Hazem Asif
Pakistani multidisciplinary graphic designer, digital illustrator, and poster artist based in Lahore, known for children's book illustrations, speculative design, and socially engaged visual storytelling.
Pakistani multidisciplinary graphic designer, digital illustrator, and poster artist based in Lahore, known for children's book illustrations, speculative design, and socially engaged visual storytelling.
Hazem Asif is an international illustrator, designer, and social design activist based in Lahore, Pakistan.
Known globally for his distinctive digital art style and socially conscious visual narratives, Hazem has emerged as one of the most prominent Pakistani illustrators working today. His personal design research focuses on speculative design, South Asian futurism, and world-building. His artistic practice exists at the intersection of science communication, children's publishing, and speculative world-building, positioning him as a creative force who uses illustration not just as art, but as a tool for social change.
Currently working for a well-known business school in the city as a science illustrator, Asif states that he loves working on projects with characters and stories set in his neck of the woods. His work draws inspiration from the vibrant cultural landscape of Lahore, a city whose multi-layered history and evolving identity deeply inform his visual storytelling.
Hazem Asif was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, one of South Asia's oldest and most culturally rich cities. Artistic talent ran within his family. As a child, he often witnessed his aunt painting and giving art classes over the summer holidays. Additionally, he grew up watching iconic animated films such as Toy Story and A Bug's Life, which inspired him to dive into the realm of fantastical visual storytelling from a young age.
He has been a passionate reader since childhood, growing up reading books like Harry Potter and authors including Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis, and R.L. Stine. These formative influences, the blend of fantasy literature, animated cinema, and a family steeped in artistic expression, laid the foundation for a career that would bridge graphic design, illustration, and design activism on an international stage.
Hazem Asif pursued his formal education at one of the most respected art schools in the region. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Doha, Qatar, earning a BFA in Graphic Design (2016) and an MFA in Design Studies (2018). The VCUarts Qatar campus, a partner university of the Qatar Foundation, provided Hazem with a rigorous grounding in both the practical and theoretical dimensions of design.
His MFA thesis and research practice focused on the intersection of design and social commentary. In his art and design research practice, he focuses on speculative design, world-building, and design fiction to create new possible futures that act as a medium to stimulate positive social and cultural discussions, aiming to raise awareness, provoke action, expose assumptions, and question the unknown. This intellectual framework, rooted in design futures and speculative methodologies, became the defining signature of his personal artistic output, setting him apart from conventional illustrators.
Currently, Hazem works as a Science Illustrator at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), one of the top science institutes in Lahore, Pakistan. At LUMS, he serves as the Art Director for The Particle, a bilingual magazine dedicated to translating complex STEM research into accessible, engaging narratives for a general audience. This role perfectly marries his design expertise with his commitment to making knowledge accessible, a cornerstone of his broader philosophy of design for social good.
His editorial work has also extended to creating a cover illustration for New Scientist, depicting a conceptual piece about what might have existed before the Big Bang, the birth of our known universe. His ability to visually communicate abstract scientific concepts positions him uniquely within the field of science communication, where the demand for skilled visual interpreters of complex data is rapidly growing.
Hazem Asif's portfolio in children's publishing is extensive and celebrated. With a diverse background, Hazem has showcased his work internationally and has collaborated across various markets, including Publishing, Editorial, Film, Sciences, and Academia. His clientele spans renowned entities such as Google, HarperCollins, Bloomsbury, Zee5, Walker Books, The Lancet HIV, Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha Film Institute, and Qatar Foundation.
Among his most acclaimed works is the cover illustration for Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan, published by Walker Books. Hazem is the illustrator for Nura and the Immortal Palace, Waterstones Children's Book of the Month for July 2022. The book went on to become a major success; it won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Younger Readers, and is described as "a magical adventure rooted in Muslim culture and tradition" following a young girl's journey from modern-day Pakistan into the world of the jinn.
As an illustrator, he has worked across publishing, editorial, film, sciences, and academia, illustrating books such as Nura and the Immortal Palace by Maeeda Khan (Walker Books) and the Rosie Raja series by Sufiya Ahmed (Bloomsbury). The Rosie Raja series, featuring titles like Churchill's Spy, Mission to Cairo, and Undercover Codebreaker, has been widely praised. Rosie Raja: Undercover Codebreaker was the winner of the CrimeFest Best Crime Novel for Children.
Sufiya Ahmed and illustrator Hazem Asif also collaborated on the picture book The Best Eid Ever. The story follows a family through a day of Eid celebrations, reflecting for Muslim children everywhere the excitement of the day, and giving children who aren't familiar with Eid a glimpse into traditional Eid celebrations.
Another notable collaboration is Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi. Author Reem Faruqi noted that she had always admired Hazem's work from afar, and having been given the choice of eleven artists, she immediately gravitated to his portfolio and personally requested he illustrate the book. His recent projects also include illustrating a retelling of The Odyssey for DK Books, further cementing his range across genres and publishers.
One of Hazem Asif's most high-profile projects was designing the 2021 Google Doodle honoring Pakistani entertainment legend Moin Akhtar. The Doodle, illustrated by Lahore, Pakistan-based guest artist Hazem Asif, celebrates the 71st birthday of Pakistani entertainment icon Moin Akhtar.
The opportunity came in the first week of November 2021 when the Art Director from Google Doodle US reached out to Hazem. They had seen the graphic designer's creations on his Instagram account 'worldofhazem', and were duly impressed.
