One of the most challenging tasks you can be presented with as a pro illustrator is to visualise an abstract concept. And the cover story for September's New Scientist magazine fell squarely into this category.
Illustrating this feature fell to Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell, aka Good Wives and Warriors (opens in new tab) since 2007, whom we last spoke to about their Commonwealth Games Mural (opens in new tab). The brief from the publication was very exact so – perhaps ironically – they were unable to let their imaginations run wild...
"New Scientist was quite specific about the style and imagery they wanted to represent imagination," the pair explain. "There were specific references to children's imagination so we had to include a number of clichés like dragons, mythical creatures and unicorns. We needed to represent imagination, not really use our own, so it needed to have conventional and recognizable links to the article."
As you can see though, the pair still managed to put their unique stamp on the illustration. All in all, it's a beautiful, and deceptively intricate, design that truly illuminates and enhances the words rather than detracts from them – as all great examples of editorial illustration (opens in new tab) should do.
Have you seen an inspiring editorial illustration? Let us know in the comments box below!
