Bachelor Pad

Society of Illustrators 48th Annual of American Illustration, 2006, p338
Illustrator: Dan Sipple

The designer's "assignment was to create a hip, modern, masculine card [for American Greetings] featuring an African American male" using an assigned palette of colors. I like how the designer was able to pull off the design with minimal detail by using subtle textures. The strie painting behind the man is just enough to separate him from the wall. The textured lanterns, chairs, and patterned floor add visual interest and rhythm. The solid white pants are the focal point and the negative shape of the pants seems to create an arrow pointing to the man. The lanterns hanging directly over the man in combination with the stripes in the wall give the appearance of light raining down on the subject further enhancing the focal point. Finally, the lone orangish-red square hanging alone on the right side of the wall is the final detail to balance the image. Oh, and, of course, you can't deny the importance of the glass on the table. It adds ambiance to the scene and sets the mood. The glass says "it's time to relax and chill out."

Seasons in the Sun

Society of Illustrators 48th Annual of American Illustration, 2006, pp244-245
Illustrator: Andrew Selby

This illustrator creates entire landscapes with simple geometric shapes and limited color palettes. His work is interesting because the more you look, the more you see. I love the illusion of hills and how each drawing has a feeling of perspective created with the bottom of the illustration appearing to be closer. Both illustrations create perspective by size with objects in "front" being larger in proportion to objects at the top of the drawing. Notice the pumpkins larger than trees and the fox larger than the horses. The autumn image also has a road which appears to wind toward the "back" where it eventually disappears in the horizon. Even the ground appears to be flatter in the front with the shapes becoming more rounded and then pointy, indicating hills turning to mountains, as your eye travels upward. The final clue is the cloud shapes at the very top.
Another detail I enjoyed is the illustrator's buildings. None of the buildings are squared. They seem to lean every which way furthering the concept of hills and uneven ground. The combination of the misshaped buildings and curvy shapes create an inviting, interactive atmosphere enticing the viewer to stop and gaze for a while.
As for color, the illustrator's limited color palette very clearly indicates which season each image represents. The limited use of white creates added interest and breaks up what would otherwise be monotonous image.

The Capuleti & the Montecchi

Society of Illustrators 48th Annual of American Illustration, 2006, p239
Poster illustration, Illustrator: Rafal Olbinski

This poster was created to promote the opera The Capuleti & the Montecchi based on the story of Romeo & Juliet. The illustrator introduces a clever solution to showing the two "star-crossed" lovers being torn apart by their respective families.
One's focus is immediately drawn into the faces and the strong negative space between them. Your eyes naturally follow the zipper downward to the ropes attached to the zipper which continue to pull your attention downward toward the message. The symmetry of the two groups of men pulling and the way they span the writing seems to enhance the message by framing the text. I like how the men dressed in business suits bring the classic tale to modern times and how the men's body language reinforces the idea of pulling your attention downward. Furthermore, the perspective type treatment creates more visual stimulation and interest to the design.
The concept of "star-crossed" lovers is introduced with the faces being formed in the sky and the eyes of the lovers looking upward to the stars (or heaven). I am wondering if the idea of the two halves being torn apart from the top down like a curtained backdrop is representative of the biblical account of the temple veil tearing in two from top to bottom at the moment of Jesus' death. Is the darkeness of the heavens that is revealed symbolic of the darkness that descends upon the families upon the lovers' deaths?

Halloween Magic

Society of Illustrators 46th Annual of American Illustration, 2005, p327
Book Illustration, Illustrator: Greg Couch

Tonight is the night when pumpkins stare. And all cats are black and a flying leaf looks more like a bat.

The illustrator's goal was to depict "Halloween as a magical night...filled with danger and delight...and there is always a full moon."
I like the eerieness the illustrator creates with the dark colors, shadowy figures, and the faces that seem to be peering out from everywhere. The moon, the bat, the Jack-O-Lanterns, the houses, and even the tree appear to have faces looking at the children. The trees around the houses hint at reaching hands and hair. The floating leaves create eyes and a nose on the enormous, glowing moon while an exaggerated-sized bat creates a gaping grin. The size of the bat hints at how large the children would perceive the bat to be.
This image brings back memories of a racing heart as a child when I would trick-or-treat with my friend and the wind would make things rustle and the light from street lamps would cast long shadows and the doors to strangers' houses appeared menancing. A time before parents stayed with their children and you only went to homes of people you knew. It was a time of full-sized candy bars, apples, and Mrs. Warren's large homemade popcorn balls. Ahh....the memories.

