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.