I get to work on is what keeps me coming back for more. One day I might be making eyeballs and fish lips, and the next I might be sculpting a pirate's beard or moulding Gromits. It's that range of styles and genres that makes me want to come to work.

YCN: What was the best piece of advice you received when you began working professionally?

JP: Say yes to everything! Sometimes a project might be intimidating in size or based in a foreign country or maybe just include something that you have never done before. But you can always learn, and I don't think you ever really stop learning as no two projects are exactly the same.

YCN: Which project have you been especially proud of?

JP: I think Creature Comforts is my proudest moment. It was an absolute joy sculpting funny animals all day, and to watch your work on Christmas Day with friends and family is very special.

YCN: What’s the best thing you’ve ever won?

JP: I once won the opportunity to be zookeeper for a day at Bristol Zoo! If I had not done animation I would've very much liked to be a zookeeper.

YCN: What’s the most inspiring thing you’ve recently seen?

JP: Lately, I have been revisiting some of the animations that really inspired me when I started on my animation career. Still a favourite of mine is Ah Pook The Destroyer. It's a compelling narrative combined with stark black and white imagery and grotesque but characterful animation. I think it more than stands the test if time and blows people away whenever you show them it.

Jim is one of 80 creative professionals kindly participating in the judging of this year's YCN Professional Awards. Discover them all here.