Portland International Film Festival

Society of Illustrators 52nd Annual of American Illustration, 2010, p192
Illustrator: The Heads of State

The first two things I noticed about this design were I couldn't read what the filament was spelling and the color choices seemed odd. Light bulbs are warm objects and this design has a cool undertone with its choice of colors. So I ask myself why isn't this bulb yellow and what does it spell? This forced me to look further to read the small print and see the threads of the bulb are created from a film strip. Aha! (The light bulb goes on in my head!) And, now, I think "clever."
I like how the illustrator grabs your attention with the filament and pulls you down to the print for details. The way in which the film strip leads off the paper and how the type follows it adds extra visual interest by creating a little tension.

Snow Cat

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual of American Illustration, 2007, p279
Illustrator: Richard Goldberg

The assignment was a secular "winter holiday" greeting card. The image is from the illustrator's memory of his black cat Satan who would chase snowflakes in the lights at night. (I thought the cat's name ironic, especially since I consider every "holiday card" is actually a Christmas card in disguise.)
I like the playful, artsy nature of the card and how the snowflake the cat captured is the one perfect flake in the illustration. It appears the cat is admiring his find. The way the cat reaches for it, the direction of the cat's eyes, and the undefined white dots in the background lead the viewer's focus to the one distinct snowflake. That one flake is the clue to this being winter, and the playfulness of the cat reminds us that winter can be fun.
And what about the C shapes in the design—the shape of the cat's body and the resulting negative shape? Is this the illustrator's underlying effort to imply C is for Christmas? Hmm...
Actually, my very favorite part of the illustration is the artist's initials. I love his letters, especially the "g". It reminds me of an upside-down exclamation mark and feels like the last period on the last page of a long book — There!

Frantic

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual of American Illustration, 2007, p155
Illustrator: Thomas Fuchs

This is a portrait of Nathan Lane used for a theater poster to promote his play Butley, in which the main character is slowly falling apart. I think the illustrator brilliantly conveys this idea. The artwork represents so many aspects of mental instability —literally falling apart, being torn in different directions, losing one's identity, not knowing where to turn, and seeing the world in black and white. The literal representation of black and white creates an onimous, dark atmosphere and adds dramatic flare. My favorite aspect of the image is the disharmonious rhythm resulting from the fragmentation, which causes my focus to bounce back and forth between the subjects's eyes.

THRILL

Society of Illustrators 50th Annual of American Illustration, 2009, p190
Illustrator: Martin French

This poster was one of a series of four that the illustrator created while working on a project involving the history of swing dance. The illustrator's goal was to capture the "free-form improv that happens in every dance". I think he was extremely successful.
Looking at this poster makes me want to just get up and dance. The use of the lines and curves in the background and foreground, the positions of the bodies, the swinging tie, skirt, and jacket—all of these bring rhythm to the image. The purposeful misalignment of the writing and the background color block add more movement. The large red block type behind the dancers shouts to the viewer that this is an event one doesn't want to miss. The vibrant colors, the polka dots that seem to be flying off her skirt, the misregistration of color fills and outlines—every detail in this poster serves a purpose.
I'm going to go find my dancing shoes.

Think Pink

Society of Illustrators 50th Annual of American Illustration, 2009, p46
Client: Stanford Medicine, summer 2007 Illustrator: Jody Hewgill

