Draw Outside of the Box: Meet the Judges!

As of 9am on March 30, the public voting phase of the Draw Outside of the Box contest came to a close.  On that day, the 30 entries with the most ‘Likes’ in in each category (K-12 and All Ages/Non-Student) became finalists and have moved on to the judging phase of the contest.

(View our galleries of finalists on Facebook: K-12 category, All Ages category)

Our panel of esteemed creative professionals (and two former contest winners!) have been tasked with determining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category. The judges will make their selections by April 16, by way of ranked choice voting, with an announcement on our social media accounts following soon.

The two first place winning designs will then be prepared for printing, will go to press, and will become the face of OTTO’s pizza boxes throughout 12 locations (plus delivery and catering services) in MA, NH. and ME.  First, Second, and Third place winners in each category will be awarded the prizes outlined in the contest overview.

Ladies and gentlemen, our 2024 ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ panel of judges:

Scott Nash
Scott Nash is the Executive Director of Illustration Institute and a founding partner of BIG BLUE DOT, and NASHBOX. As a designer, Scott has developed an expertise in the branding and creative development of products and programming for the entertainment, consumer product and publishing worlds. In addition to designing identities for Nickelodeon, PBS, ABC, Comedy Central, FX, YTV, Scott’s design clients include American Girl, Disney, Harvard University, Mattel, Milton Bradley, NFPA, The Boston Pops and From the Top.

Scott’s work as a designer and illustrator has been recognized by leading trade organizations and publications such as The Academy for The Arts and Sciences (EMMY award), PROMAX, Broadcast Designers Association, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Society of Illustrators and HOW, Communications Arts, Print and Publishers Weekly Magazines.

He has lectured widely and taught at Boston University, Northeastern University, The Art Institute of Boston, Maine College of Art, and Johns Hopkins University. 

Scott has illustrated over fifty children’s books, including Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp! and The Bugliest Bug, Betsy, Who Cried Wolf! and Betsy, Red Hoodie, the series Snow Day! Beach Day! Rainy Day! and Camping Day! as well as the Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown.

Scott is also a writer, and is the author/illustrator of TUFF FLUFF, The Case of Duckie’s Missing Brain and The High Skies Adventures of Blue Jay The Pirate. His latest book is BUNNY & CLYDE.

Martin Sorger
Martin is a designer, creative strategist, and painter. His career in design has ranged from tech start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, and include 10+ years on the corporate side as creative director for a Hollywood film production company, a multimedia technology developer, and an online gambling group. Over the years, Martin has worked with brands including OTTO, Harvard Medical School, Roche Bros., Reebok, Disney, Finagle a Bagel, HP, MIT, NEC, NFL, WWE, and BCBS. Since 2018, he’s refocused more time and attention on painting.

Deborah Kovacs
Deborah Kovacs has recently retired from her position as Executive Vice President at Walden Media, a studio that produces films and television. On behalf of Walden Media, she has been responsible for Walden Pond Press, a middle-grade imprint published in partnership with HarperCollins.


Clif Stoltz

Clif Stoltze
As founder and creative director of Boston-based Stoltze Design Group, Clif has nurtured a highly collaborative environment that emphasizes a process based on research, sound strategy
and thorough exploration. This inclusive approach yields compelling communications that effectively articulate and reinforce the message or product.

His agency has been honored by AIGA, the Type Directors Club, Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Graphis, and the Society of Publication Designers.

Clif has taught at Rhode Island School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art and frequently lectures at schools and design organizations around the country. He has served as AIGA Boston vice president and was honored as the recipient of their 2005 Fellow Award. Reflecting his love of music and album art, Clif’s book 1000 Music Graphics was published by Rockport in May of 2008 and he is also curator of POSTGIG, a traveling exhibit of contemporary music posters.

Ella Trout
As an eight grader, Ella Trout was the winner of OTTO’s very first ‘Draw Outside of the Box’ contest in 2013. As a homeschooler at the time, Ella donated the $1,000 prize of art supplies to Spurwink, a non-profit providing behavioral health and education services in Maine.  She has spent the past few years teaching preschool, and is currently pursuing a career in special education. Ella has put her design skills to work by starting up her own business, Puppycat Co., where she sells clothing, plushies, and various accessories made from locally sourced, recycled materials. 

Mali Jones
Mali was the winner of the 2017 Draw Outside of the Box contest as a student of King Middle School in Portland.  She is currently enrolled at Bennington College, studying literature and ceramics.  We are excited to have Mali come back as a judge for this year’s contest.  

We are grateful to our judges for donating their time.  

Stay tuned as we will be announcing our winners shortly after April 16, the end of our judging phase.  Thanks again to all of our contestants, and best of luck to our 60 finalists!

2 thoughts on “Draw Outside of the Box: Meet the Judges!

  1. Hi Eric, I am the community moderator of the Moving to Maine Facebook group. We would love to give shout-outs to the contest in the group when the winner is announced🏆. The fast growing Moving to Maine Facebook group has 38,000 members and about 375,000 visitors a month. We will be launching the let’s move to maine.com website May 1. Let’s connect both about the contest and the community we’ve built online. Here’s a link to the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/194860059036152/?ref=share_group_link

  2. Wow those are so amazing judges! What an experience these kids/adults are exposed to. Congrats to them all

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