Hazem described the project as "the most rewarding experience of my career to date." The colors of the doodle for the iconic humorist were influenced by the retro technicolor palette of the 90s decade. The Doodle can also be seen featuring snippets of Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari along with Moin Akhtar.
For Asif, who grew up watching Moin Akhtar on vintage television sets in the 1990s, it was a double honour of sorts; the response was an immediate 'yes'. Google's creative team said they loved how he integrates his portraits into the surrounding narrative of the person who is the subject. The Google Doodle brought Hazem's work to the attention of millions worldwide and remains a landmark moment in his career.
Beyond commercial illustration, Hazem Asif maintains a deeply personal and intellectually ambitious design research practice. His design practice involves using the conceptual frameworks of speculative design, world-building, and design fiction to envision new possible futures with social and political relevance. He actively enjoys the use of various narrative tools such as time-based and interactive media, experimental video-making, poster design, and digital illustration.
With his work, he strives to explore ideas that are often found controversial or not openly discussed. He is interested in design that bridges historical, political, and social issues to formulate creative and meaningful design narratives and discourses. He aims to draw attention to a modern dystopia within a utopian environment and bring forward blurred realities in the form of imagined speculated world-building.
His speculative design projects critically examine the ecological, social, and political realities of South Asia, functioning as a form of design activism grounded in speculative futures. One of his notable academic works, featured on Dezeen, is Mohasir Mohasar (Besieger-Besieged). The work is a reflection on the checkpoints, roadblocks and other elements of control used by Israel in occupied Palestine, exploring the notion of borders as physical and psychological constructs. "Through his work, Asif aims to create design that bridges historical, political and social issues to formulate creative and meaningful design narratives."
Hazem's dynamic body of work has earned recognition on the global stage. Hazem's artwork has been displayed in exhibitions all around the world, and he has worked with an impressive list of clients across different industries, including publishing, editorial, film, science, and academics. Notable exhibition venues include Maison et Objet in Paris (2019) and the Ajyal Film Festival in Qatar. He participated in the Ninth Ajyal Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), which honored the determination and resilience of the Palestinians through the Ajyal Art Exhibition.
His speculative design work and illustration career have garnered features in major international publications including Forbes, The Guardian, HuffPost, and Dezeen. Forbes highlighted him among Pakistan's coolest illustrators shaping the narrative around South Asia through their standout brand of visual storytelling.
Hazem is represented by The Plum Agency for children's publishing. His work can be explored online through his official website (worldofhazem.com) and his active social media presence. He can be found on Instagram at @worldofhazem, where he regularly shares behind-the-scenes looks at his projects, new illustrations, and reflections on the design industry. He also maintains profiles on Behance, ArtStation, Vimeo, and LinkedIn, making his portfolio accessible to art directors, publishers, and fellow creatives worldwide.
As a designer with a passion for storytelling, he draws his inspiration from his personal experiences of living in Lahore, a multicultural metropolis that is constantly evolving and transitioning. His advocacy for fair treatment of Pakistani designers and illustrators, including speaking out against exploitative pricing practices, has also resonated with the creative community across South Asia.
Hazem Asif represents a new generation of Pakistani creatives who are reshaping how South Asian stories, identities, and futures are visualized on the world stage. His career spans the breadth of creative industries, from winning-cover children's books and Google Doodles to science communication at one of Pakistan's top universities, and from speculative design installations at international film festivals to features in global media outlets like Forbes and Dezeen.
He enjoys exploring themes that are socially conscious and reflective of the society and the world we are living in. Whether he is illustrating a prize-winning children's fantasy rooted in Pakistani culture, designing a nostalgic tribute to a comedy legend for Google, or constructing speculative futures that question ecological and political realities, Hazem Asif consistently demonstrates that illustration and design can be powerful vehicles for empathy, awareness, and transformative social dialogue.
His trajectory signals a bright and influential future, not just for himself, but for the broader landscape of South Asian visual culture on the global stage.
Hazem Asif is a Lahore-based illustrator, graphic designer, and social design activist known for illustrating award-winning children's books, designing the 2021 Google Doodle honoring Moin Akhtar, and his speculative design work featured in publications like Forbes and Dezeen.
His portfolio includes Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan, the Rosie Raja series and The Best Eid Ever by Sufiya Ahmed, Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi, and a retelling of The Odyssey for DK Books, among roughly 24 titles.
In November 2021, Google Doodle's Art Director discovered his work through his Instagram account @worldofhazem and invited him to design the Doodle celebrating Moin Akhtar's 71st birthday. Hazem called it the most rewarding experience of his career.
He earned a BFA in Graphic Design (2016) and an MFA in Design Studies (2018) from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Doha, Qatar. His MFA research centered on speculative design, world-building, and design fiction.
He serves as a Science Illustrator at Lahore University of Management Sciences and acts as Art Director for The Particle, a bilingual magazine that translates complex STEM research into accessible visual narratives for a general audience.
He constructs illustrated future scenarios to critically examine the ecological, social, and political realities of South Asia. His speculative design practice functions as a form of design activism, using world-building and design fiction to provoke social and cultural discussion.
His work has been displayed at Maison et Objet in Paris (2019), the Ajyal Film Festival in Qatar (2021), and other international venues. He has also been featured in Forbes, The Guardian, HuffPost, and Dezeen.
Hazem is represented by The Plum Agency for children's publishing. His portfolio can be explored at worldofhazem.com and on Instagram at @worldofhazem.
In my art and design research practice, I focus on speculative design, world-building, and design fiction to create new possible futures that act as a medium to stimulate positive social and cultural discussions, raise awareness, provoke action, expose assumptions, and question the unknown.
— Hazem Asif