This illustration was commisioned to accompany an article titled Think Pink—the Hitch with Breast Cancer Marketing Pitch for the summer 2007 publication of Stanford Medicine. The illustrator states, "The article is about the misconception of the pink campaign—how women are given a false sense of protection and a feeling of being proactive by purchasing pink products, while they continue to have unhealthy lifestyles."
This illustration is brilliant. It's obvious that it's a statement about breast cancer with the clues of the headscarf in the shape of the symbolic pink breast cancer awareness ribbon and another image of the ribbon present on the pink shopping bag. Additional pink clues are lipstick shade, the cup in the bag and the overall pink saturation of the image.
The irony comes into play with the smoking cigarette between those pink lips and the hormone replacement pills, which may be linked to increased breast cancer risks. I love the extra detail of the runner drawn in the background.
Is the subject looking at her and thinking, "You go girl—I'm safe in my pink!"?
Is the runner a subliminal message to the viewer that the runner's healthy lifestyle is a better bet against this growing epidemic?
The placement of the HRT and the runner reminds me of the classic images of a devil and an angel sitting on the subject's shoulders. Maybe the HRT (the devil's advocate in this case) is winning this battle since it is given prominent visual definition and raining down upon the woman while the "angel" appears to be running away. Or is she really trying to lead?
I truly believe in the whole "Think Pink" campaign. It has been extremely successful in bring breast cancer awareness to the front line. Yes, there are always going to be those few stupid people who don't get it. This illustration is not a negative connotation of the campaign but a reminder of its importance. This subject is obviously one of those stupid people, but I bet somewhere in her mind she now knows what breast cancer is, and she more than likely occasionally checks for lumps. GO PINK!

Creativity can be anywhere!

Graphis Design Annual, 2011, p180
Client: School of Visual Arts, Design Firm: Knarf, New York, Art Director:Jelani Curtis William Wang

I always like clever, eye-catching designs and this definitely fit the bill. The School of Visual Arts wanted to remind passerbys that creativity can happen anywhere. The page is made of heavy duty 3M anti-slip vinyl. This was one of several visual promotions by the School. Another one consisted of a door altered to look like an envelope with the word "push" to not only show how to open the door but also to promote people to push the envelope of creativity. This whole design concept shows how illustration is more than just drawing.

Cake Runner

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual of American Illustrations, 2007, p78
Illustrator: Thomas Fuchs

This was an illustration created for an editorial. I have no idea what the editorial was about but since I'm a runner, I know when I'm in training I always think twice about eating junk food. I look at it as how far I would have to run to burn those useless calories (FYI: 100 calories = 1 mile). So perhaps the editorial was a call against America's poor eating habits. The runner represents us running away from the problems of obesity and good health.
The illustrator makes great use of color. The colorful cake represents the enticement of sweets while the gray, well-defined runners are indicative of work which most people find exercise to be. The illustrator's decision to show the edge of the cake makes it conclusive that it is indeed a cake. It also supports the idea of the runners being on a track and the fact that they are going round and round which again points out the monotony many people associate with running.

Hope. Don't Trash It.

Society of Illustrators 50th Annual of American Illustrations, 2009, p 297
Client: Viral Hope; Illustrator: Edel Rodriguez

This was a poster created for Viral Hope, an outreach program in New York collecting unused antiretroviral medications for the care of HIV positive victims in Nigeria. The bottom of the poster reads "Patients in Africa are dying to get their hands on your unused HIV meds."
The silhouetted image of hands reaching up is very powerful, and after one reads the message, it's very easy to see how the arms and hands form the shape of a trash can. I like how the small, clean, white type just pops out of the rough, vibrant red background, balancing the large silhouetted imagery. The gold-colored medicine bottle is the focal point. I find my eyes darting constantly back to that small isolated area of gold.
My first impression was a sense of God handing medicine to the needy. But in this case, instead of God, it's the USA. I found this sadly ironic. America is one of the largest consuming nations in the world, and, yet, what we perceive as trash is the difference of life and death to others.
I also had the impression of the large hand representing a mother bird trying to feed all of its hungry, needy children with wide-open mouths waiting for the limited supply of nourishment.

Zune

Society of Illustrators 50th Annual of American Illustration, 2009, p229
Client: Microsoft, Illustrator: Yuko Shimizu

This is a poster imagery created by Yuko Shimizu to promote Microsoft's MP3 player Zune. I was immediately drawn into this image by the strong pull to the focal point. The foot just grabs your eye and it feels like you're falling down into the poster. The message of the poster is physically small, but with the diver pointing directly at it like an arrow, and the whirlpool spinning around it, and the bits of bright yellow poking out of the dull-colored background, one can't help but find it.
This poster is a wonderful example of meeting all of the design principles: unity, emphasis, balance, rhythm, depth, and color. In fact, it has so much rhythm, I can hear the beat!